I have some exciting news that might be of value to you or to Texas librarians you know: I am now a 2020-2022 Texas Touring Roster artist!

In brief, that means:

  1. Grant support may be available from the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) for presentations and author visits by me,
  2. both online and in-person events are eligible, and
  3. there’s a grant-application deadline of August 1 for events taking place between September 1 and December 14 of this year.

The longer explanation is that every two years, TCA updates its Texas Touring Roster, and I have been added to the just-announced list. As a result, support may be available to assist with my booking fees through the Arts Respond Performance Support grant program.

This quarterly program provides support to Texas schools, libraries, and nonprofit organizations for hiring an artist from the TCA Touring Roster to give a performance, residency, or workshop. These applications are funded based on a sliding scale ranging from 30% to 50% of contracted fees. Support is based on TCA’s available funds.

Anyone interested in booking me can contact me through my website. After we have a letter of agreement in place, then my hosts will be able to apply for the Arts Respond grant.

(If you have questions specifically about the Texas Touring Roster or Arts Respond, you can contact TCA at 512-463-5535 for more information.)

Again, I’ll be on the Texas Touring Roster for the next two years, but the grant-application deadline for this fall is August 1.

Applications for events through mid-March will be accepted until November 1, so anyone wanting to host me while my book What Do You Do with a Voice Like That? The Story of Extraordinary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan is on the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List would need to have an agreement with me squared away by then.

I hope to see you (or your online image) soon.