BookPeople Presents: Torch Local Author Panel

Please welcome Jasmine Games, Kelis Rowe, and C. Prudence Arceneaux in conversation with Amanda Johnston in a local author panel with Torch Literary Arts!

This event is free and open to the public.

• Start time: 2:00 P.M.
• Run time: 45-60 minutes, followed by a signing line.
• Location: The second floor of BookPeople.

The author will be signing and personalizing copies of the books after the speaking portion of the event.

• To get a book signed, a copy of the desired book or an item of equal value must be purchased from BookPeople.

Guidelines:

• Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

• If you have any other questions, please visit our Eventbrite FAQ. If your question isn't covered in the FAQ, feel free to email us at [email protected].
• All event guidelines are subject to change.
• BookPeople reserves the right to cancel or postpone this event if necessary.
• There will not be a live stream or recording available.

About the authors:

Jasmine Games (she/her) is a Black and queer spoken word poet and theater practitioner from Houston, TX. She holds a BA in English and Performance Studies from Texas A&M University (2018) and an MFA in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities from The University of Texas at Austin (2022). Games is an award-winning poet and practitioner, including the 2021 Sexton Prize for Poetry from the Black Spring Press Group and the 2021 Winifred Ward Scholarship for excellence in youth drama/theatre from the American Alliance for Theatre Education. Working in education and social justice in Austin, TX, she utilizes drama, creative writing, and devised performance to address social (in)justices with participants of all ages. Learn more about Jasmine at jasmineigames.com and follow her on social media @jasminegamespoetry.

Kelis Rowe is a stay-at-home mom and former homeschooler who writes sweeping, classic teen romance novels from the points of view of Black girls who are stronger than they know and the Black teen boys who just gotta love ‘em. Her award-winning debut novel, Finding Jupiter, is a contemporary romance about an introverted artist and poet and a champion swimmer who bond through shared grief and fall in love one fateful Memphis summer. It incorporates journal pages of art and found poetry from the pages of classic novels including The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God. Kelis writes out of her home in Leander, TX.

Prudence Arceneaux, a native Texan, is a poet who teaches English and Creative Writing at Austin Community College, in Austin, TX. Her work has appeared in various journals, including The Academy of American Poets’ Poem- A- Day, Limestone, New Texas, Hazmat Review, Texas Observer, Whiskey Island Magazine, African Voices and Inkwell. She is the author of two chapbooks of poetry– DIRT (awarded the 2018 Jean Pedrick Prize) and LIBERTY. She is the English Department Chair at Austin Community College.

About the moderator:

Amanda Johnston is a writer, visual artist, 2024 Texas Poet Laureate, and the founder/executive director of Torch Literary Arts.

By purchasing a book from BookPeople, you are not only supporting a local, independent business – you’re showing publishers that they should continue sending authors to BookPeople.

Thank you for supporting Jasmine Games, Kelis Rowe, C. Prudence Arceneaux, Amanda Johnston, Torch Literary Arts, and your local independent bookstore!

Host or Publisher BookPeople