Texas Book Fest's Lit Crawl Jeopardy Brawl: Be There Saturday Night
Okay, maybe "brawl" is a strong word to describe "Nerd Jeopardy," but whatever you want to call it--I prefer "Heroic Heroes Jeopardy"--I'll be part of it Saturday night at 8:30pm at Wonderland in Austin (1104 East Sixth St). You can even click "going" on the facebook page. The Austin LitCrawl is full of amazing events, in support of the Texas Book Festival. (Here's info on my festival appearance earlier on Saturday.)My opponents appear to have unfair advantages, such as possibly knowing much more stuff than I do. But I'll have at least two sisters-in-law--Jody and Jennifer Bordman--in the audience to heckle me toward an honorable and not-to-distant defeat. I've also been told by my agent Sally Harding and my publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux that there will be "some kind of penalty" if I lose. Since they have money riding on the results.Besides, maybe I do have a shot. I've been in the backyard for three straight days now, slapping home-made buzzers glued to tree stumps and shouting answers in the form of questions at the squirrels. Things like:
"What is air?""What is ice cream?""Who is Solomon Gursky?""What is the daily double?""What is the hair on the back of your neck?""Who is the Vice Admiral of Guam?"
Who are my opponents?
Charles M. Blow has been a columnist at The New York Times since 2008, is a CNN commentator, and has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, the BBC, Al Jazeera, and HBO. Blow lives in Brooklyn with his three children.Kate Payne is an author and freelance writer, and a frequent consultant for design, decor, cooking, and crafting publications and sites. She lives in Austin with her wife and teaches classes on food preservation and other topics both privately and at culinary centers across the country. Her books Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking (HarperCollins, 2011) and Hip Girl's Guide to the Kitchen (HarperCollins, 2014) are available wherever books are sold. Read more about Kate on her blog (http://hipgirlshome.com/) and website (http://katepayne.net/).
Paul W. Morris from the PEN Center is going to be moderating. So come one, come all. It would probably be more intense if the combatants knew each other or harbored long-standing grudges. But the truth is we don't, and all you can hope for is a grudge nursed for less than 30 minutes, stemming from some green-room dispute. Which might still be spectacular.What I can say is: Nerd Jeopardy is likely to be a lot of fun. I hope to see you there.