Bret Anthony Johnston; photo courtesy DMACC.
The Celebration of the Literary Arts brought in author Bret Anthony Johnston on February 26 as their author of the month. The author event took place in Building 2, Room 25A/B at 11:15 a.m.for about an hour to discuss his new book and answer a variety of questions from the audience. The event started with Johnston reading from his new book, “Encounters with Unexpected Animals.”
“Encounters with Unexpected Animals” is a collection of short stories, and one of those stories is “Caiman.” In the story, the father brings home a pet for his young son. This pet is a Caiman, which is a semi-aquatic reptile similar to an alligator. The story follows the father having a conversation with his wife about the said new pet and the abduction of a local girl, who is similar in age to their own son.
He did not talk much about how he was inspired to write “Encounters with Unexpected Animals.” Instead, he told stories about growing up in Texas and how he got into skateboarding when he was young. During the Q&A, Johnston answered a variety of questions from the audience, including advice for writing and skateboarding, plus more personal questions on living in Texas and how he got into skateboarding.
Johnston talked about how writing and skateboarding were very entwined for him. While he was talking, it was clear to the audience how true this is for him. He discussed how writing and skateboarding were entwined for him, even referencing the movie “Back to the Future” while discussing how he got interested in skateboarding.
Johnston did not give much advice on writing itself, but he did give a lot of advice on the topic of publishing. The advice on this topic included telling the audience to love your work before you even think about publishing it. He also made it clear to any writers in the crowd that a writer will be shot down by many publishers, but not to be discouraged about it.
Johnston said that when he gets shot down, he is not discouraged because he loves his work and no one can take that away from him. He said not to get discouraged and to love your work more than anyone. Near the end of the event, Johnston gave more advice that was a combination of writing and publishing, and he said, “Publish the book you want out in the world.”
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