Non-Fiction Stew

Here's the thing they won't say at the Mayborn Literary Conference: Print journalism is dead, or dying, or most charitably, the forum for an incredibly shrinking job market. Nor will they say that of the dozens of starry-eyed UNT grad students in the audience, only a small handful will ever actually work in the field, and of that group, maybe one or two will wind up writing the kind of stuff that has made Bob Shacochis the headliner of this year's event. But maybe I'm wrong. Journalism will also make you a cynic, and the UNT J-school has eight Pulitzer Prize winners amongst its alumni. Not bad for a university known for music. And here's the final thing: If you can somehow swing it, there is no more interesting or rewarding job than journalism, at least for my money. So go this weekend to the Mayborn Conference and learn from masters of the trade like Shacochis, former National Geographic scribe Candace Millard, and dare we say it, a couple of the young rising stars at The Dallas Morning News. The three-day event runs Friday through Sunday at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine, 1800 Highway 26 East. Registration is $295 and includes food. Visit themayborn.unt.edu.
Fri., July 18; Sat., July 19; Sun., July 20, 2008