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Jinn Nagaoka

BookPeople's Jinn Nagaoka, whom my fashionable colleague Stephen MacMillan Moser would likely refer to as "fabulous," is leaving the store -- and, as it were, Austin -- at the end of May for San Francisco, which is on the West Coast instead of the Third, in California as opposed to Texas. Nagaoka, who quite simply defied the pedestrian title of advertising and display manager, has won several awards for her work, including a 2001 all-expenses-paid trip to Vanity Fair's apparently coveted post-Oscars party. That, as Marc Savlov reported at the time, was a contest prize for her performance in displaying Viking's Vanity Fair's Hollywood. BookPeople always has great displays. Did you ever wonder who was mostly responsible for that? It was Nagaoka. Now, it will be her replacement, Julie Wilson. We wish them both the best. We also wish BookPeople Marketing Director Jeremy Ellis the best, because Nagaoka is one of his best friends, and he is at best very sad. "She's been part of the store for so long, we've been close friends for so long, that it's just going to be leaving a big gap," he says. "But Julie's going to be awesome."... Entries in the 2003 Violet Crown Book Awards, which recognize and reward the work of published members of the Writers' League of Texas and are sponsored by the league, as well as Barnes & Noble, must be postmarked by May 31. Authors must be members, but they may join when submitting their entry; books under consideration must have been published between June 1, 2002, and May 31, 2003; and the fee is $10, along with two copies of the author's book. Prizes are $1,000 and a trophy (a trophy, my brothers and sisters) in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, and some odd little number labeled Literary Prose & Poetry. For the requisite forms and more information, check out www.writersleague.org... You still have through Monday, May 26, to view the fine and vibrant art of Japanese-born collagist/painter Takayo Noda at the Faulk Central Public Library, 800 Guadalupe. Noda, whose most recent work happens to comprise her debut children's book, Dear World, lives in New York but visited Austin recently to help celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Highly recommended... Lastly, a doff of the shade umbrella strapped atop my head: Sixth-graders at Pearce Middle School recently completed a successful campaign to read and review books and stories. These weren't book reports, mind you, but honest to god opinion pieces on everything from The Frog Who Wanted to Be a Singer by Linda Gross ("I liked this story, and I think the author should write these stories more. After all, it was a good story," says Ulises Rangel) to "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros ("I liked this story because that's the way it happened to me when I was eleven," writes Yazmin Balboa. "I recommend this story") to Rudyard Kipling's "How to Bring Up a Lion" ("When other people read this story, I would guess that they wouldn't like it," asserts Kristy Kietchai) to "The Southpaw" by Judith Viorst (Michelle Kuhr: "I like this book because it's about problems that happen now"). As a reward for their exemplary work, Barnes & Noble Arboretum's saintly and scholarly Colleen Devine threw the students a big party last week and named them May's "Texas Writers" for Texas Writers Month, which, by the way, seems to exist now more in spirit than in schedule. I don't know why this is, exactly, but rest assured, I'm following the money and will let you know what I find out.