2024 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball

Saturday
February 24, 2024
6:30 pm

River Oaks Country Club
1600 River Oaks Boulevard
Houston, Texas 77019

FEATURED SPEAKER
Anthony Doerr

GALA CHAIRS
Todd Bondy
Ky Cooksey
Stephen Goldfarb
Pablo Hernández Schmidt-Tophoff
Cullen Schaar

Black tie

Thanks to the 2024 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball, Houston will continue to be a thriving city nurtured by the power of creative writing and reading.

For more than four decades, Inprint has been championing the world’s great writers and enhancing communities with the power of creative writing. We invite you to join us for the 2024 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball, a one-of-a-kind black-tie fundraising gala chaired by Todd Bondy, Ky Cooksey, Stephen Goldfarb, Pablo Hernández Schmidt-Tophoff, and Cullen Schaar. The featured speaker for the evening is Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All the Light We Cannot See and Cloud Cuckoo Land Anthony Doerr.

The festivities take place at River Oaks Country Club on Saturday, February 24, starting at 6:30 pm with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Short salon-style readings follow by three gifted young authors who have benefitted from Inprint programs and support. A gourmet meal, designed by Chef Emeritus Robert Del Grande of The Annie Café and Bar, adds to the evening, along with literary-themed table decorations created by table hosts and volunteers and music by Latin Carnaval. The evening culminates over coffee and dessert with a keynote talk by Anthony Doerr.

As a thank-you gift, guests will receive a handmade artist-designed chapbook based on Doerr’s work, in a signed and numbered limited edition. The evening will also include a nightcap for those who want to keep the party going.

To Attend and Support the Ball
Schedule for the Evening
About Featured Speaker Anthony Doerr

To Attend and Support the Ball

HOST COMMITTEE

Mary and Marcel Barone
Bettie Cartwright
Yini and Herman Collette
Susie and Joe Dilg
Meriwether and Will Evans
Lynn Goode and Harrison Williams
Claire Liu and Joe Greenberg
Holly and Breen Haire
Sis and Hasty Johnson
Kathryn Kase and Jeff Cohen
Marie and Miles Matter
Katharine and Mosby Perrow
Noelle and Eric Reed
Sarah Beth and Paul Seifert
Phoebe and Bobby Tudor
Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray
Anne Whitlock and Michael Skelly
Emily Wolf and Josh Schaffer
Cyvia G. Wolff

As of now, the Inprint Ball is SOLD OUT. We do have a waiting list to attend, if space should become available. If you are interested in being placed on the waiting list, please contact the Inprint office at info@inprint.org. Thank you for your enthusiasm and support.

TABLES FOR 10

Epic – $30,000
Premier table for 10, pre-dinner champagne toast with featured speaker, reserved seating in salon reading room, personalized lower-number chapbooks for each couple/individual at the table, name/logo recognition in the evening’s printed program, invitation, press releases, and event webpage.

Novel – $20,000
Premier table for 10, pre-dinner champagne toast with featured speaker, lower-number chapbooks for each couple/individual at the table, name/logo recognition in the evening’s printed program, invitation, press releases, and event webpage.

Story – $10,000
Preferred table for 10, chapbooks for each couple/individual at the table, name/logo recognition in the evening’s printed program, invitation, and event webpage.

Book Club – $8,000
Priority table for 10, chapbooks for each couple/individual at the table, name recognition in the evening’s printed program, invitation, and event webpage.

Bookshelf (No longer available) – $6,000
Table for 10, five chapbooks for your table, name recognition in the evening’s printed program, invitation, and event webpage.

INDIVIDUAL SEATS

Epic – $3,000
Seat at a premier table, pre-dinner champagne toast with featured speaker, lower number chapbook, name recognition in the evening’s printed program, invitation, and event webpage.

Novel – $2,000
Seat at a premier table, lower number chapbook, name recognition in the evening’s printed program, invitation, and event webpage.

Story – $1,000
Seat at a preferred table, chapbook, name recognition in the evening’s printed program, invitation, and event webpage.

Book Club – $800
Seat at a priority table, chapbook, name recognition in the evening’s printed program, invitation, and event webpage.

Bookshelf (No longer available) – $600
Seat for one, chapbook, name recognition in the evening’s printed program, invitation, and event webpage.

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE SUPPORTERS OF THE 2024 INPRINT POETS & WRITERS BALL

Donations received as of February 13, 2024.

TABLES

EPIC
Franci Neely/Nina and Michael Zilkha

NOVEL
Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen
Noelle and Eric Reed

STORY
Amanda Alvarez and Cullen Schaar/Roberta Collier-Wright and Todd Bondy/Randi and Pablo Hernández Schmidt-Tophoff
Karen and Mike Brisch
Bettie Cartwright
Yini and Herman Collette
Susie and Joe Dilg
Randi Faust and Carl Herman/Edward and Helen Oppenheimer Foundation
The Financial Advisory Group
Katharine Barthelme Frank and Shane Frank/Misty and Surena Matin
Debbie Gary
Megan and Stephen Goldfarb
The Greentree Fund/Nancy C. Allen
Sabria and Kevin Lewis
Nancy Powell Moore/The Samuels Foundation
Rice University
Brittany Sakowitz and Kevin Kushner
Michelle and Rishi Varma
Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray

BOOK CLUB
Robin Angly and Miles Smith
Candace Baggett and Ron Restrepo
Baylor College of Medicine – HEAL
Carolyn Russell Brock and Glen Brock/Ogletree Deakins
Heather Brown/Laura Calaway
Mary S and Jack Dawson
Mark Deaton and Brad Telford/Sarah Flournoy and Don Verser
Susan Guthrie Dunn and Christopher Dunn
Matt Henneman/Henneman Rau Kirklin & Smith LLP
Lazard in honor of Bill White
Marcia West and Ron Lewis

BOOKSHELF
Susan Baird and Leah Lax
Mary and Marcel Baron/Ruth Dreessen and Tom Van Laan
Gracie and Bob Cavnar/Lynn Goode and Harrison Williams
Kelly Cliburn/Meg Malone
Emilie and Ky Cooksey
Jenny Elkins in honor of Mary S Dawson
Brooke and Dan Feather/Bari and David Fishel
Holly and Breen Haire
Caroline Kerr and Andy Lusk
Lucille and Chris King/Hampton & King, P.C.
Katharine and Mosby Perrow
Sarah Beth and Paul Seifert
Diana Strassmann and Jeff Smisek

SEATS
 
EPIC
Carolyn and Platt Davis
Cheryl and Will Jordan
Claire Liu and Joe Greenberg

NOVEL
Consuelo Duroc-Danner
JBD Foundation
Sis and Hasty Johnson
Beverly and Howard Robsinson
Kathryn and Craig Smyser

STORY
Joan Alexander
Janet Clark
Sanford and Susie Criner
Liz and Steve Crowell
Gwendolyn Dawson and Ba Nguyen
Lindsay and Bart Fehr
Cece and Mack Fowler
Jill and Dunham Jewett
Jean and Henry May
Sonal Shah
Doreen Stoller and Daniel Piette
Phoebe and Bobby Tudor
Andrea and Bill White
Anne Whitlock and Michael Skelly
Cyvia G. Wolff

BOOK CLUB
Phoebe Barnard
Liz and Steven Bender
Nancy Dunlap
Laurel and David Isaak
Marilyn Jones and Brad Morris
Hinda Simon
Barbara and Louis Sklar

BOOKSHELF
Kathryn Boehme Bielinski and Peter Bielinski
Ingrid O. Bond
Chris Cander
Nicole Clark
Grayson Cole and Woods Nash
Kate Dearing Fowler/Emily Sketch Haines
Marcia and Keith Fiman
Kate Dearing Fowler/Emily Sketch Haines
Kristianna Foye
Madeleine Callery Hussey
Tayyba Kanwal and Rashed Haq
Elizabeth and Albert Kidd
Caroline and Jemma Leech
Marie and Miles Matter
Kyttie and Bentley Sanford
Brittany Smith and Crit Jones
Liara Tamani and Larry Anismashaun
Emily Wolf and Josh Schaffer

Festivities of the 2024 Inprint Ball

Saturday, February 24, 2024

6:30 pm – Cocktails and Hors D’oeuvres
Music by Latin Carnaval

7 pm – Readings
Salon-style readings by three gifted authors who have benefitted from Inprint programs and support

8 pm – Touring Table Decorations in the Ballroom
Literary-themed tables decorated by table hosts and volunteers featuring books and items from personal collections

8:15 pm – Dinner
Menu designed by Chef Emeritus Robert Del Grande of The Annie Café & Bar

9 pm – Featured Speaker
A keynote talk by Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Doerr over coffee and dessert

After hours – Postscript
The party continues over a nightcap

About Featured Speaker Anthony Doerr

Anthony Doerr, who “takes language beyond its mortal limits” (Vanity Fair), is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel All the Light We Cannot See. Captivating readers around the world, All the Light We Cannot See remained on The New York Times Bestseller List for more than 200 weeks, sold more than nine million copies, and has been adapted into a Netflix limited series. His latest book, Cloud Cuckoo Land, is a “wildly inventive novel that teems with life, straddles an enormous range of experience and learning, and embodies the storytelling gifts that it celebrates” (The New York Times Book Review). Doerr is also the author of the novel About Grace, the memoir Four Seasons in Rome, and the story collections Memory Wall and The Shell Collector. His fiction has been translated into more than 40 languages, and is anthologized in The Best American Short Stories, The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories, and The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Fiction. His numerous honors include five O. Henry Prizes, four Pushcart Prizes, the Rome Prize, the Story Prize (the most prestigious prize in the U.S. for a collection of short stories) and the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award, the largest prize in the world for a single short story. According to The New York Times, Anthony Doerr’s “prose dazzles, his sinewy sentences blending the naturalist’s unswerving gaze with the poet’s gift for metaphor.” Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he now lives in Boise, Idaho with his wife and two sons.

About the Salon Readers

Weijia Pan is a poet and translator from Shanghai, China. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in AGNIBoulevardCincinnati ReviewCopper NickelGeorgia ReviewNew Ohio ReviewPoetry Daily, and elsewhere. Weijia is a third-year MFA candidate at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program (UH CWP), where he received an Inprint C. Glenn Cambor Fellowship and won the Inprint Paul Verlaine Prize in Poetry. His manuscript Motherlands was chosen by Louise Glück as the winner of the 2023 Max Ritvo Poetry Prize and will be published by Milkweed Editions in 2024.

 

Gemini Wahhaj is the author of the novel The Children of This Madness, and the forthcoming short-story collection Katy Family. Her fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Granta, Third Coast, Chicago Quarterly Review, and numerous other magazines. She has a PhD in Creative Writing and Literature from the UH CWP, where she received the Inprint C. Glenn Cambor Fellowship and won the Inprint James A. Michener Award for Fiction, judged by Claudia Rankine. She is Associate Professor of English at Lone Star College in Houston.

 

Adele Elise Williams is the author of Wager, selected by Patricia Smith for the 2024 Miller Williams Poetry Series. An Inprint Nina and Michael Zilkha Fellow, Adele is a PhD candidate in Literature and Creative Writing at the UH CWP, where she serves as Nonfiction Editor for Gulf Coast. She is the winner of an Academy of American Poets Prize, the Inprint Marion Barthelme Prize in Creative Writing, and the Inprint Donald Barthelme Prize for Poetry, and has received a Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts Interdisciplinary Fellowship. With Dana Levin, Adele co-edited the recent volume of the Unsung Masters Series on poet Bert Meyers. Her writing can be found in New Ohio Review, Poetry Northwest, The Georgia Review, Guernica, The Florida Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, and elsewhere.

 

 

Past Inprint Poets & Writers Ball Speakers

Rabih Alameddine
Edward Albee
Martin Amis
Russell Baker
Ann Beattie
Jericho Brown
Michael Chabon
Justin Cronin
Mark Doty
Jeffrey Eugenides
Richard Ford
Kaye Gibbons
Terrance Hayes
Edward Hirsch
Richard Howard
Mary Karr
Tony Kushner
Kevin Kwan
Min Jin Lee
Peter Matthiessen
Colum McCann
Larry McMurtry
Joyce Carol Oates
Michael Ondaatje
George Plimpton
Salman Rushdie
Richard Russo
George Saunders
Curtis Sittenfeld
Paul Theroux
Natasha Trethewey
Calvin Trillin
Scott Turow
Wendy Wasserstein

Highlights from the 2023 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball

Our deepest thanks to the 2023 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball Gala Chairs Michelle and Rishi Varma

HOST COMMITTEE
Melissa and Marrick Armstrong
Laura Calaway
Bettie Cartwright
Grace and Jason Chan
Anne and Albert Chao
Susie and Joe Dilg
Vicky and Tony Estrera
Nijad and Zeina Fares
Cullen Geiselman
Lynn Goode and Harrison Williams
Holly and Breen Haire
Eyvette and Tom Hetherington
Nancy Powell Moore
Franci Neely
Bakeyah Nelson
Una and Eamonn Quigley
Sarah Beth and Paul Seifert
Sapna Singh and Mehul Parikh
Nina and Michael Zilkha

The 2023 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball, which took place on Saturday, February 4, 6:30 pm at the River Oaks Country Club, was a delightful evening celebrating Houston’s literary arts community and Inprint’s 40th anniversary. The Inprint Ball raised more than $447,000, thanks to the leadership of Inprint Ball Chairs Michelle and Rishi Varma, the Host Committee, the Inprint Board, Advisory Board, and Presidents Council, and other generous supporters. The black-tie event was attended by approximately 350 guests.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Inprint Fellow and Prize winner, and University of Houston Creative Writing Program alumnus Jericho Brown was the featured speaker at this year’s black-tie event. He gave a spirited, joyful, and meaningful talk over coffee and dessert about poetry as social activism, playing with poetic form, and finding his voice in Houston. Towards the end of the talk, Brown borrowed a flower crown from a guest and read poems from The Tradition and his other books, plus a new poem inspired by The Jeffersons.

Guests also enjoyed salon-style readings by three gifted young young authors who have benefitted from Inprint programs and support: Josh Estanislao Lopez, author of the poetry collection We Borrowed Gentleness; Oindrila Mukherjee, author of the novel The Dream Builders; and Joy Priest, author of the poetry collection Horsepower. In addition to reading from their work, each spoke eloquently about the importance of Inprint’s support to their life as a writer, their work, and their involvement in the Houston community.

Robert Del Grande, Chef Emeritus of The Annie Café & Bar, designed the menu for the evening and shared an accompanying menu memoir that conveyed the literary inspiration for the meal. Adding to the uniqueness of the evening, table hosts and volunteers decorated each ballroom table on different literary themes. Tables were decorated on Banned Books, Black American Poets, Deep Vellum Press, Dr. Suess, Prep School Lit, Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez, The Tradition by Jericho Brown, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, and Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi, among others.

As a thank you gift for Ball patrons and guests, artists Fiona McGettigan and Alan Krathaus of CORE Design Studio created a handmade limited-edition chapbook, Happy Poems by Jericho Brown, signed by the author, which included poems selected by Brown from all three of his books.

At the end of the evening, guests who wanted to keep the conversation going enjoyed a nightcap at Postscript, an after-hours gathering in the salon. This year’s Ball also honored Inprint’s 40th anniversary with a piece entitled “40 Reasons to Love Inprint,” composed of suggestions from Inprint Board, Advisory Board, and staff members.

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE SUPPORTERS OF THE 2023 INPRINT POETS & WRITERS BALL

VISIONARY
Michelle and Rishi Varma

UNDERWRITERS
Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen
Franci Neely
Nina and Michael Zilkha

BENEFACTORS
Bettie Cartwright
Yini and Dane Collette
Susie and Joe Dilg
Randi Faust and Carl Herman/Edward and Helen Oppenheimer Foundation
Brooke and Dan Feather/Judy and Marc Herzstein
The Financial Advisory Group
Debbie Gary
Sabria and Kevin Lewis/Sidley Austin LLP
Noelle and Eric Reed

SPONSORS
Robin Angly and Miles Smith
Candace Baggett and Ron Restrepo
Katharine Barthelme and Shane Frank/Misty and Surena Matin
Baylor College of Medicine – HEAL
Carolyn Russell Brock and Glen Brock/Ogletree Deakins
Heather Brown/Laura Calaway
Mary S and Jack Dawson
Cullen Geiselman
Marc Grossberg/Bobbie Nau
Matt Henneman/Henneman Rau Kirklin & Smith LLP
Nancy Powell Moore
Una and Eamonn Quigley
Kathryn and Craig Smyser

PATRONS
Melissa and Marrick Armstrong
Mary and Marcel Barone/Ruth Dreessen and Tom Van Laan
Christina Bryan and Trey Peacock/Katie Sammons and Terry Lohrenz
Anne and Albert Chao
J. Mark Deaton and Brad Telford/Sarah Flournoy and Don Verser
Jenny Elkins
Holly and Breen Haire
Eyvette and Tom Hetherington
Caroline Kerr and Andy Lusk/Sarah Beth and Paul Seifert
Lucille and Chris King/Hampton & King PLLC
Claire Liu and Joe Greenberg
Barbara and Louis Sklar/Kelly and Michael Sklar/Suzanne and Jamie McCarthy
Diana Strassmann and Jeff Smisek
Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray
Marcia West and Ron Lewis

INDIVIDUAL VISIONARIES
Nancy C. Allen/The Greentree Fund
Carolyn and Platt Davis
JBD Foundation
Nicole and Evan H. Katz
Lillie Robertson

INDIVIDUAL UNDERWRITERS
Elizabeth and Steven Bender
Liz and Steve Crowell
Jill and Dunham Jewett
Harriet and Truett Latimer
The Marek Family
Gay and Ron Tigner

INDIVIDUAL BENEFACTORS
Jeff Beauchamp
Mary Kay Casey
Gracie and Bob Cavnar
Cathy Chapman
Gwendolyn Dawson and Ba Nguyen
Vicky and Tony Estrera, in honor of Michelle and Rishi Varma
Nijad and Zeina Fares
Cece and Mack Fowler
Heidi and David Gerger
Lynn Goode and Harrison Williams
Sis and Hasty Johnson
Cheryl and Will Jordan
Nancy Manderson
Nancy McGregor and Neal Manne
Hinda Simon
Cyvia Wolff, in honor of Bettie Cartwright, Anne and Albert Chao, Marc Grossberg, and Nina and Michael Zilkha

INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS
Nancy Dunlap
Jean and Henry May
Mary and Mark Poag
Regina Rogers, in honor of Marcia West
Sapna Singh and Mehul Parikh

INDIVIDUAL PATRONS
Phoebe Barnard
Ingrid O. Bond
Chris Cander
Clare Casademont and Michael Metz
Grace and Jason Chan
Grayson Cole and Woods Nash
Susie and Sanford Criner
Annette and John Eldridge
Barbara Faber and Ray Hylenski
Dawn Forsmith and Reuven Hollo
Eleanor and Dan Gilbane
Catherine and Patrick Gillespie
Macarena Hernandez and Charles Alcorn
G.G. Hsieh
Madeline Callery Hussey
Laurel and David Isaak
Jill Ann Jarrell
Jenny and Mark Johnson
Marilyn Jones and Brad Morris
Leah Lax
Caroline Leech and Jemma Leech
Victoria Matthews and Elisa Meadows
William Monroe
Docia and John Rudley
David Enrique Ruiz
Samantha Schnee
Brittany Smith and Crit Jones
Doreen Stoller and Daniel Piette
Ann and Tim Stout
Andrea and Bill White

DONATIONS
Megan Davis
Melanie and Michael Hagerty
Nicole Longnecker and David Pesikoff, in honor of Michelle and Rishi Varma
Patti Melcher
Lee Poythress
Fairfax and Risher Randall
Josh Schaffer, in honor of David Isaak and Ba Nguyen
Liara Tamani and Larry Anismashaun

Highlights from the 2022 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball

Our deepest thanks to the 2022 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball Gala Chair Cullen Geiselman

GALA COMMITTEE
Eloise and Steve Brice
Bettie Cartwright
Anne and Albert Chao
Wendie Seale Childress
Sarah Flournoy
Cece and Mack Fowler
Sis and Hasty Johnson
Stephanie Larsen
Claire Liu and Joe Greenberg
Cathy C. Malone
Meg Malone
Christine and Shea Morenz
Nancy Powell Moore
Franci Neely
Rose and Robby Nelson
Katharine and Mosby Perrow
Carroll Ray
Beth Robertson
Lillie Robertson
Bobbi Samuels
Hinda Simon
Phoebe and Bobby Tudor
Bridget and Patrick Wade
Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray
Anne Whitlock and Michael Skelly
Nina and Michael Zilkha

The 2022 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball, which took place on Saturday, May 21, 6:30 pm at The Briar Club, was a delightful evening for supporters of Houston’s thriving literary community. More than $440,000 was raised, thanks to the leadership of Inprint Ball Chair Cullen Geiselman. The sold-out event was attended by approximately 350 guests.

New York Times bestselling author and former Houstonian Kevin Kwan was the featured speaker at this year’s black-tie event. He sat down with ABC-13 News journalist Melanie Lawson for a lively discussion about turning his novel Crazy Rich Asians into a fabulously successful film, family stories from Singapore, culture shock after moving to Clear Lake at age 11, his happiness growing up in Houston, and the importance of Asian American representation in literature and on screen.

Guests also enjoyed salon-style readings by three gifted young writers, all Inprint fellowship and prize recipients and published authors from the University of Houston Creative Writing Program—Niki Herd, author of The Language of Shedding Skin; Justin Jannise, author of How to Be Better by Being Worse; and Isle McElroy, author of The Atmospherians. In addition to reading from their work, each spoke eloquently about the importance of Inprint’s support of their life as a writer and their involvement in the Houston community.

This year’s Inprint Poets & Writers Ball also honored Inprint Executive Director Rich Levy, who received a standing ovation for his 25 years of service to the organization.

As a thank-you gift for Ball patrons and guests, artists Fiona McGettigan and Alan Krathaus of CORE Design Studio created a handmade limited-edition chapbook based on the opening pages of Kevin Kwan’s latest novel Sex and Vanity, each copy of which was numbered and signed by the author.

Robert Del Grande, the James Beard Award-winning executive chef of The Annie Café & Bar, designed a three-course menu for the evening and shared an accompanying menu “memoir” which captured the literary inspiration for the meal. Adding to the elegance of the evening, table hosts and volunteers decorated each ballroom table on different literary themes. Tables were decorated on Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, Dune by Frank Herbert, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, beach reads, feminist literature, and banned books, among other themes.

At the end of the evening, guests who wanted to keep the conversation going enjoyed a “Crazy Rich Cocktail” in honor of Rich Levy at Postscript, an after-hours gathering on the balcony of the Briar Club.

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE SUPPORTERS OF THE 2022 INPRINT POETS & WRITERS BALL

VISIONARY
Lillie Robertson, in honor of Rich Levy

UNDERWRITERS
Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen
Noelle and Eric Reed
Nina and Michael Zilkha

BENEFACTORS
Mary S and Jack Dawson/Caroline Kerr and Andy Lusk/Sarah Beth and Paul Seifert
Brooke and Dan Feather/Judy and Marc Herzstein
The Financial Advisory Group
Sarah Flournoy/Brad Telford and J. Mark Deaton
Debbie Gary
Cullen Geiselman
Sabria and Kevin Lewis/Sidley Austin LLP
Meg Malone
Nancy Powell Moore/Bobbi Samuels
Beth Robertson, in honor of Cullen Geiselman
Michelle and Rishi Varma
Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray

SPONSORS
Robin Angly and Miles Smith
Candace Baggett and Ron Restrepo
Karen and Mike Brisch
Carolyn Russell Brock/Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Bettie Cartwright
Anne and Albert Chao
Carolyn and Platt Davis
Gulf Coast
Carolyn Roch and Matt Henneman/Henneman Rau LLP
Marcia West and Ron Lewis

PATRONS
Susan Baird and Leah Lax
Mary and Marcel Barone
Eloise and Steve Brice – University of Houston
Heather Brown/Laura Calaway
Jenny Elkins, in honor of Mary S Dawson
Kate and Stephen Fowler
Catherine and Patrick Gillespie
Kathryn Kase and Jeff Cohen/Anne Whitlock and Michael Skelly
Lucille and Chris King/Hampton & King PLLC
Claire Liu and Joe Greenberg
Marilyn Miller and Robert Huntley
Franci Neely, in honor of Rich Levy
Barbara and Louis Sklar/Suzanne and Jamie McCarthy/Kelly and Michael Sklar

INDIVIDUAL VISIONARIES
Susie and Joe Dilg
Nancy Dunlap
Consuelo Duroc-Danner
Cece and Mack Fowler
Judy and Charles Tate
Phoebe and Bobby Tudor

INDIVIDUAL UNDERWRITERS
Christina Bryan and Trey Peacock
Liz and Steve Crowell

INDIVIDUAL BENEFACTORS
Phoebe Barnard
Sarah and Will Choi
Gwendolyn Dawson and Ba Nguyen
Sis and Hasty Johnson
Cheryl and Will Jordan
Harriet and Truett Latimer
Nancy McGregor and Neal Manne, in honor of Cullen Geiselman and Mary S Dawson
Doreen Stoller and Daniel Piette

INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS
Luba and Alan Bigman
Grace Chan
Eleanor and Dan Gilbane
Victoria and Michel Hohertz
Page Kempner and Chris Johns-Krull
Jean and Henry May
David Enrique Ruiz
Michelle and Clifford Shedd
Hinda Simon
Liara Tamani and Larry Animashaun
Sannam and Scott Warrender

INDIVIDUAL PATRONS
Jeff Beauchamp
Shushana and Jack Castle
Nicole Clark
Lynda and David Daniel
Ted Estess and Bill Monroe – The Honors College
Zeina and Nijad Fares
Marcia and Keith Fiman
Dawn Forsmith and Reuven Hollo
Rebecca Grant, in honor of Rich Levy
Valerie and Rick Greiner
Marc Grossberg
Patricia Hunt Holmes and Bill Brown
G.G. Hsieh
Marilyn Jones and Brad Morris, in honor of Rich Levy
Victoria H. Lightman
Cathy C. Malone
Jeri Nordbrock and Theodora Andrews
Katharine and Mosby Perrow
Regina Rogers
Sarah Rothenberg and Robert Azencott, in honor of Rich Levy
Docia and John Rudley
Lois and George Stark, in honor of Cullen Geiselman
Bridget and Patrick Wade
Andrea and Bill White
Elizabeth Whittemore
Jill Whitten and Rob Proctor

DONATIONS
Robin and Dick Brooks
Wendie Seale Childress
Cyvia Wolff, in honor of Lynn Baird, Ann Friedman, Marc Grossberg, and Lois Stark

Highlights from the 2021 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball

The 2021 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball—Inprint’s annual fundraising gala which went virtual this year due to the spread of COVID-19—was a festive, engaging, collective, and inclusive experience, especially for those passionate about sustaining Houston’s literary arts scene. More than $280,000 was raised, surpassing the fundraising goal by close to 20%, thanks to the generosity of 250 donors who tuned in from all over the country on Saturday, February 6.

Although the Inprint Ball looked a little different this year, gala supporters and their guests were able to enjoy the festivities from home. The presentation portion of the evening began at 7:30 pm CST featuring welcome remarks by Inprint Board President Marcia West, followed by a video tribute in memory of recently departed Inprint founders Glenn Cambor and Karl Kilian.

This was followed by a series of short readings by Inprint fellowship and prize recipients, all of whom are MFA and PhD students and alumni from the University of Houston. Five Inprint fellows, including Raquel Abend van Dalen, Lauren Berry, Matthew Salesses, Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, and Sasha West, each read excerpts from their new work and spoke about how Inprint’s support has impacted their writing life.

As a special treat, gala attendees then had the opportunity to enjoy brief remarks from Inprint National Advisory Council members Sandra Cisneros, Richard Ford, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Salman Rushdie, who each spoke eloquently about their own connection to Inprint and the importance of supporting the organization.

Executive Director Rich Levy followed by introducing MacArthur Fellow and Booker Prize winner George Saunders, the featured speaker of the gala. Saunders, also a member of the Inprint National Advisory Council, gave a moving talk about the role of storytelling in cultivating compassion and how Inprint’s work is doing that in a variety of ways in Houston. Afterwards, Saunders participated in a lively conversation with Ricardo Nuila—Inprint Advisory Board member, Baylor College of Medicine physician and hospitalist, and director of the Baylor Narrative Medicine Program.

In addition to the presentation portion of the gala, the Inprint staff arranged private Zoom salon sessions for six tables with visits from George Saunders and Inprint fellowship and prize recipients.

Several guests also opted to enjoy a three-course dinner and wine catered by A Fare Extraordinaire, included with each seat and table level contribution. Many also enjoyed the music provided by renowned Houston guitarist Edward Grigassy and his ensemble Latin Carnival.

As a thank you gift, all attendees received a signed, limited edition chapbook of George Saunders’ I CAN SPEAK!™ created by Fiona McGettigan and Alan Krathaus of CORE Design Studio. Others also received a copy of Saunders’ A Swim in the Pond in the Rain.

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE SUPPORTERS OF THE 2021 INPRINT POETS & WRITERS BALL

VISIONARIES
Chinhui and Eddie Allen/Nancy Allen/Anne and Albert Chao

UNDERWRITERS
Susie and Joe Dilg
Sabria and Kevin Lewis/Michelle and Rishi Varma/Sidley Austin LLP
Nina and Michael Zilkha

BENEFACTORS
Randi Faust and Carl Herman/Edward and Helen Oppenheimer Foundation
The Financial Advisory Group
Franci Neely
Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray

SPONSORS
Candace Baggett and Ron Restrepo
Mary S and Jack Dawson/Caroline Kerr and Andy Lusk
Robbi Jones/Marcia West and Ron Lewis
Suzanne and Jamie McCarthy/Barbara and Louis Sklar/Kelly and Michael Sklar
Carolyn Roch and Matt Henneman/Henneman Rau LLP

PATRONS
Robin Angly and Miles Smith
Christina Bryan and Trey Peacock/Katie Sammons and Terry Lohrenz
Bettie Cartwright
Sarah and Will Choi
Carolyn and Platt Davis
Jenny Elkins, in honor of Mary S Dawson
Debbie Gary
Cullen Geiselman
Margaret and Alan Hill/Bobbi Samuels
Stephanie Larsen
Kathryn and Craig Smyser
Thompson & Knight Foundation

INDIVIDUAL VISIONARIES
Liz and Steve Crowell
Phoebe and Bobby Tudor

INDIVIDUAL UNDERWRITERS
Susan Baird and Leah Lax
Luba and Alan Bigman
Gwendolyn Dawson and Ba Nguyen
Cece and Mack Fowler
Sis and Hasty Johnson
Nancy Manderson
The Marek Family
Nancy McGregor and Neal Manne
Anne Whitlock and Michael Skelly

INDIVIDUAL BENEFACTORS
Betsy and G. Hughes Abell
Phoebe Barnard
Laura Calaway
Clare Casademont and Michael Metz
Gracie and Bob Cavnar
Consuelo Duroc-Danner
Laurel and David Isaak
Jill and Dunham Jewett
Caroline and Perryn Leech
Misty and Surena Matin
William Monroe
Una and Eamonn Quigley
Michelle and Cliff Shedd
Cyvia Wolff, in honor of Marc Grossberg

INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS
Ingrid Osborn Bond
Susan Edwards
Marilyn Miller and Robert Huntley, in honor of Marcia West
Beverly Robinson

INDIVIDUAL PATRONS
Melissa and Marrick Armstrong
Mary and Marcel Barone
Katharine B. Barthelme and Shane Frank
Jeff Beauchamp
Paige Cawthon
Grayson Cole and Woods Nash
Gulchin Ergun and Matthew McBride
Sharyn Feller and David Harris, in honor of Marcia West
Dawn Forsmith and Reuven Hollo
Rachel and Bud Frazier
Eleanor and Dan Gilbane
Lynn Goode and Harrison Williams
Valerie and Rick Greiner
Victoria and Michael Hohertz
Patricia Holmes
G.G. Hsieh
Victoria Lightman
Alison Leland
Joan and John Mauel
Kristin and Grant Meikle
Bob Milbrath
The Oshman Foundation/Marilyn Oshman
Docia and John Rudley
David Ruiz
Hinda Simon
Evelyn Snow
Doreen Stoller and Dan Piette
Jennifer and John Vogel
Jill Whitten

DONATIONS
Angela and Charles Alcorn
Robin and Dick Brooks
Shelia Dansby Harvey
Elouise and Harry Jones
Rosalie and Robert Rivera, in honor of Ricardo Rivera
Lucille Weiss

Highlights from the 2020 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball

Our special thanks to 2020 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball Gala Chairs Anne Whitlock & Michael Skelly

GALA COMMITTEE
Katherine Abba and Patrick Herlihy
Oni Blair and Chris Hensman
Laura Calaway
Bettie Cartwright
Anne and Albert Chao
Susie and Sanford Criner
Susie and Joe Dilg
Kristina and Jeff Fort
Cece and Mack Fowler
Debbie Gary
Cullen Geiselman
Licia Green-Ellis and Commissioner Rodney Ellis
Judy and Marc Herzstein
Jill and Dunham Jewett
Sis and Hasty Johnson
Kathryn Kase and Jeff Cohen
Bryn Larsen and Stephanie Larsen
Nancy Powell Moore
Bakeyah Nelson
Alexandra and David Pruner
Kathryn and Craig Smyser
Phoebe and Bobby Tudor
Andrea and Bill White
Nina and Michael Zilkha

The 2020 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball, now in its 34th year, took place on Saturday, February 8, 6:30 pm at The Houstonian (111 North Post Oak Lane, 77024) – a memorable celebration of the literary arts and Inprint’s impact in the community. More than $340,000 was raised for Inprint’s annual fundraising gala, thanks to the leadership of Inprint Ball Chairs Anne Whitlock & Michael Skelly. Approximately 380 guests attended the annual event.

Over coffee and dessert, after a lively introduction by the Ball Chairs, featured speaker Terrance Hayes, National Book Award winning poet and MacArthur Foundation Fellow, gave an engaging talk about the poet’s creative process. As a thank-you gift for Inprint Ball patrons and guests, book artists Cathy Hunt and Fiona McGettigan of FioCat Press created a signed, limited-edition chapbook, A Poem By You by Terrance Hayes. This handmade book, which features new poetry and drawings by Terrance, wonderfully complimented his interactive talk.

A hush fell over the room of attendees as they scribbled in their chapbooks and followed along with Terrance’s talk. Prompted by the poet, many guests wanted to share the lines they wrote in their chapbooks, which were received with great enthusiasm. The crowd was energized by Terrance’s talk and some attendees remarked afterward that they would continue working on their poems later at home.

Once again, attendees experienced a delicious menu designed by James Beard Award-winning chef Robert Del Grande of The Annie Café & Bar. A vignette by Del Grande describing his inspiration was printed on the back of the menu card and placed at each setting for guests to enjoy. Before dinner, patrons cheered for a brief film about Inprint’s inpiring literary and community programs, and Inprint Board President Kevin Lewis welcomed everyone and thanked the Ball Chairs for their leadership and the gala donors for their invaluable support and involvement.

Showcasing the passion for books among the attendees, table hosts and volunteers decorated each ballroom table on different literary themes. Table decoration themes included Terrance Hayes’ works and influences, How to Be Drawn by Terrance Hayes, City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert, The Topeka School by Ben Lerner, The Library Book by Susan Orlean, Frontera fiction, the writings of Chitra Divakaruni, books on Antarctica, and more.

At the end of the evening, guests who wanted to keep the conversation going enjoyed a nightcap at Postscript, an after-hours gathering in the lobby bar of The Houstonian.

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE SUPPORTERS OF THE 2020 INPRINT POETS & WRITERS BALL

VISIONARY
Laura and John Arnold

UNDERWRITER
Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray/ Katie Sammons and Terry Lohrenz/ Chris Bryan and Trey Peacock
Nina and Michael Zilkha

BENEFACTORS
Chinhui and Eddie Allen
Randi Faust and Carl Herman/Edward and Helen Oppenheimer Foundation
The Financial Advisory Group
Eleanor and Dan Gilbane/Luba and Alan Bigman/Sannam and Scott Warrender
Judy and Marc Herzstein/Brooke and Dan Feather
Sis and Hasty Johnson
Bryn Larsen and Stephanie Larsen
Sabria and Kevin Lewis/Sidley Austin LLP
Nancy Powell Moore/Bobbi and Vic Samuels
Smyser, Kaplan & Veselka
Anne Whitlock and Michael Skelly

SPONSORS
Henneman Rau LLP/Carolyn Roch and Matt Henneman
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C./Carolyn Russell Brock
Barbara and Louis Sklar/ Kelly and Michael Sklar/ Suzanne and Jamie McCarthy

PATRONS
Kathi Abba and Pat Herlihy
Dina Alsowayel and Tony Chase
Robin Angly and Miles Smith
Candace Baggett and Ron Restrepo
Liz and Steve Crowell
Mary S and Jack Dawson/Susie and Joe Dilg
Cullen Geiselman
Lazard
Morgan and Brad Moody
Louisa Stude Sarofim
Thompson & Knight Foundation
Phoebe and Bobby Tudor
Michelle and Rishi Varma
Marcia West and Ron Lewis

INDIVIDUAL VISIONARIES
Reinette and Stan Marek

INDIVIDUAL UNDERWRITERS
Anne and Albert Chao
Gwendolyn Dawson and Ba Nguyen
Kristina and Jeff Fort
Debbie Gary

INDIVIDUAL BENEFACTORS
Katharine Bowdoin Barthelme
Jeff Beauchamp
Karen and Michael Brisch
Laura and John Calaway
Bettie Cartwright
Clare Casademont and Michael Metz
Susie and Sanford Criner
Natalie DeLuca
Marty and Richard Finger
Cece and Mack Fowler, in honor of Anne Whitlock and Michael Skelly
Rachel and Bud Frazier
Lynn Goode
Cheryl and Will Jordan
Nancy Manderson
Nancy and Neal Manne
Misty and Surena Matin
Sara and Bill Morgan, in honor of Ann Shaw
The Oshman Foundation
Hinda Simon
Cyvia Wolff, in honor of Marc Grossberg

INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS
Mary Kay Casey
Gulchin A. Ergun and Matthew A. McBride

INDIVIDUAL PATRONS
Betty and W.K. Adam
Oni Blair and Chris Hensman
Cheryl and EJ Buckingham III
Chris Cander
Shushana and Jack Castle
Gracie and Bob Cavnar
Grayson Cole and Woods Nash
Lynda Daniel
Carolyn and Platt Davis
Jayshree Desai
Susan Dunwoody and Katie Neese
Bari Fishel, in honor of Brooke and Dan Feather
Tobey Forney
Dawn Forsmith and Reuven Hollo
Manisha Gandhi
Alison de Lima Greene
Valerie and Rick Greiner
Peggy and Alan Hill
Victoria and Michael Hohertz
Patricia Holmes
Georgia Hsieh
Elizabeth and Albert Kidd
Ashby Lang
Harriet Latimer
Patricia Lawrence and Bill Van Sweringen
Caroline, Jemma, and Perryn Leech
Victoria H. Lightman
Anna and Phillip Mavromatis
Pat McEnery and Jack Fletcher
Joan McKirachan
Francy Mitchell
Jeri Nordbrock, in honor of Anne Whitlock and Michael Skelly
Vivie and Chris O’Sullivan,  in honor of Kevin Lewis
Eamonn Quigley
Regina Rogers, in honor of Rachel Frazier
Docia Rudley
David Enrique Ruiz
Karen and Cooper Smith
Doreen Stoller and Daniel Piette
Olivia Thomas and Richard Schechter
University of Houston Honors College
Andrea and Bill White