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    Shop local, read global

    Best-selling author opens his home to Houston readers in virtual event

    Holly Beretto
    Jul 10, 2020 | 3:03 pm
    Daniel Silva author
    Buy a book, hang with Daniel Silva.
    Photo by Marco Grob

    It's not every day readers get invited into the home of a best-selling writer such as Daniel Silva. But, in the time of COVID-19, that's exactly what awaits fans of the thriller genre, thanks to an event produced by HarperCollins Publishers via Crowdcast on July 14 — and offered in partnership with independent bookstores around the country, including Murder by the Book in Houston and The Twig in San Antonio.

     

    Readers who buy a copy of New York Times best-selling author Daniel Silva's new book, The Order, will receive a special invitation link for a virtual event with the author at his home. The discussion promises to be be a lively exchange, as the author will be interviewed by his wife, Jamie Gangel, an award-winning special correspondent for CNN.

     

    "Danny and Jamie have been such incredible supporters of ours over the years," McKenna Jordan, owner of Murder by the Book tells CultureMap. "It's weird not seeing him. His events are always great; the store is just packed with people who've come to know him and his work over the years. It's like a homecoming. So, I think this will be a really fun opportunity for readers, to see a different side of his writing life."

     

    The July 14 event, which coincides with the book's release date, will incorporate details about the new book, the 20th in Silva's Gabriel Allon series. It finds his protagonist, the director of Israeli intelligence — who's also an art restorer and assassin — on vacation in Venice, when he gets a call from his old friend, Archbishop Luigi Donati, the pope's private secretary. Pope Paul VII has died, and Donati's not convinced it was under natural circumstances.

     

    Taking place in the 10 days between the pope's funeral and the conclave to elect a new pope, Allon and Donati race to uncover a sinister plot by a far-right organization to take over the papacy.

     

    Jordan and her team have offered a series of virtual live events on Facebook, and have sent out emails with videos from store staff offering reading recommendations. This event folds into the store's current efforts, even though the publisher is spearheading it.

     

    For Claudio Maceo, who manages The Twig, having assistance with a virtual event is an asset. The store, which offers educational books and materials, as well as popular fiction and nonfiction, has been open throughout the pandemic, albeit with stricter measures on crowd control. Maceo says the store has seen an increase in online sales, and has offered both curbside pickup and delivery for patrons.

     

    "Harper Collins reached out and asked us if we'd like to participate in the event," she notes. "All we had to do was order the books. They made it so easy."

     

    The event serves as an important marker for the store, which Maceo says is working to increase the number of virtual events it offers. She's invested in technology and training to amp up the store's social media presence, and feels having an event of this magnitude will be a boon.

     

    "We've had out patrons tell us, 'We appreciate you.' People realize what an important resource a small business like this is to the community."

     

    One of those people is Silva, himself, who's long made stops at independent bookstores during his more than 20 years as a novelist. In an interview with CultureMap, he shares concern about how these stores have fared during the pandemic.

     

    "I worry about all the wonderful people I’ve meet over the years who run indie bookstores and I have gone out of my way, bent over backwards, done everything I can to support independents," he says. "And will continue to do so."

     

    He echoes Jordan's statement about not being on tour, and how strange it is to not see people he's become used to visiting with annually.

     

    "It’s just a weird feeling to not be getting on a plane in a couple of days and starting a book tour. So, we’ll make the best of it with these virtual events," he laughs. "I guess the main difference is, they’ll see the inside of my house. I’m told I’m supposed to let people into my office. I’m not so sure about that."

     

    What's guaranteed to happen, however, is a fun discussion about The Order, as well as Silva's writing style.

     

    "I really do lie on the floor and write my books in longhand in pencil and have a real monastic existence [while working]," he notes.

     

    The discussion should prove engaging for fans and newcomers to the series, alike. Silva said he's been mulling over the plot and themes of The Order for some time. In addition to the rise of far-right factions across the globe, The Order also takes on anti-Semitism, which has seen alarming spikes over the last few years. (Thus far, 2019 was the worst year on record for anti-Semitism, according to the Anti Defamation League.)

     

    "I have been struck time and time again by how many people, including devout Christians, devout Catholics, who don’t realize and don’t understand that the source of anti-Semitism is the gospel’s account of the suffering and death of Jesus," explains Silva. "That the way Jesus' death was portrayed in the canonical gospels, that is source of nearly 2,000 years of antisemitism. And, with the benefit of modern critical biblical scholarship and modern historical techniques, we’ve been able to have a better understanding of why the gospels were written the way they were, how they were written. And how the story, and why the story, was told the way it was."

     

    Silva's wrapped those sentiments around a fast-paced mystery about a secret gospel, and how its contents are so explosive it could upend the church. Readers familiar with the series will notice the compressed timeline, and also that the story takes place mostly within the Vatican, and not the global cosmopolitan locales where Allon usually finds himself. For those who've followed the Gabriel Allon stories, it'll be a welcome addition to the canon, but it's a terrific read without knowing the backstory, an adventure that blends mystery and history and the feel of current events.

     

    And while Silva certainly wishes he could be on the road, he feels it's better for the safety of all that he isn't. But, inviting his readers into his workspace is the next best thing.

     

    "It feels weird to be doing an event and speaking into a screen, but we’ll do the best we can," Silva says. "It’s going to be surreal, that’s for sure."

     

     ---

     

     Houston readers can also access another virtual event with Silva, in support of the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center in partnership with Brazos Bookstore on July 15. Dallas readers can be part of a live Q&A with the author and Jim Faulk of the World Affairs Council and Laura Hartman of the Dallas Art Museum on July 16.

     
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    news/arts

    Best July Art

    Where to see art in Houston now: 9 fun new exhibits opening in July

    Tarra Gaines
    Jul 9, 2025 | 4:30 pm
    ​Artechouse presents "Blooming Worlds"
    Photo courtesy of Artechouse
    Artechouse presents "Blooming Worlds"

    Art blooms in our world class museums but also on our city streets this July. From exhibitions featuring traditional paintings and sculptures to high tech immersive and interactive shows, we’re weaving art into the best of summertime fun and dreaming up beautiful new artistic creations all over Houston.

    “Town Meeting 1978-2028” at Art League Houston (now through July 20)
    Pioneering Houston-based interdisciplinary artists Nick Vaughan and Jake Margolin continue their decades-long project to create new and sometimes monumental artworks in response to little-known pre-Stonewall queer histories. For this latest exhibition, the duo explore a more recent and influential piece of Houston history, “Town Meeting I,” the pivotal convening of 4,000 LGBTQIA+ Houstonians at the Astro Arena in 1978. For this show at Art League, they’ve used their “wind drawing” technique of stenciling unfixed charcoal powder on paper and blowing it away, leaving a ghost-image. Using archival images of “Town Meeting I” as the bases of their stenciling, the finished “wind drawings” highlight the ephemerality, beauty, and loss of queer histories. In addition to these new works, Vaughan and Margolin hope to inspire, facilitate, and develop programming in 2028 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of “Town Meeting 1.”

    “Fragmentos de un sueño que yo también soñé (Fragments of a Dream I Also Dreamed)" at Art League Houston (now through July 20)
    “Every house is a body, and every individual body is a house full of memories and hopes,” says award-winning Venezuela born, Chicago-based artist, Jeffly Gabriela Molina, of her artistic focus. Molina’s fragmented, layered, and figural compositions explore that idea of home and memories. Delving into memories and stories, these figurative compositions, depicting people and relationships, fluctuate between stories of the present, past, and future. Taken together, the works in “Fragmentos de un sueño” aim to visually capture the feelings of vulnerability, nostalgia, and hope embedded in the experience of many immigrants. Art League notes that Molina’s pieces emphasize optimism over hardship, specifically addressing the longing for a home that no longer exists while striving to create a new one.

    “Every Fiber of Their Bodies” at Art League Houston (now through July 20)
    Working with natural fibers such as linen, paper collage, and hand-spun paper yarn made from calligraphy paper and book pages, textile artist Lin Qiqing weaves stories ofhuman relationships, gender, immigration, and language. As the title hints, the labor-intensive weaving process brings thematic depth to the images of bodies depicted in the pieces. The woven pieces also make connections to the natural world, as when Lin crumples then smooths handmade mulberry paper to resemble human skin, or when she uses handwoven fiber to mimic the body’s movement. Lin process includes research and experimenting with natural materials to explore themes of the internal human struggle for existence and our interactions with the world around us.

    “Annual Juried Exhibition” at Archway Gallery (now through July 31)
    For the 17th year, the artist owned Archway Gallery celebrates Houston artists with its juried exhibition of area artists who are not members of the space. This year’s exhibition is juried by Project Row Houses founder and MacArthur "genius" fellow, Rick Lowe. The acclaimed artist and social activist has selected work from over 35 area artists representing a diversity of medium and styles. Sales from the exhibition will go to Houston’s Brave Little Company, the theater company for Houston’s kids and their gown ups.

    “Foyer Installation: René Magritte” at Menil Collection (now through August 3)
    After a critically acclaimed trip to Australia, some of our favorite Belgian-born Houstonians are back home. Yes, the Magritte paintings have returned to the Menil Collection after taking a star turn in a monumental Magritte retrospective at Sydney’s Art Gallery of New South Wales. Now the Menil is celebrating their return with a special installation in the main building foyer. The Menil Collection owns the largest collection of work by René Magritte outside the artist’s native Belgium, and this display focuses on a core group of paintings from the 1950s and ’60s that truly represent Magritte’s status as a master creator of impossible painted worlds and an icon of the Surrealist movement. The paintings were purchased within a couple years of their making by the museum’s founders, John and Dominique de Menil. They represent and important part of 20th century art history, as the de Menils became Magritte’s biggest champions in the United States, helping to shape the artist’s reception and reputation in the postwar American art world. Stop by to welcome them home and slip into their enigmatic wonder.

    “Blooming Wonders” at Artechouse (now through September)
    The latest immersive exhibition from the Houston venue that brings art, science, and technology home together, Artechouse, lets the flowers blossom. The exhibition contains several dynamic installations, including “Timeless Butterflies,” a 270 degrees projection space that puts visitors in the middle of a butterfly cloud. Audiences journey with a flock of butterflies into an immense garden of flowers. Another immersive piece, “Infinite Blooms” takes audiences on a journey through an endless digital forest of cherry blossoms. The installation, “Akousmaflore et Lux” creates a very different type of garden where plants transform into musical instruments. “Clay Pillar” by Interactive Items / Vadim Mirgorodskii invites visitors to sculpt new forms using clay and a little help from an AI program. Note that “Blooming Wonders” runs simultaneously with the rock ‘n’ roll exhibition, “Amplified” with “Wonders” open during the daytime.

    “Weci | Koninut” at Avenida Houston (now through September 1)
    Houston is a place for big dreams, and this wondrous outdoor exhibition near George R. Brown Convention Center gives us the space to do so. Created by First Nations artists Julie-Christina Picher and Dave Jenniss, this interactive installation weaves together visual arts, Indigenous storytelling and sensory technologies in the form of six immense sculptural dreamcatchers. Each of these dreamcatchers are unique and represent one of the six seasons from the Atikamekw culture, an Indigenous people in Canada. Activated by people passing by, the dreamcatchers come to life with lights, sounds, and story, making the whole installation truly interactive. “Weci | Koninut” creators say that they want the installation to offer a total immersion experience for visitors, to create a moment where nature and dreams converge. Each piece offers a place for the public to slow down, sit, reflect, and yes, dream.

    New Murals in the East End and Midtown (ongoing)
    We could spend days viewing all the new murals painted across town, just in the last few years. But in honor of summer outdoor art viewing, we thought we’d spotlight two noteworthy new additions to our city-wide gallery of murals. As part of his major exhibition last spring at the CAMH, Vincent Valdez worked with San Antonio muralist Rubio and local students to create “Memoria, Memory.” Dedicated to his mother Theresa Santana Valdez (1947–2020), the vivid mural on historic Navigation Boulevard features her favorite bird and flower. Over in Midtown, check out “Stellar Illumination,” the latest installation in the city’s Big Walls Big Dreams mural series. Created by Robin Munro, also known as Dread, the seven stories high “Illumination” depicts a celestial scene of an astronaut gazing at Earth from space.

    “The Weight of Place” at Anya Tish Gallery (July 11-August 23)
    This group exhibition will explore themes of memory and the emotional, psychological, and physical landscapes memories can evoke. The will showcase three contemporary Texas-based female artists: Megan Harrison, Marisol Valencia, and Lillian Warren. While these artists work in different mediums–including large-scale paintings, mixed media works, and elegant porcelain sculptures–they are inspired by personal reflection and nature to create artworks that reflect on the ways we hold onto the past through sensory experience.

    “In Residence: 18th Edition” at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (July 12-June 27, 2026)
    This annual exhibition celebrating the Center’s Artist Residency Program reaches it’s big 18th anniversary. Over the many years, the residency program has supported so many emerging, mid-career, and established artists working in all craft media. The program gives them a space for creative exploration, exchange, and collaboration with other artists, arts professionals, and the public. Now arts and craft lovers will get a chance to see the culmination of that work with this exhibition featuring pieces in fiber, clay, copper, and found objects by 2024-2025 resident artists Prerata Bradley, Stephanie Bursese, Atisha Fordyce, Nela Garzón, Gbenga Komolafe, Gabo Martinez, Preetika Rajgariah, Macon Reed, Jamie Sterling Pitt, Adam Whitney, and Dongyi Wu.

    “My Texas” at Our Texas Cultural Center (July 27-August 22)
    Award winning, Russian-born photographer, Anatoliy Kosterev, chronicles his personal exploration of Texas with photographs he took around the Lone Star State. The photos offer extraordinary views of Texas, from our dynamic cities to dramatic and sometimes lonesome landscapes. Kosterev’s photographic style blends science and technology with an artistic eye. He puts those two perspectives into practice when documenting all facets of life in Texas. Using HDR, drone imaging, macro photography, and traditional camera methods, he captures a diversity of subjects from quiet human moments to vast landscapes to delicate close-ups of insects and flowers.

    \u200bArtechouse presents "Blooming Worlds"
      

    Photo courtesy of Artechouse

    Artechouse presents "Blooming Worlds."

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