Lars Eighner's US Bookstore Presents The Texas Institute of Letters Authors

(Laurence Vail) Lars Eighner was born November 25, 1948, in Corpus Christi, the grandson of Texas poets Alice Ewing Vail and John Arthur Vail, who particpated in the founding of the Corpus Christi Fine Arts Colony, where Eighner studied fiction under George Williams. He grew up in Houston and was graduated from Lamar High School in 1966. He attend the University of Texas at Austin doing major work in ethnic studies. He began writing for publication in 1980, and for a time in the early '90s, everything he had produced for publication was in print.

After he was informed that his work had been exclude from consideration for The Austin Writers League's Violet Crown awards because of his sexuality, and after being badly used by Laura Bush's Texas Book Festival, he gave up writing except for sporadic attempts at pot-boiling reviews. His papers, notes, and works in progress were lost after the Southwestern Writers Collection at Texas State University (then Southwest State University) refused to accept them.

His books include Bayou Boy and Other Stories, Travels with Lizbeth (memoir) Pawn to Queen Four (novel), B.M.O.C. (stories), American Prelude (stories), and Gay Cosmos (essays).