Supermodel and novelist Paulina Porizkova, like many of the writers who came to Jefferson, Texas, for the Pulpwood Queens "Girlfriends Weekend," allowed festival organizer and local hairstylist Kathy Patrick (along with her staff) to give her the "big hair" treatment for Saturday night's "Ball of Hair." (It used to be called the "Hair Ball," but apparently some outfit finally got in touch with Patrick about the trademark they put on that phrase and her lawyer said it was easier to just change the name.) Here she poses with members of one of several regional Pulpwood Queens book clubs who entered in the evening's traditional costume competition. You can see how radical some of the makeovers were from this before-and-after series of photos with Deborah Rodriguez, the author of Kabul Beauty School.

Geoffrey Gluckman, who came to the festival with copies of his iUniverse novel Deadly Exchange for sale (way to show that hustle!), picked up the annual "Timber Man" prize with this buckteethed Buddy Holly costume—in real life, he's a much handsomer guy. As you can see from this picture of me with novelists Andrea Portes and Cai Emmons, I didn't even put myself in the running. (Like all the male authors, I was roped into the "dance competition," but Will Clarke and I quickly gravitated to the far end of the floor and let Gluckman take center stage.)

Portes had the best story about getting to Jefferson: Having missed her ride from the airport in Shrevesport, Louisiana, she wound up hitching with two poultry executives, dropped her bags off at her hotel, walked into the bar across the street, and said, "Anybody know where I can find Kathy Patrick?" Yeah, somebody told her, she's down the block. And she was!