Deborah Wiles joins the Festival

Deborah Wiles is the beloved author of Love, Ruby Lavender and Each Little Bird That Sings, a National Book Award finalist and winner of the E.B. White Read Aloud Award. The Aurora County All-Stars will be released in August and deftly combines baseball, Walt Whitman’s poetry, a friend’s betrayal, and one boy’s powerful discovery of words. Ms. Wiles will participate in the Reading Rock Stars program as well as talk about her work at the Festival.




Magic in the Entertainment Tent

Kent Cummins has been a magician for more than 50 years, having made the commitment before starting school in his home town of Del Rio, Texas. Opening a Gilbert "Mysto Magic" set from his dad for Christmas, Kent went into his room, closed the door, opened the box of miracles and said to himself, "I'm going to be a magician!" He will appear in the Children’s Entertainment Tent at the Festival this year; please check back for a full Festival schedule.


Newbery Medal winner Linda Sue Park to Appear at Festival

The Texas Book Festival is delighted to announce that Linda Sue Park, who won the 2002 Newbery Medal for her novel A Single Shard, will be one of the authors appearing at the Festival this year. Her latest children’s books include the novels Project Mulberry and Archer’s Quest, the picture book Bee-bim Bop!, and, most recently, Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo Poems, a unique poetry collection with Korean roots. Ms. Park, who recently competed on the television game show Jeopardy!, lives in Rochester, New York with her family.





National Book Award-winning author Kimberly Willis Holt will talk about her new book Piper Reed, Navy Brat during the Book Festival, which takes place November 3-4.



Banner illustrations:
Left: Illustration copyright ©2006 by Jenny Mattheson from No Bows!, written by Shirley Smith Duke and published by Peachtree Publishers. Permission for use granted by Peachtree Publishers.
Middle: Illustration copyright ©2006 by Doug Holgate from The Adventures of Zack Proton and the Warlords of Nibblecheese by Brian Anderson. Used with permission of Aladdin Paperbacks an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Right: Illustration copyright ©2006 by Gabi Swiatkowska.