The 2019 Kirkus Reviews Tent

We’re pleased to once again partner with Kirkus Reviewsthe prominent American review magazine and one of the most trusted voices in book discovery, to present a full weekend of literary sessions for readers of all ages in the Kirkus Reviews Tent on Eleventh Street.

Kicking off the weekend is a high-power panel of the 2019 Kirkus Prize Finalists. The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. Don’t miss this chance to hear them talk about their acclaimed work.

The Kirkus Reviews Tent is in the center of the Festival, close to the Book Sales Tents and the C-Span2/BookTV Tent. Be sure to stop by!


 Saturday


Meet the 2019 Kirkus Prize Finalists!
10:00AM – 11:00AM, Saturday 10/26
Kirkus Reviews, the nation’s leading pre-publication journal of book reviews, is proud to sponsor the annual Kirkus Prize, which bestows $150,000 divided by three winning writers. At this panel, you’ll hear the finalists of this year’s Prize—some of this year’s most intriguing and insightful writers—talk about their most recent books. Featuring Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson (The Undefeated), Jerry Craft (The New Kid), Laila Lalami (The Other Americans), Rosalind Harvey (The Other Side), Alicia D. Williams (Genesis Begins Again). More authors to be announced!
Author(s): Kwame Alexander, Kadir Nelson, Jerry Craft, Laila Lalami, Rosalind Harvey, Alicia D. Williams


Forget Astronauts, Introducing The AstroNuts!
11:00 am – 11:45 am, Saturday, October 26
Uh-oh! Looks like humans have no place to go after Earth. Worry not! The AstroNuts are here! Hybridized to find other planets, AstroWolf, LaserShark, SmartHawk, and StinkBug are here to find another planet for humans to live. Join us as this major new series by kid lit legend Jon Scieszka and illustrator Steven Weinberg launches us into outer space adventure!
Author(s): Jon Scieszka, Steven Weinberg


The Undefeated with Kwame Alexander
12:00 pm – 12:45 pm, Saturday, October 26
Bestselling poet and Newbery Award-winning author Kwame Alexander returns to the Texas Book Festival with a powerful, moving new picture book that celebrates black life in America and pays tribute to the struggle of black Americans. The Undefeated is a love letter to black life in the United States and is one of the most remarkable and beautiful new picture books of the year, a must for the shelf of readers young and old. Kwame is planning a special presentation that includes a musical performance!
Author(s): Kwame Alexander


Writing the Civil Rights Movement
1:15 pm – 2:00 pm, Saturday, October 26
Bestselling author Sharon Robinson, the daughter of baseball player Jackie Robinson, will be joined by Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney and author Barry Wittenstein to discuss their new books that remember and celebrate the Civil Rights movement. What can young readers–and all of us–learn from the past?
Author(s): Sharon Robinson, Jerry Pinkney, Barry Wittenstein


When I Was a Kid: Writing Books Inspired by Our Childhoods
2:30 pm – 3:15 pm, Saturday, October 26
Newbery Award-winner Meg Medina (Merci Suarez Changes Gears), bestselling author Ibi Zoboi (My Life As An Ice Cream Sandwich), and Olympic medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad (Proudest Blue) take the stage to share their latest books, all fictional stories inspired in different ways by their childhoods. This is a panel with major star power, featuring three of the biggest names in children’s literature who inspire kids every day with their words. Don’t miss it!
Author(s): Meg Medina, Ibi Zoboi, Ibtihaj Muhammad


No Treehouse is Complete without 117 Stories!
4:00 pm – 4:45 pm, Saturday, October 26
Get ready for another zainey adventure with Andy and Terry as they upgrade their tree house to 117 stories! We love this hilarious, bestselling series. This absurdly funny ninth book in the series will surely inspire you to have your own 117 story treehouse.
Author: Andy Griffiths


Sunday


Repeating the Past: Historical Fiction About Turbulent Times
11:00 am – 11:45 am, Sunday, October 27
Spain under Franco in 1957 sets the scene for young Americans who find themselves faced with the dark shadow of fascism in Fountains of Silence, the highly anticipated new historical novel. Master storyteller Ruta Sepetys once again shines light into one of history’s darkest corners in this epic, heart-wrenching novel about identity, unforgettable love, repercussions of war, and the hidden violence of silence—inspired by the true postwar struggles of Spain.
Author: Ruta Sepetys


 Story For Miles: Writing Big Fiction
12:00 pm – 12:45 pm, Sunday, October 27
In an era of 7 second videos and 33 character tweets, two novelists dare to bring us sprawling epic stories that span generations and embrace multiple perspectives. Award winning author Elizabeth McCracken (Bowlaway) and debut author Namwali Serpell (The Old Drift) take on BIG family sagas that hold our attention.
Author(s): Elizabeth McCracken, Namwali Serpell


Everything We Didn’t Know: Riveting Memoirs of Family Secrets
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm, Sunday, October 27
In complex, beautiful memoirs, literary icons Dani Shapiro (Inheritance) and Adrienne Brodeur (Wild Game) explore the corrosive effects of long-held family secrets. With stories that reach far beyond the personal, these memoirs each pose larger questions about the nature of identity and what it means to rebuild in the aftermath of betrayal.
Author(s): Dani Shapiro, Adrienne Brodeur


We’ve Been Through It: Stories of Strength and Survival
2:15 pm – 3:00 pm, Sunday, October 27
True stories of making it through the hardest, darkest human experiences are some of the most powerful and shared literature on our shelves. But what does it take to write the books? Authors Laurie Halse Anderson (Shout), Jaquira Díaz (Ordinary Girls), Cyrus Dunham (A Year Without A Name), and Jeannie Vanasco (Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl) share their stories of strength, survival, and the power of the pen to transform.
Author(s): Laurie Halse Anderson, Jaquira Díaz, Cyrus Dunham, and Jeannie Vanasco


A Conversation with Rainbow Rowell
3:15 pm – 4:00 pm, Sunday, October 27
Bestselling author Rainbow Rowell sits down at Texas Book Fest to talk about her brand new book, Wayward Son, the sequel to her #1 New York Times bestselling book, Carry On. What happens when the hero’s journey is over? What comes next when your life has only just begun? Don’t miss this amazing conversation!
Author(s): Rainbow Rowell, Mariko Tamaki

 

 

Free Family Fun at Texas Book Fest!

Calling all young book lovers! There’s so much to learn, explore, and do at this year’s Texas Book Festival! Kids on Congress, our Congress Avenue thoroughfare highlighting exciting kids authors and activities, is back and better than ever. In fact, it’s so robust, we can’t even fit it all on Congress Avenue! Whether you’re a picture book reader, YA fanatic, or chapter book lover, we’ve got something for you. You don’t want to miss out on these free, all-day events, including author storytimes, live music, hands on activities, and giveaways!


Explore the Festival with a Kid’s Passport


 

Stop by the Children’s Activity Tent and pick up a Kid’s Passport! Return your passport at the end of the day with at least five stamps from specific activities — such as meeting a new friend, reading a new book, and visiting the Kirkus Reviews tent — and get a free small scoop of Amy’s ice cream!


Where’s Waldo? At Texas Book Fest!


 

2017 Texas Book Festival

Make sure to keep an eye out for everyone’s favorite hidden, red stripe-wearing character, Waldo! Candlewick Press is presenting a Where’s Waldo scavenger hunt, scattering several Waldo cutouts throughout the Festival grounds. You can pick up the scavenger hunt forms at the Children’s Activity Tent, but also be on the lookout for a real-life Waldo running around Congress Avenue!


How to See Sonia Sotomayor at Texas Book Fest


U.S. Supreme Justice Sonia Sotomayor will be in conversation about her new picture book, Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You in the House Chamber at the Texas Book Festival on Sunday, October 27 at 11:30AM. Afterwards, she will sign books. Space is limited. Please read the full event guidelines if you’d like to attend.


Must-See Authors at First United Methodist Church!


Saturday, October 26 at 10:00AM
Graphix Con: Great New Graphic Novels for Young Readers
featuring Raina Telgemeier, Gale Galligan, and Molly Ostertag!

Saturday, October 26 at 12:45PM
The Power of Kindness and Wonder: R. J. Palacio in Conversation


Read Me A Story Tent: The Spot for Picture Books


 

We’re so happy to bring some of today’s best picture book authors and illustrators to this year’s Festival, including Judy Schachner, Kat Zhang, Eric Velasquez, Isabel Quintero, Matt Tavares, and many more! With new storytimes beginning every 30 minutes, this tent invites kids to interact authors and illustrators while understanding they may have to get up and get their wiggles out, too! Search “Read Me A Story” on our schedule to see the full list of authors, illustrators, and storytimes!


Children’s Authors in the Latinx Lit Tent!


 

This year’s bilingual storytimes in the Latinx Lit Tent bring Tania de Regil, Duncan Tonatiuh, and Megan and Jorge Lacera to Congress Avenue! Additionally, make sure to catch Saturday’s celebration of the Tomás Rivera Mexican-American Book Award winners with David Bowles and Xelena Gonzalez. 


Children’s Authors in the Kirkus Reviews Tent


 

Don’t miss some of our favorite picture book, chapter book, and YA authors in the Kirkus Review Tent! Kwame Alexander brings us The Undefeated; Steven Weinberg and Jon Scieszka are going AstroNuts, and Andy Griffiths invites us to imagine his 117-story treehouse! This is where you’ll also find special conversations with Ibtihaj Muhammad, Ibi Zoboi, Meg Medina, and Sharon Robinson. And don’t miss YA superstar Rainbow Rowell in conversation with Mariko Tamaki!


Next Chapter Tent: The Spot for Middle Grade Readers


 

Magic, animal adventures, and spies, oh my! The Next Chapter Tent will feature a variety of panels for middle grade readers and early chapter book lovers. Plus — we’ll be teaming up with the Texas Library Association to announce this year’s Texas Bluebonnet Award winners! Check out the full schedule in the Next Chapter Tent and come ready to ask questions and learn about the big adventures in these books!


The YA HQ Tent: All Young Adult Authors, All the Time


The Young Adult HQ Tent is back this year, giving YA lovers of all ages a chance to dive into fantastic worlds, epic quests, unique situations, star-crossed love stories, and some with happy endings, too. Join young heroes and heroines as they solve the world’s problems, save the adults and the planet, and find how to love themselves and others. Featuring tons of authors, including Maureen Johnson, Tochi Onyebuchi, L. L. McKinney, Jennifer Mathieu, and so many more! Check out the full YA HQ schedule here.

And don’t miss bestselling YA author Rainbow Rowell in the Kirkus Reviews Tent on Sunday, October 27 at 3:15PM! She’ll be in conversation with Mariko Tamaki about Wayward Son, the highly-anticipated follow up to Carry On!


So Much More Fun To Have!


 

2018 Texas Book Festival

YA publisher FIREreads and children’s book club Literati will be on-site at 10th and Congress with various interactive activities for kids of all ages. You won’t want to miss this fun opportunity for a hands-on Festival experience with these two fantastic, book-centric communities! And while you’re in the area, don’t forget to stop by the Penguin Young Readers outpost in our Next Chapter tent. The wonderful Penguin team will be giving away goodies throughout the day, so get ready middle grade readers!

Many thanks to St. David’s HealthCare for bringing Hook’em, UT’s lovable mascot, to our Festival grounds.

We’re so excited for a great, fun weekend! Check out our author lineup for a complete list of the authors at this year’s Festival.

Latinx Lit en la Feria del Libro de Texas

Photo credit: Kirsten Kaiser/Giant Noise

 

Este año la Feria del Libro de Texas le da la bienvenida al centro de la ciudad de Austin a más de 70 autores y moderadores latinos e hispanos, quienes durante dos días (Octubre 26 al 27) participarán en conversaciones y páneles sobre la literatura, la vida y cultura. Todos estos eventos serán gratuitos y estarán abiertos al público. 

Establecida en 2015, la carpa de literatura latina e hispana, conocida como LatinX Lit, regresa por su quinto año consecutivo con sesiones sobre escritura y publicación en español, nuevos y originales libros de ficción, horas del cuento bilingues, y la celebración de los ganadores del Premio Literario Mexicano-Americano Tomás Rivera, y muchas actividades más. Las sessiones en la carpa de LatinX Lit han sido escogidas y preparadas por el Comité de Selección y Programación de Autores Latinx, que está formado por miembros de la comunidad de Austin y colaboran como voluntarios con el equipo de la Feria del Libro. El programa entero se anunciará la primera semana de octubre. 

Por primera vez, este año podrás adquirir libros en español en una nueva tienda dedicada exclusivamente a publicaciones en este idioma que se localizará justo junto a la carpa de LatinX Lit. En esta tienda encontrás títulos para niños y adultos que han sido seleccionados por la cadena BookPeople y Vingate Español. Además de poder adquirir los libros de los autores en español que se presentan en la Feria, la tienda tendrá una selección de títulos en español de otros autores diversos. Si buscas libros en español para niños, podrás encontrarlos a unos pasos más de la carpa de LatinX Lit, donde Cuentology, una librería especializada en libros para niños en idioma español tendrá una gran selección a la venta. 

Estamos también contentos de darle la bienvenida a Univisión a la Feria este año. Visita su puesto que está localizado en Congress Ave. y la calle 8th Street.

Te invitamos que te unas al grupo de Facebook en español Nuestros Libros, Nuestra Voz, donde podrás enterarte de noticias sobre lo que puedes esperar en la Feria, compartir lo que estás leyendo, y aprender de otros lectores como tú sobre eventos y oportunidades literarias en Austin y durante la Feria del Libro de Texas 2019.

LatinX Lit, la carpa de literatura latina.

Dedicada a presentar progrmas bilingues sobre la vida y la cultura latina, nuestra carpa presentará autores latinx nuevos y establecidos, que han escrito libros tanto para niños, jóvenes o adultos. Las sessiones incluirán desde horas del cuento bilingues para los lectores más jóvenes hasta conversaciones serias sobre la lucha contra las adversidades que enfrenta nuestra gente, la crisis en la frontera, o temas prácticos como el proceso de publicación en español, o un análisis de la identidad Latinx en Texas y más allá de este estado. 

Los autores que se presentarán incluyen a  Zulema Arroyo Farley, Rodrigo Marquez Tizano, Jennine Capó Crucet, J.J. Mulligan Sepúlveda, e ire’ne lara silva.

Autores Latinx en la Feria del Libro

Este año le damos la bienvenida a la Feria a más de sesenta autores latinx, con presentaciones de libros de una gran variedad de géneros y para todas las edades. 

Dichos autores incluyen a los escritores de ficción criminal Alex Segura, Gabino Iglesias y Gwendolyn Zepeda; los escritores de historia Monica Muñoz Martinez, Marie Arana, y Cynthia Ontiveros; los novelistas Norma Elia Cantú, Oscar Cásares, Stephanie Jimenez, Melissa Rivero, Carolina De Robertis, y Angie Cruz; los escritores de memorias Jaquira Díaz, Claudia Hernandez, y Aarón Sánchez; los poetas Javier Zamora, Orlando Ricardo Menes, y Vanessa Angélica Villareal; los autores de literatura para niños y jóvenes adultos Sonia Sotomayor, Juana Medina, Duncan Tonatiuh, Meg Medina, y Lilliam Rivera

Para ver a todos los autores Latinx que se presentaran este año en la Feria del Libro de Texas , visita nuestro directorio completo de autores

Libros en español

Además de la tienda de libros de BookPeople en la Feria, la tienda Libros en Español, venderá títulos exclusivamente en español. Aquí encontrarás libros escritos por los autores que se presentarán en la Feria, así como títulos de interés general. La selección de títulos estará a cargo de Vintage Español. Junto a esta tienda encontrarás a Cuentology, una librería dedicada a proveerle literatura de calidad traida de España y Latinoamérica a los niños de Texas.

Univisión

Durante tu visita a la Feria del Libro, no olvides pasar a visitar el puesto de Univisión. Además de presentar programación televisiva en español, Univisión tendrá eventos y sorpresas con tus conductores favoritos en este local. Nos emociona darles la bienvenida a nuesta Feria. 

Nuestros Libros, Nuestra Voz

Nuestros Libros, Nuestra Voz es un nuevo grupo en español en Facebook para lo miembros de nuestra comunidad TBF. Si quieres mantenerte en contacto con quienes hayan ido antes a la Feria del Libro, compartir tus autores favoritos, resolver cualquier duda que puedas tener sobre cómo funciona o qué esperar durante la Feria del Libro, puedes unirte al grupo y encontrarás una comunidad dispuesta a compartir contigo sus experiencias y recomendaciones. 

*Ten en cuenta que este es un grupo cerrado. Este enlace te permitirá solicitar unirte al grupo. Te pedimos que las conversaciones dentro del grupo mantengan las reglas de respeto y cortesía que se establecen y que estén enfocadas a la literatura y lectura. Se removerán los anuncios publicitarios, así como cualquier otro contenido que se considere sea irrespetuoso por parte de los moderadores. 

Gracias a todos los colaboradores y socios, y en especial a los Comités voluntaros de Selección de Autores LatinX y Programacción de la Feria del Libro de Texas por habernos presentado autores, libros y conversaciones tan importantes para la Feria de este año. 

 

Texas Book Festival Q&A with Traci Sorell

Traci Sorell is the author of the picture book We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga.

TBF: Why did you write your new book? What was your inspiration?

Traci Sorell: I decided to start writing for children in the summer of 2013 when my son was three. I had collected picture books since the early 1990s, particularly those featuring Indigenous people and cultures. Having cycled through my collection and those at the local library, I could not find any trade-published contemporary picture books featuring Cherokee children to read to my young son.

This concerned me because the Cherokee Nation is the largest tribe in the U.S. with over 360,000 enrolled citizens. How could I not find a picture book about our present day life and culture to share with my son? It made me think that other Cherokee parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents must be facing a similar problem. Then I also concluded that non-Cherokee families as well as teachers and librarians encountered this same challenge.

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga centers on the universal value of gratitude as taught and experienced by Cherokee people across the four seasons. Our elders and families teach us to be grateful for our culture, good things that happen and also struggles we experience. Through expressing gratitude for difficulties, we learn resiliency as well as interdependency, the need to ask for help and extend it to others too. The nonfiction book provides a contemporary look at our lives today.

TBF: What’s the last book you read, loved, and can’t stop recommending? Why is it so good?

TS: Mi Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero and illustrated by Zeke Peña. The story centers on a young girl’s daily motorcycle ride with her dad through their town when he comes home from work. Quintero weaves the town’s history with people, places and events into this story about a daughter and father seeing the changes in their community as they spend time together. It reminded me on my childhood hometown, motorcycle rides with my own father and how I’ll always have those memories despite everything that has changed in that place and in our lives since then.

TBF: What’s the first book you remember reading? Who gave it to you?

TS: I don’t remember one specific book, but I’m sure it was a Little Golden book. My mother always bought those for me. I still have most of them that my younger siblings and I read as children.

 

Traci Sorell is one of 300 authors who will appear at the 2019 Texas Book Festival which takes place October 26-27th 2019 in downtown Austin. The Festival is free and open to the public! Check out all of this year’s authors.

 

Texas Book Fest Q&A with Fernando A. Flores

Fernando A. Flores is an Austin-based writer and bookseller. He is the author of Tears of the Trufflepig.

TBF: Why did you write your new book? What was your inspiration?

Fernando A. Flores: I wrote this book out of sheer will and fear, and sought to capture a border narrative beyond realism that would act like a haunted looking glass, and could reflect something morbid and very much real in our world today.

TBF: What’s the last book you read, loved, and can’t stop recommending? Why is it so good?

FF: Stay and Fight by Madeline Fitch is one of the most superb novels I’ve read in recent years. The writers I seek are the ones able to look past themselves to capture their time and place, and Madeline does this very admirably, with incredible force and originality.

TBF: What’s the first book you remember reading? Who gave it to you?

FF: The first book I remember having an impact on me was The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley. I checked it out of the high school library when I was about 16, and, though I knew very little about that part of America, it affected me very much.

 

Fernando A. Flores is one of 300 authors who will appear at the 2019 Texas Book Festival which takes place October 26-27th 2019 in downtown Austin. The Festival is free and open to the public! Check out all of this year’s authors.

Texas Book Fest Q&A with Lyz Lenz

Lyz Lenz is the author of the memoir God Land: A Story of Faith, Loss, and Renewal in Middle America. 

TBF: Why did you write your new book? What was your inspiration?

Lyz Lenz: I wrote this book, because during the 2016 election I watched my life and my country fall apart. I wanted to understand the place I lived in better and I wanted to understand the way politics and faith intersected better both in our culture and in our lives. And I was also hoping to find some hope.

TBF: What’s the last book you read, loved, and can’t stop recommending? Why is it so good?

LL: I just read Heavy by Kiese Laymon. It’s a master-class in writing and style. He writes in the future tense! But it’s also an example of a deeply layered book that manages to be personal and political, poignant and conversant with our culture. It was so good, I finished it then immediately read it again.

TBF: What’s the first book you remember reading? Who gave it to you?

LL: The Bible. My parents no doubt. I was a very early reader and when I first started reading at the age of 3, no one believed I could read so they’d give me really hard books to read and ask me to read from them and I would. I think it became kind of a parlor trick as well. Something to amuse the grown-ups. The first books I remember reading and loving were these books in a series titled, All of a Kind Family, about a large Jewish family in post-World War I, Brooklyn. I loved them and it’s also the first time I felt disappointed by a main character.

 

Lyz Lenz is one of 300 authors who will appear at the 2019 Texas Book Festival which takes place October 26-27th 2019 in downtown Austin. The Festival is free and open to the public! Check out all of this year’s authors.

Texas Book Fest Q&A with Lilliam Rivera

Lilliam Rivera is the author of the new YA novel Dealing in Dreams

TBF: Why did you write your new book? What was your inspiration?

Lilliam Rivera: My young adult novel Dealing in Dreams was inspired by a book I read over and over again when I was in High School: The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. I loved the book and its depiction of family, class, and violence. Although the book was set in a place so outside of my own upbringing (I’m from the Bronx, New York) I could relate to the characters. When I was writing Dealing in Dreams , I kept thinking of what life would be like if girls were forced to grow up in a violent world. I wanted to explore a dystopian setting where girls are regulated to fight in gangs as their only way of life.

TBF: What’s the last book you read, loved, and can’t stop recommending? Why is it so good?

LR: The last book I read was the young adult book The Patron Saint of Nothing by Randy Ribay. It’s a heartbreaking story about a Filipino-American boy who travels back to the Philippines to find out what really happened to his cousin who was suddenly killed as part of President Duterte’s war on drugs. It’s so timely and beautifully written.

TBF: What’s the first book you remember reading? Who gave it to you?

LR: The first book I remember reading was Babar Visits Another Planet by Laurent de Brunhoff. The picture book was so beautifully illustrated. I remember being in awe of the planet Babar visited and how his visit was a bit of a disaster. I’m sure my parents must have given me the book.

 

Lilliam Riverais one of 300 authors who will appear at the 2019 Texas Book Festival which takes place October 26-27th 2019 in downtown Austin. The Festival is free and open to the public! Check out all of this year’s authors.

Texas Book Fest Q&A with S. C. Gwynne

S. C. Gwynne is the author of the new history book, Hymns of the Republic: The Story of the Final Year of the American Civil WarHe is also the author of Rebel Yell and Empire of the Summer Moon.

TBF: Why did you write your new book? What was your inspiration?

S. C. Gwynne: I have always loved the American Civil War. I wrote a biography of Stonewall Jackson entitled Rebel Yell a few years ago, which covered the first two years of the war. I became so interested in the topic that I just had to see how the war ended. (The North won, as far as I can tell.)

TBF: What’s the last book you read, loved, and can’t stop recommending? Why is it so good?

SCG: Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel. I don’t normally read historical fiction but this stuff is so stunning I could not stay away.

TBF: What’s the first book you remember reading? Who gave it to you?

SCG: One of the “Dick and Jane” series that was inflicted on my generation. See Spot run. Run run run. What an inspiration to readers of all kinds. I have modeled my own literary style after it.

 

S. C. Gwynne is one of 300 authors who will appear at the 2019 Texas Book Festival which takes place October 26-27th 2019 in downtown Austin. The Festival is free and open to the public! Check out all of this year’s authors.

Event Series: Book Tips and Sips at Prohibition Creamery

Texas Book Festival is pleased to host free quarterly event series Book Tips and Sips at Prohibition Creamery in Austin. We’re bringing together Central Texas authors and members of the literary community to talk about their favorite books at four unique, themed events hosted at Prohibition Creamery, a delicious cocktail and ice cream bar on east seventh street. Join us for book recommendations, ice cream, cocktails and community!

These events are all free and open to the public. Enjoy “A Sidecar Named Desire,” Prohibition Creamery’s literary take on the sidecar cocktail, made with brandy, pine-infused gin, hibiscus, and lemon, and a portion of your drink purchase will support the Texas Book Festival.

Prohibition Creamery is located at 1407 East 7th St in Austin. The shop is open to all ages.

 

Book Tips and Sips: Literary Libations
August 13, 2019 – 5:30PM
Join us for Literary Libations! We’re gearing up for this year’s Lit Crawl Austin with a lively book discussion featuring several friends from literary organizations around town, and of course, Prohibition Creamery’s signature literary-themed cocktail, A Sidecar Named Desire. Join us at Prohibition Creamery as we welcome Lit Crawl partners from American Short Fiction, Austin Bat Cave, Black Poets Speak Out, and Chicon Street Poets to talk about the books they’re reading and what it means to have a strong literary community in Austin. TBF Literary Director Julie Wernersbach will also give a sneak peek of some of the best and biggest books hitting shelves this Fall!

Speakers: 

Adeena Reitberger, American Short Fiction

Adeena is a writer, editor, and teacher in Austin, Texas. Her stories and essays have appeared in Black Warrior Review, Mississippi Review, Cimarron Review, Nimrod International, Third Coast, Sierra Nevada Review, Smokelong Quarterly, and other magazines, and her work has been recognized in the Best American series. She is the coeditor and director of American Short Fiction.

Ali Haider, Austin Bat Cave

Ali is the Executive Director of Austin Bat Cave, a nonprofit that connects local writers with students through creative and engaging writing workshops. His fiction has appeared in Cimarron Review, Glimmer Train, and Juked. Roxane Gay published his essay “Porkistan” on The Toast’s vertical The Butter.

Amanda Johnston, Black Poets Speak Out

Amanda earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine. She is the author of two chapbooks, GUAP and Lock & Key, and the full-length collection Another Way to Say Enter. Her poetry and interviews have appeared in numerous online and print publications, among them, Callaloo, Poetry, Puerto del Sol, Muzzle, Pluck!, No, Dear and the anthologies, Small BatchFulldi-ver-cityThe Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, and Women of Resistance: Poems for a New Feminism. Honors include the Christina Sergeyevna Award from the Austin International Poetry Festival, a joint finalist for the Freedom Plow Award for Poetry & Activism from Split This Rock, and multiple Artist Enrichment grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women,  Amanda is a member of the Affrilachian Poets and has received fellowships from Cave Canem Foundation and the Austin Project at the University of Texas. Johnston is a Stonecoast MFA faculty member, a cofounder of Black Poets Speak Out, and founder / executive director of Torch Literary Arts. She serves on the Cave Canem Foundation board of directors and currently lives in Texas.

Sam Treviño, Chicon Street Poets

Sam Treviño is a writer, poet and literary organizer from Austin, Texas. He is the founder and organizer of Fresh Meat Poets Showcase in Austin, a former Editorial Contributor for Paper Darts Magazine, and has been published by Paper Darts, DigBoston, Scout Magazine in Cambridge and Somerville, and Sybil Journal. His debut chapbook, Werewolf Mask, was published in 2016 by Weekly Weird Monthly. He is currently Community Outreach Director of Chicon Street Poets, a literary nonprofit based in East Austin, and oversees the Aural Literature reading series for Austin Public Library, where he is a Library Associate. He currently lives in Austin with his librarian superhero wife and their anxious cat.

 

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Holiday Book Swap!
December 2019
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, the season when we get to buy books for all of our family and friends! We understand that selecting the perfect read for someone you love can be daunting. Texas Book Fest is here to help! Join two local authors, along with TBF Literary Director Julie Wernersbach, as they share the books they’re giving to the readers on their lists this season. Of course, in the spirit of the holiday, we want everyone to take home a gift for themselves, so we’re hosting a holiday book swap! Bring a book you loved and want to share, add it to the swap, and take home a new read of your own. Merry reading!

We love putting together free programming in support of authors and readers here in Texas. If you believe in strengthening a love of literature and keeping arts programming free and open to the public in Texas, please consider supporting the Texas Book Festival. 

 

Preview: African American Book Festival

This Saturday, June 23rd, the 12th annual Austin African American Book Festival will take place from 9:30 – 5:00 pm at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center.

The mission of this festival, which began in 2007, is to, “…promote empowerment through literature. We are a community event that brings readers and writers together and produces and facilitates collaboration, dialogue, creativity and activism.” The event is free and open to the public.

In addition to author signings, the festival will host several panels, including a new author showcase, children’s story time, and a Black Sci Fi Writers and Readers Meetup. This year’s keynote speaker is Paul Coates, founder of Black Classic Print and father of bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates. The 2018 author lineup also includes Victoria Christopher Murray, Evan Narcisse, Brooke Obie, Lori Aurelia Williams and Don Tate.

Victoria Christopher Murray is the author of more than 30 books including If Only for One Night, Temptation: The Aftermath, It Should’ve Been Me and Fortune & Fame. The prolific author is an Essence bestselling author and the winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Fiction.

Evan Narcisse is the journalist turned comic book author behind the new Rise of the Black Panther series, co-written with bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates. Rise of the Black Panther follows the life of young T’Challa, crown prince of the powerful kingdom of Wakanda, as he copes with the death of his father, and battles T’Chaka for the throne that is his birthright. Narcisse, along with Coates, has released six comics thus far.

Brooke Obie is the author of the award-winning novel Cradled Embers, the first book in the Book of Addis series. Cradled Embers is the story of a young woman, Addis, who has escaped the man that enslaved her and is now on the run. This story about oppression, love, loss, and freedom won the 2017 Phillis Wheatley Book Award for First Fiction and the 2017 Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary Award for self-published fiction.

Lori Aurelia Williams is the YA author of When Kambia Elaine Flew in from Neptune, Broken China, Maxine Banks is Getting Married and Shayla’s Double Brown Baby Blues. Williams is also a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and recipient of a James A. Michener Fellowship. Born in Houston, Williams currently resides in Austin.

Don Tate an illustrator and author with more than 50 children’s books to his name including Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton, The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch and Ron’s Big Mission. Tate’s books tend to focus on historical events, he is the two-time recipient of an Ezra Jack Keats Book Author Award, the winner of a 2016 Christopher Award and a 2016 Texas Institute of Letters book award.

For more information, visit: http://www.aabookfest.com/