Howdy’, y’all! We’re excited to bring another stellar lineup of authors to this year’s Texas Tent, sponsored by Loewy Law Firm. These Lone Star stories and tales of the American West channel what it means to be from our region, with discussions ranging from Latinx narratives to histories of Texas musical giants to writing in and about the state and the dusty trails of West. So grab your boots, your cowboy hat, and make your way to Colorado Street for some Texas literary fun!
That’s right, we have a new location for the Texas Tent this year, at the top of Colorado Street, above the Exhibitor Tents. Mosey on up the street, y’all!
Saturday, October 26th
FlowerSong Books Showcase: Literary, Lyrical, Latinx, 10:00 AM – 10:45 AM
FlowerSong Books nurtures essential verse from, about, and through the borderlands. Join us today as four FlowerSong authors share their latest work, exploring dynamics of gender, the forces that have shaped the Latinx experience, and the humor and humanity of everyday life.
Author(s): Carolina Hinojosa-Cisneros, Jo Reyes-Boitel, Eduardo R. Vega
Moderator: Edward Vidaurre
True Texas History: Uncovering Hidden Stories of Injustice, 11:00 AM – 11:45 AM
Historians Monica Martinez (The Injustice Never Leaves You), Elaine Hampton and Cynthia Ontiveros (Copper Stain) shed light on little-known stories of the development of Texas. From anti-Mexican violence along the border in the early twentieth century to the horrific effects of environmental injustice on the community surrounding ASARCO in El Paso, they examine why we tell the stories we do about Texas and what we have to learn from the hidden stories that don’t make it into textbooks.
Author(s): Elaine Hampton, Monica Muñoz Martinez, Cynthia Ontiveros
Moderator: Maribel Rubio
Texas Noir: Crime Fiction Set in the Lone Star State, 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM
Akashic’s acclaimed Noir Series publishes crime fiction short stories by cutting edge writers set in major cities and regions around the world. Their latest edition, Houston Noir, joins Texas editions Lone Star Noir and Dallas Noir in covering the dark territory of the Lone Star State. Join contributors to these Texas anthologies about how they tap into the dark underbelly of Texas.
Author(s): Sehba Sarwar, Merrit Tierce, Deborah Mouton
Murder and Mystery On the Dusty Trails: Crime Fiction of the West, 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM
Bestselling authors Craig Johnson (Land of Wolves) and Joe Lansdale (The Elephant of Surprise) are masters of western crime fiction. In their latest novels, Johnson brings Sheriff Longmire back to Absaroka County, Wyoming and Lansdale’s odd-couple P.I.s Hap and Leonard chase down a case in East Texas. Join these two friends and writers as they talk about how different regions of the West make for memorable backdrops of page-turning mysteries.
Author(s): Craig Johnson, Joe Lansdale
Moderator: Scott Montgomery
The Forces That Shaped — and Saved — the American West, 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
Pulitzer Prize finalist H. W. Brands (Dreams of El Dorado: A History of the American West) and former senior editor at Newsweek John Taliaferro (Grinnell: America’s Environmental Pioneer and His Restless Drive to Save the West) present new histories of the American West and the forces that shaped its development. From indigenous peoples who confronted early white settlers, to the riches of land and cattle and railroad, to the work of people like George Bird Grinnell, who set out to preserve the region’s environment and beauty while advocating for its natural history and indigenous culture, Brands and Taliaferro offer new insights into the complicated history of the West.
Author(s): H. W. Brands, John Taliaferro
Moderator: Laura Castro
Writers’ League of Texas: Obsessed with Texas, 3:00 PM – 3:45 PM
Writers’ League of Texas Program Director Michael Noll will moderate a conversation with authors Monica Martinez, TBD, and TBD about the enduring appeal of the Lone Star State and why writing about its unique landscape, complex history, and compelling people never gets old.
Author(s): Monica Martinez, Cameron Dezen Hammon, Sergio Troncoso
Moderator(s): Michael Noll, Becka Oliver
Texas Music Legends: Janis Joplin and Stevie Ray Vaughan, 4:00 PM – 4:45 PM
In two new books about Texas music legends Stevie Ray Vaughan and Janis Joplin, biographers Andy Aledort and Alan Paul (Texas Flood) and Holly George-Warren (Janis) use their unprecedented access to family members and collaborators to deliver surprisingly intimate portraits of these larger-than-life personalities.
Author(s): Andy Aledort, Holly George-Warren, Alan Paul
Moderator: Ed Ward
Sunday, October 27th
FlowerSong Books Showcase: Literary, Lyrical, Latinx, 11:00 AM – 11:45 AM
FlowerSong Books nurtures essential verse from, about, and through the borderlands. Join us today as four FlowerSong authors share their latest work, verse that explores indigenous energies, the injustices of poverty, and the miraculous marvels of everyday life.
Author(s): Reyes Cardenas, Odillia Galvan Rodriguez
Moderator: Edward Vidaurre
Fiction of La Frontera — And What Comes After, 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM
The lives of immigrants finding themselves in America and those with their eyes set on a new future over the border are at the center of new fiction by Sergio Troncoso (A Peculiar Kind of Immigrant’s Son) and Gabino Iglesias (Coyote Songs). Taking different approaches to the experiences of people living at la frontera and beyond, Troncoso and Iglesias employ intimacy and grit in portraying the journeys, hopes, and desires of their characters before and after they cross the border.
Author: Sergio Troncoso, Gabino Iglesias
Moderator: Jorge Gomez
It Doesn’t End with the Crossing: What Happens at the U. S. and Mexico Border, 1:00 PM – 1:45 PM
Attorney J. J. Mulligan Sepúlveda (No Human is Illegal) and El Paso professor Jeremy Slack (Deported to Death) share on-the-ground perspectives of what happens when people cross into America from Mexico and what happends when they’re sent back. Sepúlveda’s work representing immigrants in court, as well as his identity as the son and husband of Spanish-speaking immigrants, and Slack’s research into the experiences of deportees “returned” often hundreds of miles from their homes, offer personal and important insight into the impact of border enforcement.
Author(s): J. J. Mulligan Sepúlveda, Jeremy Slack
Hymns of the Republic: The Story of the Final Year of the American Civil War, 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
C. Gwynne, bestselling author of Empire of the Summer Moon and Rebel Yell, presents an epic account of the dramatic conclusion of the Civil War, from the moment Ulysses S. Grant arrives to take command of all Union armies in March 1864 to the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox a year later. Gwynne breathes new life into the epic battle between Lee and Grant; the advent of 180,000 black soldiers in the Union army; the dramatic final events of the war, and more.
Author: S. C. Gwynne
Moderator: Dan Goodgame
On the Road with Texas Highways Magazine: Perspectives on Travel Writing, 3:00 PM – 3:45 PM
Contributors to Texas Highways, the official travel magazine of Texas, discuss crafting meaningful travel narratives with nuance, depth, and sense of place. After years of traversing the state and telling its myriad stories, they share memorable trips, tips for the road, and what traveling has taught them about writing and life.
Author(s): Clayton Maxwell, Rachel Monroe, Joe Nick Patoski, José R. Ralat
Moderator: Kimya Kavehkar