|
The Texas Book Festival will take place October 23 through October 31 as a hybrid event. Starting Monday, October 23, virtual sessions will lead up to the Festival Weekend on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol and along Congress Avenue in downtown Austin. The Festival will include a robust, diverse lineup of established, emerging, and debut literary talent for readers of all ages. All attendees can attend sessions in our outdoor tents and are welcome to visit the in-person and virtual Exhibitor Marketplace, which features book publishers both big and small, university presses, booksellers, independent authors, and an array of items for the literary shopper. This year, book enthusiasts can look forward to the return of so many things they love about the Festival–a terrific author lineup, timely and thoughtful panel topics, a Saturday evening Lit Crawl, and more. Stay tuned for more announcements coming soon! Read the full press release. Follow us on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts for more 2021 Festival updates! Sign up for our newsletter here to be the first to know. |
Category: Home Page
Interview with The Brown Bookshelf
Today we’d like to spotlight The Brown Bookshelf, a group of authors and illustrators dedicated to amplifying awareness of the myriad Black voices writing for young readers. Their flagship initiative, 28 Days Later, is a month-long showcase of the best in Picture Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult novels written and illustrated by Black creators.
During each day of the twenty-eight days of Black History Month, The Brown Bookshelf profiles a different children’s or young adult author and children’s illustrator. Importantly, though, 28 Days Later emphasizes the necessity of celebrating Black authors, creatives, writers, and artists year-round. Their monthly Generations Book Club continues what 28 Days Later begins by featuring a themed list of books by Black creators for the youngest readers through adults and related links and resources.
We had the fortunate opportunity to speak with Brown Bookshelf Board member Paula Chase-Hyman, author of So Done and the Del Rio Bay series. Find the Q&A below!
———————————————–
Tell us about the origins of The Brown Bookshelf. What inspired you to be a part of the organization?
Back in the early 2000s, there was a writing forum called The Blue Board. I met many of the writers that I still consider friends there. It’s also where I met Varian Johnson, Kelly Starling Lyons, and Carla Sarratt. Varian had just come out with his first YA, My Life as a Rhombus, and my debut YA, So Not The Drama, was on its way. YA was exploding. It was a true renaissance as it gained mainstream popularity beyond teen readers. But Varian and I noticed that YA with and by Black people wasn’t getting the same level of attention. Not current or past works.
It’s been so long now that I don’t know which of us came up with the idea first. But we decided that an outlet was needed to amplify Black children’s literature, specifically those creatives that 1) weren’t the publisher’s pick, what we consider under-the-radar, and 2) those creatives that had blazed the trail for the rest of us. Unsurprisingly, nothing like it existed. We knew it would be a lot of logistics, so we each identified people to come in to help round out the concept. He asked Don Tate and I asked Kelly Starling Lyons and Carla Sarratt, who no longer works with the group but is still very much a book advocate as the Director of Libraries at the University of Mount Union.
For the first few years, Don created these wonderful posters with headshots of all 28 featured creatives. Our hope was that librarians would display it. Over time, we phased that out due to the amount of work both on Don’s part and the libraries – because to display it, in all its glory, would have really required a larger printout. Still, I’d like to think that Don’s posters are collector’s items that one day someone can feature as part of the movement to showcase the depth and breadth of excellence in the Black children’s literature community.
We’ve been fortunate to maintain a board of seven to nine creatives on The Brown Bookshelf since its inception in 2007. And this is no easy feat. Every one of us is an actively working author and/or illustrator. We do this work because we believe in it. We’re a family and team:
Crystal Allen
Tracey Baptiste
Tameka Fryer Brown
Gwendolyn Hooks
Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Why is it important to amplify Black voices and storytellers, especially for young readers?
Representation matters. There is no reason to perpetuate dulling our voices. Make no mistake, Black voices/storytellers have been and continue to be out there. But they’re dulled again and again. It’s not true that our stories aren’t out there. It’s not true that our stories won’t resonate with readers. It’s certainly not true that our stories won’t sell – especially if they were actually given the same consistent lift as books by white creatives.
I’ve always been a history buff. And there was a time when I liked watching shows like CNN’s The ’70s, ’80s, etc… But whenever you look at shows that purport to show you a slice of life from an era, Black people, if shown at all, tend to be given a few seconds almost always for their contributions in sports or entertainment. If one were to look at those shows, the simple assumption is either we didn’t exist at all or we had no part in crafting the era beyond the one Black artist they’re highlighting. Obviously false on both accounts. When media and books lack multiple, well-rounded portrayals of the role Black people played in America’s culture and development, the narrative is that we weren’t playing any role. So then it becomes easier to keep parroting falsehoods and pushing single narratives of the Black experience.
Young readers represent hope. You’ll notice that rather than specialize in a single genre, many Black creatives have worked across the children’s lit sphere. It’s because we understand the importance of having Black readers see themselves from picture book through Young adult literature. It’s also a chance for non-Black readers to see, hear and touch Black experiences. The earlier a reader is exposed to those stories the greater the chance we have of stamping out single narratives and falsehoods.
What sparked 28 Days Later and how do you celebrate Black History beyond Black History Month?
28 Days Later came out of the same discussions as our creation of The Brown Bookshelf. They were simultaneous creations. When we decided we needed to amplify Black works, 28 Days Later became the how. I still remember Varian questioning using the title of a zombie movie for our initiative. It was a bold, if not odd move. But my rationale was that 28 days later educators, parents, and librarians would walk away loaded with a long list of books for the young readers in their lives and with increased knowledge of the creatives behind those books. Emphasis on knowledge of the creatives.
I’ve always had a personal mission to make sure Black children’s lit creatives get the chance to become as well known as Ezra Jack Keats, Beverly Cleary, or Judy Blume – those authors whose work is in front of generations of readers. If names like Carole Boston Weatherford, Floyd Cooper, Sherri L. Smith, Derrick Barnes, Pat Cummings, Coe Booth, or Denene Millner aren’t familiar to you, despite their many contributions, that’s a problem for me.
Building on amplification opportunities, we began the Generations Book Club, last June. The initiative was conceived by Kelly Starling Lyons as a way to highlight books by Black creatives, boost book sales, help families nurture literacy skills, and bridge the social distancing divide by offering a shared reading experience within families and groups. Throughout the summer, we highlighted a single picture book, middle grade, young adult, and adult books across specific themes like Music, Culture, Community, and Heritage. In September, we decided to go beyond summer, stopping only for the 28 Days window. Using themes to curate books for the entire family has been a great way to build on exposing just how much work is out there.
Do you have a favorite author/artist who has inspired you in your storytelling?
Mildred L. Taylor for sure. I’ve always been a fan, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized how growing up reading her books about the Logan family impacted me as an author. Being exposed to books that told stories of pain and triumph with an honesty that empowered the reader, making it easy for me to write books that revolved around tough topics. Taylor’s work showcased a certain historical era, but the themes of her work are as relevant today when it comes to the duality of the dangers of one’s Blackness while celebrating the many joys of our culture.
What’s next for The Brown Bookshelf?
We find ourselves in an interesting place since Kwame Alexander asked us to host the 2020 Kid Lit 4 Black Lives rally. It was an incredible event to be part of and it increased our exposure greatly. The more viewers to our 28 Days Later spotlight, the better. However, it also lit a flame for broader advocacy for Black creatives. In August, we worked with Renee Watson and Cheryl and Wade Hudson on A Call To Action, essentially outlining elements of the publishing system we believe needs to be overhauled to better support Black creatives.
In March, we’ll be announcing new partnerships and initiatives that were borne directly of both the rally and our Call to Action. Mindful that there’s only so much bandwidth an individual has, we’re excited to be working with organizations like Highlights Foundation and We Need Diverse Books to build on our efforts to amplify and empower Black creatives in children’s literature. As long as there’s a place to find our voices, that’s one less excuse available for anyone pretending not to understand the importance of representation.
Be sure to follow The Brown Bookshelf on Facebook (@thebrownbookshelf), Instagram (@BrownBookshelfTeam), and Twitter (@brownbookshelf).
Thank you, Reading Rock Stars Dallas & Fort Worth!
By Josephine Yi, School & Community Programs Intern
Last week, we made some exciting virtual visits to elementary schools in Dallas and Fort Worth for our Reading Rock Stars program. Students got to meet authors and illustrators: Kelly Starling Lyons, Cozbi Cabrera, Monica Brown, Sili Recio, Don Tate, Isabel Quintero, Zeke Peña, and Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey. These storytellers shared their personal narratives and valuable advice for our future authors and illustrators.
Kelly Starling Lyons (author of Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon) described her experience growing up as a young girl reading books: “Reading was like dreaming… I liked books about everything: fairies, astronauts, folktales, fables. But I realized what I was missing in these books was myself.” She reminded our Reading Rock Stars that their voices matter and prompted them to work hard, use their imagination, and have faith in themselves. Don Tate (author and illustrator of William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad) walked us through how he illustrated his own books and let us in on his writing process. His books celebrate many different black historical figures and he shared the secret to becoming a great illustrator- practice! Don encouraged our Reading Rock Stars by saying “use your special language, it’s the personality you leave on each page.” Cozbi Cabrera (author and illustrator of Me and Mama) began her conversation with our Reading Rock Stars by asking them to join her in singing Good Morning to You and engaged them in an interactive read-aloud. Her mindful communication with students acknowledged their curiosity and agency.
Thank you to all of our authors and illustrators in Dallas and Fort Worth for speaking to the importance of remembering, honoring, and uplifting our communities, the heroes in our own personal lives, and the ones who have fought for racial equity throughout history. This Black History Month, one way we can honor black achievement is by exploring the virtual exhibits currently on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture! You can also join the celebration by sharing these activity choice boards with kids in your community.
Reading Rock Stars DFW, Choice Boards
We also want to say thank you to librarians at our six participating schools. We see your hard work and feel proud to be part of your team. Can’t wait to be back on your campus next year! Thank you to all our generous sponsors, including H-E-B Tournament of Champions, Texas Cultural Trust, The Miles Foundation, Thomas M., Helen McKee & John P. Ryan Foundation, and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation.
Tell us about your Festival experience!
Booklovers! We are so grateful to you for making this year’s Festival one of the best yet. With plenty of sunshine, engaging conversations, and a buzzing Congress Avenue, the 2019 Texas Book Festival was a success. We could not do any of this without you!
We’d like to hear your thoughts on this year’s Festival. What did you think about our lineup and activities? Where did you spend most of your time? What was your experience like?
Take our survey here for a chance to win the above grab bag, which includes a #TXBOOKFEST tote, a Festival pencil bag, and seven books from this year’s amazing authors, including Stephen Harrigan, Merrit Tierce, and Rodrigo Márquez Tizano. We want to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable experience at TBF, so your feedback will help us plan an even better Fest next year.
We can’t wait to hear from you!
Literary Highlights at Texas Book Fest
Calling all adult literature connoisseurs and enthusiasts! This year’s Festival highlights include the many wonderfully talented fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction writers whose work incorporates themes of place, identity, family, politics, spirituality, and more. Come out October 26-27 to hear from some of the year’s most acclaimed writers, current and future award-winners including Sarah M. Broom, Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, Oscar Cásares, Andrea Lawlor, Jaquira Díaz, Rion Amiclar Scott, and poets ire’ne lara silva, Javier Zamora, Brenda Shaughnessy, Jericho Brown and more.
You won’t want to miss the opportunity to hear some of today’s most influential writers. So grab your books, plan your schedule, and get ready to make your way to Congress Avenue in downtown Austin for a weekend of poetry, prose, and good conversation!
Poetry
Saturday
The Poets Tried to Tell You: Warning Signs in Lit
Capitol Extension Room E2.016, Saturday 10/26, 11:45 AM – 12:30 PM
Poets have long been tasked with writing the times as they are and all that wades below the surface. From sexual harassment and misogyny in the #metoo movement, to race and the social & political impact of government, poetry has allowed readers to consider the resulting personal wounds and community outrage. Panelists will discuss poetry that compels us to look at our chaotic present and uncertain future.
Authors: Lauren Alleyne, José Olivarez, Katie Bickham
Moderator: Amanda Johnston
Singing To It: Poetry That Moves Through Music
Capitol Extension Room E2.028, Saturday 10/26, 2:15-3:00
Drawing on the inspiration of song, poets Tyree Daye (River Hymns), Orlando Ricardo Menes (Memoria) and ire’en lara silva (Cuicacalli / House of Song) share new collections of poetry that reverberates with the rhythms of family history, the pop songs of youth, and the melodies that live within the physical and the spiritual.
Authors: Tyree Daye, Orlando Ricardo Menes, ire’ne lara silva
Moderator: Octavio Quintanilla
Pushing Forward: Poetry That Inspires Progress
Capitol Extension Room E2.016, Saturday 10/26, 3:30-4:15
In powerful new collections of poetry, Kayleb Rae Candrilli (What Runs Over), D. E. E. P. (Newsworthy), and Javier Zamora (Unaccompanied) share moving, electrifying work about crossing the border, coming out in rural Pennsylvania, and the state of modern media. Their intimate, incendiary work opens up spaces of empathy and acceptance as it pushes for progress.
Authors: Kayleb Rae Candrilli, Javier Zamora, Deborah Mouton
Moderator: Gerard Robledo
Literary Highlights
Saturday
100 Years of History: Complex Legacies of Family and Geography
Capitol Extension Room E2.012, Saturday 10/26, 12:30 PM – 1:15 PM
In highly acclaimed new works of nonfiction and fiction, memoirist Sarah Broom (The Yellow House) and novelist Margaret Wilkerson Sexton (The Revisioners) portray the legacies of family, geography and race in the American South. Broom’s memoir shares 100 years of her family’s life in their shotgun home in New Orleans East, a neglected area of one of America’s most mythologized cities, while Sexton’s generation-spanning new novel considers the lives and freedoms of women in 1925 and 100 years later.
Authors: Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, Sarah M. Broom
Moderator: Keffrelyn Brown
My Story Is More Than The Struggle: Powerful New Memoirs
Capitol Extension Room E2.010, Saturday 10/26, 1:15 PM – 2:00 PM
In memoirs that deftly manage the intersections of race, class, gender, family, and more, Jaquira Díaz (Ordinary Girls) and Mitchell Jackson (Survival Math) move through childhoods tattooed with struggle and disenfranchisement to write triumphant accounts of who they were, where they’ve been, and who they are now. The result is two powerhouse literary memoirs that shine with honesty, energy, and offer roadmaps out of trauma into grace.
Authors: Jaquira Díaz, Mitchell Jackson
Moderator: Doyin Oyeniyi
Shapes of Native Nonfiction: Collected Essays by Contemporary Writers
Capitol Extension Room 1.016, Saturday 10/26, 1:15 PM – 2:00 PM
The new anthology Shapes of Native Nonfiction features a dynamic combination of established and emerging Native writers. Editors Elissa Washuta and Theresa Warburton have curated an exciting collection of imaginative, world-making lyric essays by twenty-seven contemporary Native writers from tribal nations across Turtle Island into a well-crafted basket. Join them and contributor Bojan Louis as they share this new work.
Authors: Bojan Louis, Theresa Warburton, Elissa Washuta
Moderator: Syed Ali Haider
Born to Tell the Story: Fiction Based on Family History
Capitol Extension Room E2.030, Saturday 10/26, 1:45 PM – 2:30 PM
In their new novels, award-winning authors Angie Cruz (Dominicana) and Karl Marlantes (Deep River), spin true family stories into riveting fiction, portraying the lives of a Dominican family in New York City in the 1960s and Finnish immigrants in the Pacific Northwest in the early 1900s. Where do the lines between truth and fiction blend? What did they learn about themselves and their own family as they researched and wrote?
Authors: Karl Marlantes, Angie Cruz
Moderator: Masie Cochran
Penguin Classics Presents: What Makes a Classic? Writing a New Canon
Capitol Extension Room E2.010, Saturday 10/26, 2:30-3:15
What makes a classic book a “classic”? Join Elda Rotor, Vice President and Publisher of Penguin Classics, as she talks with novelist Andrea Lawlor, YA author LL McKinney, and T Kira Madden about what qualifies certain books for the classics shelf, those books that may have been overlooked as “classics,” and the kind of literature coming out today that has the lasting power of a classic.
Authors: Andrea Lawlor, L.L. McKinney, T Kira Madden
Moderator: Elda Rotor
Sunday
On Second Look: Writing About Home From New Perspectives
Capitol Extension Room E2.030, Sunday 10/27 12:45 pm – 1:30 pm
Whether it’s a border town in Texas or an African American neighborhood in small town North Carolina, award winning author Oscar Cásares (Where We Come From) and debut novelist De’Shawn Charles Winslow (In West Mills) write about their hometowns with depth, empathy and insight. Both novels feature a strong and complicated woman at the center of the story. How do these authors take on something as familiar as where they come from and infuse it with a new perspective?
Authors: Oscar Cásares, De’Shawn Winslow
Moderator: Anis Shivani
Writing From a Place: At the Crossroads of Geography, Identity, and Art
Capitol Extension Room E1.016, Sunday 10/27, 1:15-2:00
The defining forces and backdrops of geography are at the heart of phenomenal new collections of short fiction by Rion Amilcar Scott (The World Doesn’t Require You), Kali Fajardo-Anstine (Sabrina & Corina) and Bryan Washington (Lot). From the fictional town of Cross River, Maryland, to indigeneous Latinas in Denver, to the neighborhoods and characters of Houston, these collections illuminate the intersection of geography and identity as they catapult their characters into experiences and revelations simultaneously unique to their terrain and universal to readers.
Authors: Rion Amiclar Scott, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Bryan Washington
Moderator: Richard Santos
Colson Whitehead in Austin
Texas Book Festival and BookPeople are proud to host Colson Whitehead as he presents his newest novel, The Nickel Boys. We’re pleased to also partner with the Austin African American Book Festival and Black Studies at the University of Texas at Austin to produce this event.
In this masterful follow-up to his Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller, The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida.
Please join us for an evening with this great American author discussing
his newest work!
See full event guidelines and get your book tickets here
____________________________________
“I always have these ideas, and I think, ‘That would be really good; if I was a better writer, I could pull it off.’ And then I try to become a better writer to do it justice.”
—Colson Whitehead
____________________________________
Who: Award-winning author Colson Whitehead
What: Presenting 2019 novel The Nickel Boys
When: 7PM Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Where: First Baptist Church, Austin, TX
Book Tickets available now: get yours today
Brunch with Edward Lee
When: Sunday, October 28 at 11am-1pm
Where: Olamaie
1610 San Antonio Street
Austin, TX 78701
Tickets: Include three-course brunch and copy of Buttermilk Graffiti
We are thrilled to partner with Olamaie to host Edward Lee for an exclusive brunch on Sunday, October 28, at 11 a.m. Tickets are now on sale for this special event, and will include a three-course brunch featuring recipes Chef Michael Fojtasek will present with his own spin from both of Lee’s cookbooks, including his latest, Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine, along with Olamaie biscuits and brunch cocktails.
The morning will kick off with passed appetizers from Olamaie, with Lee onsite to welcome and mingle with guests and explain the inspiration for his dishes. Tickets for the limited seating event are priced at $125 per person and are available now. Tickets include one signed copy of Buttermilk Graffiti along with food and cocktails at brunch.
Edward Lee is the chef and owner of 610 Magnolia, MilkWood, and Whiskey Dry in Louisville, Kentucky, and culinary director of Succotash in National Harbor, Maryland, and Penn Quarter, Washington, DC. He appears frequently in print and on television, including earning an Emmy nomination for his role in the Emmy Award-winning series The Mind of a Chef. Most recently, he wrote and hosted the feature documentary Fermented. Lee has released two cookbooks, Smoke & Pickles and Buttermilk Graffiti. In his latest release, which was named one of Publishers Weekly’s Top 10 Food Books for spring 2018, Lee delves into the intersection of food and culture on an epic trip across America where he finds exceptional food in unconventional places.
Lee will also be at the Texas Book Festival in the Central Market Cooking Tent on Saturday, October 27, in the afternoon. The schedule details will be available on the Texas Book Festival website.
Lineup Sneak Peek: Fifteen Authors presenting at the 2018 Texas Book Festival
We are thrilled to give you a sneak peek at our 2018 Texas Book Festival Lineup! These fifteen authors are set to present their books over the Festival Weekend, October 27 and 28, in and around the Texas State Capitol in downtown Austin.
We’ll reveal our full lineup of authors presenting at the 2018 Festival in August—in the meantime, you can catch all TBF news and announcements by signing up for our newsletter, and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
* * *
Alexander Chee – How to Write an Autobiographical Novel
Bestselling author of The Queen of the Night, Alexander Chee, has now put himself on the map as the next great essayists of his generation with How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, his first work of nonfiction. In a collection of essays about his life, Chee details events both deeply impactful to him, like the death of his father, and to the nation, like the AIDS crisis, and 9/11. With a voice that is both commanding and honest, Chee stuns in his nonfiction debut.
Alfredo Corchado – Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries, and the Fate of the Great Mexian-American Migration
The second book from Mexican-American journalist Alfredo Corchado, Homelands tells the story of Mexican immigration through three decades. Centered around four friends, an activist, an entrepreneur, a lawyer, and Alfredo himself, Corchado tracks the changes and challenges of immigration through their relationships with one another. Homelands is both a beautiful story about friendship and required reading for our current political state. Corchado is currently the Mexico City bureau chief of The Dallas Morning News.
Erin Entrada Kelly – You Go First
We are proud to welcome Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly to the 2018 Festival. Author of several middle grade novels, including Hello, Universe, Kelly’s latest novel, You Go First, follows the lives of young Charlotte and Ben, two kids with little in common outside of an online Scrabble game. Kelly’s gem of a book tackles bullying, family, and the ultimate struggle that is middle school in a beautiful and engaging way.
David Grann – The White Darkness
Acclaimed author and New Yorker staff writer David Grann follows his two bestselling books, Killers of the Flower Moon and The Lost City of Z, with a brand new true story of adventure. The White Darkness follows Henry Worsley and his fascination with Ernest Shackleton, the explorer who attempted to be the first person to reach the South Pole and cross Antarctica on foot. Grann brings an impossible story to life with a powerful prose about a man and his obsessions.
Sandra Cisneros – Puro Amor
We are proud to present much-beloved poet and author, Sandra Cisneros, winner of the American Book Award and acclaimed author of The House on Mango Street. Cisneros’s latest book is a bilingual blend of fiction and illustration about love, devotion, and a house full of animals. Sweet, poignant, and full of life, Puro Amor is illustrated throughout with the author’s original line drawings.
Fatima Farheen Mirza – A Place for Us
The debut novel from Fatima Farheen Mirza, A Place For Us explores themes of family, sense of self, and belonging. The first novel from Sarah Jessica Parker’s new imprint, SJP for Hogarth, A Place for Us features a less-than-perfect family with less-than-perfect relationships. Parents struggle with the decisions of their children, daughters choose to marry for love and not tradition, and a son tries to make his way home. Brimming with both love and loss, Mirza writes with an eloquence deserving of praise.
V.E. Schwab – Vengeful
We are pleased to announce New York Times bestselling author of the Shades of Magic series, This Savage Song, and Our Dark Duet, and master of contemporary science fiction and fantasy, V.E. Schwab, will be attending the 2018 Texas Book Festival! Schwab’s newest is the highly anticipated sequel in her Villains series, Vengeful (following Vicious, which was re-released earlier this year).
Tommy Orange – There There
Breakthrough author Tommy Orange’s debut novel, There There, has been one of the most highly praised books of 2018 thus far. There There is a multi-generational story that follows the lives of twelve characters all headed to the Big Oakland Powwow for different reasons. A powerful book about the plight of the urban Native American, The New York Times has called it “groundbreaking” and “extraordinary.”
Mary Pope Osborne – Magic Tree House#30: Hurricane Heroes in Texas
The 30th installment of Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House series, Hurricane Heroes in Texas, series brings Jack and Annie to our own great state for the 1900 Hurricane in Galveston, Texas—the most devastating natural disaster in the history of the Western Hemisphere. Osborne’s historical fiction books for young readers has become an internationally-beloved and bestselling series and is supplemented by nonfiction companion books.
Tayari Jones – An American Marriage
New York Times Bestseller and a 2018 Oprah Book Club pick, Tayari Jones’s An American Marriage has been called “haunting … beautifully written” by the New York Times, and “A tense and timely love story’ . . . Packed with brave questions about race and class,” by People magazine. A stunning love story from the author of Silver Sparrow, An American Marriage is a brilliant as it is heartbreaking, following newlyweds Roy and Celestial as they begin to build a life together, only to have it torn apart by unforeseeable circumstances.
Chloe Benjamin – The Immortalists
From the author of The Anatomy of Dreams comes The Immortalists, one of the year’s first big bestsellers. The New York Times Book Review calls it, “A captivating family saga.” Benjamin’s novel follows the four Gold children whose lives are dictated by the prophecies of a traveling physic who claims to be able to predict the day someone will die. A novel of family and the power we give to our beliefs, The Immortalists is a stunner of a story.
Sandhya Menon – From Twinkle, With Love
New York Times bestselling Young Adult author of When Dimple Met Rishi, Sandhya Menon’s latest novel From Twinkle, With Love has been called “utterly charming” by NPR. Following aspiring filmmaker Twinkle Mehra as she chases her dreams—and her heart—Menon’s sophomore novel is just as perfect and endearing as her first. We are elated to welcome Menon to the Festival!
Leslie Jamison – The Recovering
Bestselling author of The Empathy Exams, and columnist for the New York Times Book Review, Leslie Jamison’s latest book, The Recovering, is part memoir, part investigative work. Focused on addiction and the narrative surrounding it, Jamison includes her own story, along with others including John Berryman and Billie Holiday, in order to examine who we are and why we need. Keen observations and unique voice make for a starkly real story about addiction and recovery which Entertainment Weekly called “Achingly wise.”
Walter Mosley – John Woman
From the beloved author of 47, Down the River Unto the Sea, Blonde Faith, and Devil in the Blue Dress, comes a new literary novel, John Woman, the riveting tale of a young New Yorker who transforms himself into Professor John Woman after the death of his father and the disappearance of his mother. Author of more than forty-five works of fiction and nonfiction, Walter Mosley is one of the most prolific authors of our time.
Joe Holley – Hurricane Season: The Unforgettable Story of the 2017 Houston Astros and the Resilience of a City
Journalist and native Texan Joe Holley has written for The Washington Post, Texas Monthly, Columbia Journalism Review, and The Houston Chronicle. His latest work, Hurricane Season, follows the Houston Astros’ journey to their first-ever World Series win in 2017, following the devastation caused when Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas Gulf Coast earlier that year. Chronicling both the story behind the team as well as the hearts of its players, Holley’s story is as bold and beautiful as the city of Houston itself.
Announcing our 2018 Festival Poster Artist!
We are thrilled to announce we have selected our 2018 Festival poster artist, Austin-based painter Valerie Fowler! Fowler’s oil painting, Spring, Everything Changes, will be featured on this year’s Festival poster and will represent our annual Festival Weekend.
Fowler’s career has spanned more than thirty years and includes a wide variety of works, from oil on canvas paintings to commissioned murals, CD art for local musicians, and even a fully illustrated 64 page book called “Ivy and the Wicker Suitcase,” to accompany a musical project written, recorded, and produced by her husband Brian Beattie. Fowler’s work most often explores the wildly diverse natural world of Texas and describes “a natural world of extreme beauty and vigor while also conveying nature’s sensitive vulnerability.”
“The Texas Book Festival is thrilled to feature Valerie Fowler’s work this year,” says Lois Kim, executive director of Texas Book Festival. “Her beautifully alive paintings convey the fantasy in our imaginations and the energy of what lies just beneath the surface. They perfectly capture the creative spirit of our Festival.”
The painting selected for our 2018 Festival poster features a gorgeous, surrealistic interpretation of Fredericksburg peach trees in bloom, evoking a sense of storybook wonder and the unique possibility of the Texas landscape.
“I hope my paintings bring recurring pleasure,” Fowler says. “Having a work of art you come back to is much like reading a favorite novel—every time you return to it, it takes you back to moments from earlier in your life: who you were before, who you’ve been since, and also gives you something new. When a painting keeps giving each time you come back to it, that’s part of what really makes it a successful painting.”
Our tradition of choosing a representative work by a Texas artist began in 1998, and the honor has been shared by acclaimed artists and photographers such as Lance Letscher, Julie Speed, Randal Ford, Dan Winters, Kate Breakey, and Jack Unruh.
“The Texas art community, I would say, is wide open, just like our skies, and we’re lucky to see so many diverse genres and types of art. The uniqueness is that there’s so much variety in Texas. Beyond even the differences in styles and influences between regions, you find a wide variety inside those regions—each city and area holds as much variety as the state itself, and the vastness of our state really lends itself to growing that variety.”
Join us this year on October 27 and 28 in downtown Austin for the 2018 Texas Book Festival!
Announcing the Recipients of our Harvey Relief Fund!
Last November over the 2017 Texas Book Festival Weekend, Festival-goers from all across the state helped us raise money to provide relief for school libraries affected by Hurricane Harvey. With matching grants from The Tocker Foundation and the Texas Book Festival, we were able to raise $10,000 to help five school libraries in Houston and the Gulf Coast area recover.
“These rebuilding grants are a wonderful example of the local community joining two Texas nonprofit literacy organizations to support Texas libraries in need. We are looking forward to seeing the new books on the shelves of these worthy schools.” —Lois Kim, Executive Director
The five school libraries selected for funding are Aransas ISD Little Bay Primary and four
schools in Houston ISD: Forest Brook Middle School, Mitchell Elementary, Martinez Elementary, and Robinson Elementary.
Aransas ISD’s Little Bay Primary was heavily damaged during the storm and will not reopen. Its pre-kindergarten classrooms received substantial damage and all mentor texts for classroom libraries were lost. Funds will be used to purchase new classroom books for the 2018-2019 school year at Aransas ISD’s new campus, the Discovery Learning Center.
More than 20,000 books were destroyed in the four Houston ISD school libraries selected for funding. Forest Brook Middle School, Mitchell Elementary, Martinez Elementary, and Robinson Elementary will receive funds to help replace the books that were lost at each campus.