Ke’ara joined the Texas Book Festival in 2021 and is responsible for coordinating and executing the communication, marketing, publicity, and messaging efforts across multiple channels. She holds a master’s degree in Television Producing & Management from Boston University and a double bachelor’s degree in Radio-TV-Film & English from The University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining the Texas Book Festival, she worked in entertainment and events with SXSW, Austin Film Festival, Austin Film Society, and The Ellen Degeneres Show.

In her spare time, she teaches in the Radio-TV-Film department at Austin Community College. You’ll probably catch her rewatching Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice and over-analyzing Mr. Darcy’s famous hand-twitch while patiently waiting on George R.R. Martin to release The Winds of Winter.

Julie serves as Texas Book Festival’s literary director, responsible for developing and implementing year-round literary programming in Austin and other Texas cities, including the annual two-day Festival in Austin. She has ten years of experience as an independent bookseller, most recently serving as marketing director for BookPeople, the largest independent bookstore in Texas and one of the most high profile independent bookstores in the country. Before moving to Austin in 2011, Julie served as publicist and events coordinator for Book Revue, a large independent bookstore on Long Island. She has a B. A. in English from Boston University. In addition to acting as TBF’s literary director, Julie is the author of the books Vegan Survival Guide to Austin and The Swimming Holes of Texas. Her fiction has been published in Arcadia magazine, which nominated her short story, ‘Happiness,’ for a Pushcart Prize. She is currently at work on a novel. Julie loves books of all stripes and is particularly drawn to short and literary fiction.

Maris serves as the Development Associate for Texas Book Festival. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in English from The State University of New York at Geneseo. Before joining the festival, Maris worked as the Executive Assistant at The Center for Generational Kinetics, and as a ghostwriter for the New York-based firm Katz Creative, Inc. Her literary interests include literary and speculative fiction, as well as short stories and poetry. Her own short fiction has been published by Witness Magazine, Molotov Cocktail online journal and Gandy Dancer Literary Magazine, Literal Latte, and Noble/Gas Quarterly. Her story “Whale Summer” was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is working on a short story collection and a novel.

Lea manages Texas Book Festival’s year-round outreach programs including Reading Rock Stars, Library Grants, and the Youth Fiction Contest. Lea holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in International Relations and International Development from Tulane University. After graduating, Lea taught 6^th grade reading at a KIPP middle school in New Orleans as a member of Teach for America. She recently graduated from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs with a Master’s of Public Affairs. While earning her master’s degree, Lea interned for a local corporate foundation. Lea’s favorite literary genres include 20^th century fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction.

Claire serves as Texas Book Festival’s Deputy Director, overseeing Festival and program logistics as well as day to day operations. She joined the Texas Book Festival in 2014. She has a PhD in Comparative Literature from Stony Brook University and a master’s degree in Aesthetic Studies from UT Dallas and a bachelor’s degree in Literary Studies from UT Dallas. Before joining the Festival, Claire was an adjunct professor at Stony Brook University teaching film, literature, and cultural studies. Her literary interests include comics and graphic novels, literary fiction, and memoirs.