Texas Book Festival Staff

Lois Kim

Executive Director

Lois serves as Texas Book Festival’s Executive Director and CEO, responsible for leading the organization's strategic direction, staff, resource development and external relations. Born in Seoul, Lois grew up in Williamsville, New York. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in English from the University of Texas at Austin, where her research focused on Shakespeare and early modern culture. In her early career, she taught high school English and pursued graduate coursework from the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College. Prior to joining the Texas Book Festival, Lois served as the associate director of University Extension at UT Austin, where she managed student and academic affairs for college credit students and ran several community programs. She has served on the Board of the Austin Public Library Foundation and on various committees for literary awards and grants. Lois loves to cook for family and friends, walk/jog/hike, and is a member of two great bookclubs. Her favorite book genres are literary fiction across all centuries and memoir.

Dalia Azim

Deputy Director

Dalia Azim

Deputy Director

dalia@texasbookfestival.org

Dalia serves as the Texas Book Festival's Deputy Director. She holds a bachelor's degree in Modern Thought and Literature from Stanford University and published her first book, Country of Origin, in 2022. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Texas Highways, American Short Fiction, Aperture, Glimmer Train, and Other Voices, among other places. Before joining TBF, she was the manager of executive initiatives and chief diversity and inclusion officer at the Blanton Museum of Art, where she helped oversee the realization of Ellsworth Kelly's Austin, the Blanton's new grounds initiative, and the museum's DEAI priorities. She previously worked as a senior researcher at the Dedalus Foundation and as a curatorial assistant at the Museum of Modern Art. She was an Op-Ed Public Voices Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin and has received the First Star honor from American Short Fiction, the Staff Excellence Award from the Blanton Museum of Art, and the Lee Tenenbaum Award for exceptional curatorial work at MoMA. She is a member of the Austin Bat Cave Board of Directors and judged the 2022 Balcones Prize in Fiction for Austin Community College.

Hannah Gabel

Literary Director

hannah@texasbookfestival.org

Hannah joined the Texas Book Festival as the Literary Director in 2023. She holds a double bachelor's degree from Boston University in Advertising and History. Hannah has spent the majority of her professional career in corporate event management, marketing, and design. A native Austininte, she previously directed events and marketing strategy at The Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA) and Stream Realty Partners. Prior to joining TBF, Hannah founded HLG Creative, a freelance graphic design and marketing agency, where she worked with a variety of clients on everything from logos and branding to website design and content creation. She is also the founder of the book blog and social community, Bookmarkparty, which has enabled her to connect with authors, publishers, and fellow book lovers around the world. In her free time, she enjoys checking out the latest Austin hotspots, reading as much as possible, and pursuing various creative projects.

Michelle Hernandez

School & Community Programs Manager

Olivia Hesse

Event Production & Logistics Coordinator

Olivia Hesse

Event Production & Logistics Coordinator

oliviahesse@texasbookfestival.org

Olivia serves as the Texas Book Festival’s Event Production and Logistics Coordinator, responsible for organizing volunteers, general setup, and assistance with logistics for Festival Weekend and year-round programming. She holds bachelor's degrees in English and Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and a Certificate in Creative Writing. She’s lived in the Austin area her whole life, is passionate about the art of storytelling in whatever form it may take, and served as the Events Production intern for TBF prior to joining full-time. Her favorite book genres are literary fiction, personal essays, and short fiction stories. She is often accompanied at the office by (unofficial) TBF Mascot, Otis the Shih-Tzu. Outside work, you can find her running slowly around Town Lake, reading at Zilker, or hanging out with Otis.

Anna Dolliver

Operations Coordinator

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