Texas Book Festival Staff

Dalia Azim

Interim Executive Director

Dalia serves as the Texas Book Festival's Interim Executive 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 Austinite, 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 & Literary Coordinator

Jose Rodriguez

Communications & Public Relations Coordinator

Jose Rodriguez

Communications & Public Relations Coordinator

jose@texasbookfestival.org

Jose serves as the Texas Book Festival’s Communications & PR Coordinator. He holds a B.B.A. in Marketing and a B.A. in English with a creative writing focus in fiction from Texas State University. Following graduation, he joined GoDaddy’s social media team helping hundreds of small businesses across the United States succeed online via marketing, branding, and paid advertising. He’s volunteered with local literary organizations including the Writers’ League of Texas and Austin Bat Cave. He serves as a reader for Story Magazine and continues working furiously to develop his own writing for publication. In his free time, Jose enjoys roller skating, dancing with his friends, enjoying a good piece of speculative fiction, and attempting to live inside the minds of the characters he’s invented.

Becky Gomez

Digital Content & Design Coordinator

Becky Gomez

Digital Content & Design Coordinator

becky@texasbookfestival.org

Becky serves as the Digital Content & Design Coordinator for the Texas Book Festival. She holds a bachelor's degree from Stanford University in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Art & Art History. Prior to joining TBF, she worked as a product designer in New York City but decided to move her pursuits of a creative career to her hometown, Austin TX. As a creative with a passion for self-expression in many forms, she is excited to pursue her role with the hope of continuing to tell visual stories. Her love for reading can be traced to bedtime stories her parents would read to her, and memories made with TBF programming growing up. In her free time, she can be found collaging, crocheting, acting, or styling herself or others for her small personal styling business.

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