The Texas Book Festival is a free annual

book fair A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

held in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. The festival takes place in late October or early November. It is one of the top book festivals in the United States.

Beginnings

The festival was established in 1995 by Laura Bush, then the First Lady of Texas, and Mary Margaret Farabee, wife of former State Senator Ray Farabee. The festival was initially created to benefit the state's public library system, promotes the joy of

reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

, and honor Texas

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

s. The first festival took place at the

Texas State Capitol The Texas State Capitol is the capitol and seat of government of the American state of Texas. Located in downtown Austin, Texas, the structure houses the offices and chambers of the Texas Legislature and of the Governor of Texas. Designed in 1881 ...

in November 1996.

Expansion

Since then, the festival has greatly expanded, with a focus on nationally known authors, attracting major bestsellers and award-winners. The revised mission statement: "The Texas Book Festival connects authors and readers through experiences that celebrate the culture of literacy, ideas, and imagination." With the assistance of Honorary Chairman and

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

, Mrs. Bush, and a task force, the festival has grown, hosting more than 2,000 authors since its introduction. It grew to hosting about 250 authors each year and attracting more than 40,000 attendees.

Bookend Award

Each year, the festival honors a writer with the "Bookend Award" for outstanding contribution to the literature of Texas. In addition to the award event, the festival includes children's books, crafts, and costumed characters.

Selected annual details

In 2015, the festival hit a record 300 authors, including Booker Prize winner Margaret Atwood,

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning novelist

Elizabeth Strout Elizabeth Strout (born January 6, 1956) is an American novelist and author. She is widely known for her works in literary fiction and her descriptive characterization. She was born and raised in Portland, Maine, and her experiences in her youth ...

, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic

Margo Jefferson Margo Lillian Jefferson (born October 17, 1947) is an American writer and academic. Biography Jefferson received her B.A. from Brandeis University, where she graduated ''cum laude'', and her M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of ...

, politicians Gary Hart and John Sununu, Jonathan Lethem,

Lemony Snicket Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American author Daniel Handler (born February 28, 1970). Handler has published several children's books under the name, most notably ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'', which has sold over 60 million copies and s ...

Taye Diggs Scott Leo "Taye" Diggs (born January 2, 1971) is an American stage and film actor. He is known for his roles in the Broadway musicals '' Rent'' and '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', the TV series '' Private Practice'' (2007-2013), ''Murder in th ...

Leonard Pitts Leonard Garvey Pitts Jr. (born October 11, 1957) is an American commentator, journalist, and novelist. He is a nationally syndicated columnist and winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. He was originally hired by the ''Miami Herald' ...

, Robert Christgau and

Jessica Hopper Jessica Hopper (born September 5, 1976) is an American writer. She published ''The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic,'' a compilation of her essays, reported pieces, zines, and reviews, in May 2015. In 2018, she publish ...

. In 2020, the festival was held online, caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In 2021, a hybrid was held, with both online and limited in-person components.

References

Citations

Works cited

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External links

Official website

The Austin Chronicle's full coverage of the current/latest festival
1995 establishments in Texas Book fairs in the United States Festivals established in 1995 Festivals in Austin, Texas Laura Bush Literary festivals in the United States Texas literature {{Austin-stub