One of the true signs of fall in my book is the annual announcement of the Texas Book Festival author lineup. For me, that goes all of the way back to the first TBF in 1996. A bit of backstory: I had the good fortune to land my dream job as the director of the TBF, where I wrangled authors until 2003. The author programs have always been the heart and soul of the TBF, and this year is no different.
The festival announced the author lineup on Sept. 22, and it’s packed! Some of the big names: Colson Whitehead (at the top of my watchlist!), Ann Cleves, Maggie Stiefvater, Mary Gaitskill, Tamron Hall, Emmanuel Acho, and Maria Hinojosa.
All worth checking out, to be sure, but don’t miss the crazy-good Texas authors on the list – that has always been my favorite part of the Texas Book Festival. Among my personal picks this year (in no particular order):
- Benjamin Alire Sáenz
- Lawrence Wright
- Sandra Cisneros
- Cynthia Leitich Smith
- Nathan Harris
- Gregory Curtis
- Joe Nick Patoski
- H.W. Brands
- Lynda Rutledge
- Don Tate Jr.
- Sergio Troncoso
- Bill Minutaglio
- Jeff Abbott
- Stacey Swann
- Kathi Appelt
- Mimi Swartz
- And so many more!
Check out the full lineup here. I’ll be checking it out myself in more detail to assemble my must-see author sessions. Who are YOU most excited about this year? Do tell!
Since the festival is going hybrid this year, most of the programs will be virtual with limited-in-person events from Oct. 23-31. Austin’s own BookPeople is once again the bookstore of record – so order your books today here and get a jump-start on your Texas Book Festival reading! You can even browse through the whole set of TBF books here.
