Texas Book Festival is excited to announce that the 26th annual Texas Book Festival will take place October 25 through October 31 as a hybrid event. Starting Monday, October 25, virtual sessions will lead up to the Festival Weekend on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol and along Congress Avenue in downtown Austin. The Festival will include a diverse lineup of established, emerging, and debut literary talent of all ages. (Texas Book Festival, 2021)

The 2020 all Virtual Festival featured more than 175 authors, illustrators, poets, journalists, artists, and thought leaders including Matthew McConaughey, Dean Koontz, and Erin Brockovich. The annual First Edition Literary Gala was held virtually and raised more than $600,000 to fund all the nonprofit organization’s literary and literacy programs.

In 2021, book enthusiasts can look forward to the return of everything they love about the Texas Book Festival, including a terrific author lineup, timely and thoughtful panel topics, food trucks, a Saturday evening Lit Crawl, and more.

The 2021 Texas Teen Book Festival will also take place during the hybrid Festival, featuring conversations with acclaimed Young Adult authors. The annual First Edition Literary Gala will take place Friday, October 29 as an in-person celebration featuring some of literature’s brightest stars and storytellers, with indoor and outdoor seating options.
Guests can attend sessions in the outdoor tents and are welcome to visit the in-person and virtual Exhibitor Marketplace, which features book publishers big and small, university presses, booksellers, independent authors, and a wide variety of items for the literary shopper.

With a vision to inspire Texans of all ages, the Texas Book Festival connects authors and readers through experiences that celebrate the culture of literacy, ideas, and imagination. Founded in 1995 by former First Lady Laura Bush, Mary Margaret Farabee, and a group of volunteers, the nonprofit Texas Book Festival promotes the joys of reading and writing through its annual Festival Weekend, the Texas Teen Book Festival, the Reading Rock Stars Title I elementary school program, the Real Reads Title I middle and high school program, grants to Texas libraries, and year-round literary programming. This year’s hybrid Texas Book Festival will take place from October 25 through October 31, with virtual events October 25 – 28 and the Festival Weekend taking place on the grounds of the Texas Capitol October 30 – 31, featuring renowned authors, panels, book signings, and children’s activities. Thanks to generous donors, sponsors, and volunteers, the Festival remains free and open to the public.

“Festival-goers have shared with us how eager they are to see us return downtown, safety permitting. And now, encouraged by growing vaccination numbers and only after many conversations with authors, publishers, attendees, partners, other event organizations, and the City of Austin, we’re eager as well. We’ll never abandon what we learned about virtual, though—readers told us they enjoyed that too. Stepping into the hybrid space provides everyone the opportunity to participate in a big, vibrant, diverse Festival program, virtually or in-person.” – Literary Director Matthew Patin.