The Texas Book Festival returns to Austin in November, celebrating all things literary for its 21st anniversary. On Tuesday, the organization announced 16 top authors participating in this year’s event.
It’s appropriate that the festival’s founder, Laura Bush, returns with a new book for the 2016 fest. The former first lady has penned a children’s book with daughter and Today Show correspondent Jenna Bush Hager, who will also be in attendance.
"The Texas Book Festival holds a very special place in my heart. I am honored to participate in the festival that I founded, especially to present a book that I authored with my daughter Jenna," said Laura Bush in a release. "We love spending time outdoors and hope that our new children's book, Our Great Big Backyard, will encourage families to explore our country’s best idea: our national parks.”
Other notable attendees with featured books include Newbery Medalists Lois Lowry and Jacqueline Woodson; best-selling novelist Justin Cronin; and actress Diane Guerrero (Orange is the New Black, Jane the Virgin).
Always a highlight, the 2016 festival poster, also revealed Tuesday night, features a piece by the late Texas artist Jack Unruh. The illustrated poster was selected from Texas author Bill Wittliff’s book The Devil’s Backbone.
The authors announced so far and their featured books include:
- Kwame Alexander, Booked
- Julissa Arce, My (Underground) American Dream: My True Story as an Undocumented Immigrant Who Became a Wall Street Executive
- Laura Bush and Jenna Bush Hager, Our Great Big Backyard
- Justin Cronin, The City of Mirrors
- Diane Guerrero, In the Country We Love: My Family Divided
- Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing
- Skip Hollandsworth, The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal, and the Hunt for America's First Serial Killer
- Ha Jin, The Boat Rocker
- Lois Lowry, Looking Back: A Book of Memories
- Eileen Myles, I Must Be Living Twice: New and Selected Poems 1975-2014
- Andrés Neuman, How to Travel without Seeing: Dispatches from the New Latin America
- Trevor Pryce, Amphibians’ End: A Kulipari Novel
- Maria Semple, Today Will Be Different
- Bill Wittliff, The Devil’s Sinkhole
- Jacqueline Woodson, Another Brooklyn
Over 250 additional writers, including chefs, screenwriters, and comedians, will join the above authors for readings, panel discussions, signings, and more. Free and open to the public, the Texas Book Festival takes place November 5 and 6 in and around the State Capitol and along Congress Avenue. Visit the fest’s website for more information.
Laura Bush and Jenna Bush Hager are bringing their new children's book to this year's Texas Book Festival.
