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Texas Book Festival 2018 lineup mixes famous literary stars and Lone Star talent
The Texas Book Festival, the state's annual celebration of all things literary, has been slowly teasing its 2018 lineup over the past few weeks. On August 29 at a private event, the festival unveiled all 280 authors scheduled to appear this year. Situated around the Texas State Capitol and various downtown venues, the book fest returns October 27-28 for a weekend of free activities open to all book lovers.
Like most years, the lineup is designed to appeal to wide range of readers. Festival-goers can visit with New York Times bestsellers, listen in on panels with local photographers, get in the kitchen with famous cookbook authors, and enjoy discussions with YA writers.
Just a sampling of the writers taking part in the wordy weekend includes Chloe Benjamin, Scott Kelly, Michael Beschloss, Sarah Bird, Julian Castro, Soman Chainani, Ben Fountain, K.A. Holt, R.O Kwan, Miriam Parker, Susan Orlean, John Scalzi, and Jose Antonio Vargas.
Comedian and 2 Dope Queens co-host Phoebe Robinson will present her new essay collection, Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay. Singer Dessa will also be at the fest promoting her memoir, My Own Devices. The full list of authors can be found here.
These literary stars join the already announced Tayari Jones, Pete Souza, Cecile Richards, David Grann, Fatima Farheen Mirza, V.E. Schwab, and Leslie Jamison.
And this wouldn't be the Texas Book Festival without the Texans. Lone Star State authors this year include Mimi Swartz, Lawrence Wright, Turk Pipkin, Helen Thompson, Jay B Sauceda, H.W. Brands, Kenny Braun, Virginia Cumberbatch, Paula Disbrowe, Randal Ford, Casey Dunn, and Wyatt McSpadden, among others.
"It's an honor to welcome so many wonderful authors to Texas,” says literary director Julie Wernersbach in a release. “The breadth and quality of work published this year has made for an embarrassment of riches at this year's festival. We're thrilled to bring these authors together for conversations we know will resonate with Texas readers."
In addition to panels and book signings, the book festival will host special events like The First Edition Literary Gala. Celeste Ng, Michael Beschloss, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Jacqueline Woodson will join New York Times Magazine editor (and former Texas Monthly editor) Jake Silverstein in a conversation at the gala on October 26 at the Four Seasons Austin.
Capping off the weekend is the Lit Crawl on October 28, a boozy bar crawl for bookish types — and a favorite event of the year. This year's route, along with a full schedule of weekend events, will be released closer to the festival.
