As the summer ramps up, the TBF staff is enjoying some vacation time before the Festival season really kicks into high gear. We’re book people, so of course we listen to audiobooks during long drives and flights! Literary Director Hannah Gabel, and Director of Youth Programs Michelle Hernandez are here to offer some audiobook recommendations to make your travel time fly by. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll check one more book off of your to-be-read list. It’s a win-win. Hannah’s Recommendations After the passing of their mother, Maise and Grant are sent to Palm Springs to spend the summer wit ..read more

Texas Book Festival is proud to announce author/illustrator Zeke Peña as the 2024 Festival poster artist. Every year, Texas Book Festival selects an artist with a strong Texas affiliation whose work reflects the spirit of the Festival, an annual celebration of imagination, creativity, community, and diverse artistic expression. Peña crafted a custom piece of artwork for the official 2024 Festival poster image. The poster features bilingual text in English and Spanish, in alignment with the Festival’s growth in its Spanish language programming. Please join us as we celebrate Peña’s addition to ..read more

Whether you’re on the move or at home, audiobooks are a fantastic way to stay engaged with your favorite authors. We teamed up with our friends at Libro.fm to bring you select author interviews from the 2023 Texas Book Festival on the Libro.fm podcast. And guess what? Festival Friends Pass holders enjoy a free audiobook from Libro.fm and several other Festival goodies! Click a tile below to listen to the interviews ..read more

In honor of Pride Month, TBF reached out to queer-owned and -operated bookstores in Texas for book recommendations! From horror to poetry, we’re looking camp right in the eye to bring you plenty of excellent reads to carry you along this month (and the rest of the year at that.) We encourage our audience to engage with LGBTQIA+ authors this month and all year round by purchasing their books and sharing and attending their in-person and virtual events. We also invite our audience to show these bookstores some love online and in-store. Click book titles or book thumbnails to purchase these recom ..read more

Thank you for your interest in Texas Book Festival’s Fresh Ink Fiction Contest. This year, instead of the fiction contest, we’re excited to try something new! We will still have a session that features young writers during Festival Weekend, and we are busy planning author panels and interactive experiences for teens. Please subscribe to the TBF newsletter and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and X @texasbookfest for the latest updates ..read more

Tara is a former educator and reading specialist. She has developed a nationally recognized service learning curriculum connecting middle school students as mentors and providing opportunities for them to engage with young readers. Tara believes in the power of understanding or own stories and loves to read about other’s stories. Tara and her husband enjoy spending time with their children, weather it is supporting their son while he performed in the Lion King Broadway tour,  attending football games with their younger son at the University of Georgia, or watching their daughter ..read more

Annie Jacob serves on the Friends of the Children Austin Board of Directors. She is a teacher, volunteer, and advocate for children in disadvantaged environments. Previously an elementary teacher in Richmond, California, Annie Jacob understands the importance of building sustained and nurturing relationships with youth. As the nation recognizes and expands opportunities for diversity, equity, and inclusion, the Jacob family is leading to ensure children facing adversity are recognized, acknowledged, and prioritized. Annie just had a baby in November of 2023 and has three other children ..read more

In honor of AAPI Heritage Month, the TBF staff is delighted to spotlight some of their favorite reads by authors featured at the 2023 Texas Book Festival. Additionally, we invite our audiences to support AAPI authors year-round by purchasing their books, sharing their work online and offline, and attending their virtual and in-person events. “This charming story about two friends, one real and one imaginary, is sure to make readers smile and tug on their heartstrings as well. With themes of friendship, believing, and loss, this is a book that young children, adults, and everyone in between wi ..read more

To celebrate National Poetry Month, Texas Book Festival honors the genre and the occasion by spotlighting Amanda Johnston. Johnston is the 2024 Texas Poet Laureate and founder of Torch Literary Arts, a nonprofit organization established to publish and promote creative writing by Black women with whom TBF partners during Festival weekend. We spoke with Johnston about the significance of this month. TBF: What are some ways that folks can engage with poetry this month or at any time? AJ: Read poetry. Listen to poetry. Share a poem. Write a poem. Poetry is all around us and can offer a moment of ..read more

Andrea Rado Hamilton was raised in a real estate family and has been in the industry for over twenty years. She is a Global Real Estate Expert with Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty. In addition to helping clients buy, sell and lease residential real estate, Andrea has worked in a variety of capacities within the industry, from building high density urban homes, to selling small investment properties, to raising private equity for limited partnerships. A native Austinite, Andrea is passionate about the local community! She has chaired galas and fun runs for Rodeo Austin, The ..read more