Local Love for the Launch of Matthew McConaughey’s First Children’s Book
Austin's Minister of Culture to kickstart his book tour in Texas at BookPeople
Academy Award-winning actor, director, producer, philanthropist, and UT Austin professor, Matthew McConaughey is now adding children’s book author to his long list of professional achievements. Austin’s Minister of Culture is already a New York Times best-selling author for his autobiography Greenlights, but now he has penned a new illustrated children’s book. His debut book for children, Just Because, will hit the shelves on September 12, 2023, but locals have a special opportunity to help McConaughey kick off his book tour at the beloved BookPeople in downtown Austin on September 9.
The event includes one signed copy of the book, plus a photo-op with Matthew McConaughey for up to four people. As of now, this appears to be the only Texas stop on his book tour. Naturally, tickets for the BookPeople event sold out quickly. Please note that the Tribeza giveaway has ended and a winner has been notified via email.
Just Because is “a soulful and irreverent collection of life lessons that empowers readers, big and small, to celebrate how we are all full of possibility,” as stated on the book’s website.
McConaughey notes his excitement for his book on a video to Texas educators. In his own words, he shares, “This is a collection of life lessons that I hope’s going to empower young readers, big and small.” He adds, “Hope it lets them know that they are not alone in this world and this wild adventure that we call life. And I hope it helps them realize just how full of possibilities that we truly each and all are.”
This new children’s book sounds like a sincere and uplifting addition to Matthew’s many passionate endeavors. Along with his wife, Camila, he founded the just keep livin Foundation, which is dedicated to empowering high school students by providing them with the tools to lead active lives and make healthy choices for a better future. This past June, the couple also launched the Foundation’s Uvalde Relief Fund which includes grief counseling, the funding of “other immediate and long-term needs of the community.”
Most recently, on July 20, Matthew and the JK Livin Foundation launched the Greenlights Grant Initiative. This is aimed at helping school districts across the country, apply for and secure federal school safety grants so students can study in safe and healthy environments.
We look forward to seeing this local icon and national treasure at BookPeople in September.