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Texas Book Festival Announces Authors Joining 2022 Event

The annual event will be back for a weekend of in-person activities this November, headlined by a starry lineup of writers

A bevy of notable authors will descend upon Austin as the Texas Book Festival returns for a fully in-person event this November.

The weekend will take place Nov. 5 and 6 downtown after two years of virtual and hybrid programming. Sessions with authors will be scheduled throughout the weekend, along with The First Edition Literary Gala, which will be held Nov. 4 at the Fairmont Austin.

“There’s something special about seeing authors in-person again,” says Matthew Patin, TBF’s literary director. “Virtual programming provided us, and continues to provide, creative opportunities, yet nothing quite matches an author visiting Austin once more. In pre-COVID times, we took a physical appearance for a given, but now it feels that much more valuable and important.”

Standouts from the lineup include Omar Epps, a Screen Actors Guild Award-winning actor and producer who will introduce his debut YA novel, “Nubia: The Awakening”; Pulitzer Prize finalist and Guggenheim Fellow biologist David George Haskell, presenting his Kirkus-starred book titled “Sounds Wild and Broken”; and Sandra Brown, a Texan and author of 73 New York Times bestsellers, sharing her latest novel, “Overkill.”

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The Texas Book Festival was founded in 1995 by former First Lady Laura Bush and philanthropist Mary Margaret Farabee, along with many volunteers who were passionate about the nonprofit organization’s goal, which is “to inspire Texans of all ages to love reading.” The annual event is a weekend full of opportunities to meet and mingle with writers, connect with fellow readers and see what’s new in the literary world.

The list announced today is only a sneak peek of what’s to come. The authors, as well as the books they will be presenting, are as follows:

  Vishwesh Bhatt, “I Am From Here: Stories and Recipes from a Southern Chef”

  Sandra Brown, “Overkill”

  Sandra Cisneros, “Woman Without Shame: Poems”

  Angie Cruz, “How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water”

  Erin Entrada Kelly, “Those Kids from Fawn Creek”

  James Kirchick, “Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington”

  Omar Epps, “Nubia: The Awakening”

  Sidik Fofana, “Stories from the Tenants Downstairs”

  Michaela Goade, “Berry Song”

  Xochitl Gonzalez, “Olga Dies Dreaming”

  David George Haskell, “Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution’s
Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction”

  Elizabeth McCracken, “The Hero of This Book”

  Matt de la Peña, “Patchwork”

  Mary Laura Philpott, “Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives”

  Roger Reeves, “Best Barbarian: Poems”

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Festival goers can look forward to the participation of many more wordsmiths as the full lineup will be released in September. More than 250 authors will participate in sessions across the weekend.

“The 15 names here are only a fraction of what’s to come,” teases Patin.

The Texas Book Festival is free and open to the public thanks to donors, sponsors and volunteers. For more information, visit texasbookfestival.org or follow @texasbookfest on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.