Discover Austin: Texas Book Festival

The Texas Book Festival is held at the Texas Capitol Building and the surrounding area.  The main events are author presentations and book signings.  These are held in the Capitol, other nearby buildings, and in tents along the grounds.  These offer an opportunity to hear authors read from their books, share their insights, and have question & answer sessions.  Of course, you can generally get signed copies of books. 

Another major component is the Exhibitors Marketplace.  Lined up along streets surrounding the Capitol, you’ll find dozens of vendors from small publishers to local businesses. 

With cooking books being a big genre, there’s a tent dedicated to cooking demonstrations.

The Texas Book Festival is very kid-friendly.  You’ll find lots of fun sessions for kids from how to structure a story to beginning illustration and everything in between.  

The event is free and open to the public.  Some of the sessions have reserved seating for those who make a donation to the festival. 

The Festival was started in 1995 by Laura Bush (who is a former librarian) and Mary Margaret Farabee.  The goal was honor Texas authors, promote the joys of reading, and benefit the state’s public libraries.  The first festival was held in November 1996 and has now grown into one the nation’s premier annual literary events with over 300 authors and 50,000 book lovers in attendance.  During this time, the Festival has donated over $3 million to Texas libraries and over 150,000 books to Texas schools.

If you love to read, then the Texas Book Festival is an event you must attend!