Texas Book Festival 2019

When people think of Austin, Texas, they often think of our big music and film festivals—ACL and SXSW. But for Jeff and me, those are simply weekends to stay at home. Our favorite festival weekend in Austin is—no surprise here!—the Texas Book Festival. This was our third year to attend and it seems to get better each time. Every year I discover authors I haven’t read before and end up reading not only their current book, but some of their previous books as well. (These authors have included Lelia Meacham, Susan Orlean, and Sarah McCoy.)

So the last weekend in October we spent two glorious days—70-75 degrees under a bright blue sky—celebrating authors and books in and around Texas’s beautiful capitol building. Here are some of my 2019 highlights.

First, of course, were the sessions. Seriously, there was only one that was just okay. The others were amazing. Spellbinding. Inspiring. I love hearing other writings talk about their writing processes, the sparks for their stories, and the writing life as they live it. And the session with two long-time editors–one from Random House and one from the New Yorker–talking about language and grammar proved to be exactly what the title of the session claimed it to be: Word Nerds. The room was packed to capacity and many were turned away! Who knew there were so many!

Our biggest fan moment was getting to hear Alexander McCall Smith speak. It’s our second time to see him and he is simply delightful—just like his books. (If you haven’t read The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, you should!)

All the other sessions I attended were authors I had no knowledge of previously. And yet I came home excited about their books, some of which I bought immediately, others of which I put on my list of books to read. (These were in the bought immediately category. Some mine, some hubby’s.)

Beyond the books and authors, though, were the friends who experienced them with me. Three years ago, at our first Texas Book Festival, I had noted on my author Facebook page that we were there. A reader of my books messaged me saying she and her daughter were also in attendance and would love to meet me in person. Not only did we meet, we attended a session together and began to get to know each other. I met up with Staci Scott and her daughter, Gretchen, again last year as well. And then this year, even though the Scotts had moved to the Dallas area earlier in the year, we were able to connect in a session. Such fun to catch up and continue our tradition.

Also this year I got to see with fellow author Becky Wade! She was signing books in the RWA exhibition tent and we got to hang out and attend a session together. I’ve missed spending time with Becky since we moved away from Dallas. It’s always a joy to get caught up on each others’ family and work.

Finally, a new friend of mine in Austin, a lovely young lady the age of my daughter, made it out to the festival on Sunday afternoon after hearing me sing its praises. She and her friend met me at a session featuring two historical novels. It was fun to have people to talk about it with afterwards.

Of course Jeff was there all weekend, too, but we usually only end up at a few sessions together. He goes to what interests him; I go to what interests me. Sometimes those overlap. But when we come together to walk home at the end of the day, it makes for all kinds of interesting conversation as we tell each other about the rest of our day.

I’m already looking forward to 2020! But first, I have a lot of reading to do.

Have you been to a book festival? What authors have you heard speak about their books? Have you discovered new authors to read this way? Share!