About

TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL

2021 HYBRID EDITION

October 23-31, 2021 | In-Person & Online

Out of concern for the safety of the community, the Texas Book Festival is significantly scaling back the in-person portion of this year’s event and greatly increasing the number of virtual sessions that people can participate from anywhere.

Symphony Square

While organizers love hosting the huge, rambling, open Festival at the State Capitol, after much deliberation, they have decided it is safest to host the in-person portion of the Festival in venues where they can better monitor attendee numbers and enact proper safety guidelines.

The Festival is thrilled to partner with Waterloo Greenway’s Symphony Square and the Austin Public Library for in-person events this year. Texas Book Festival will host children’s storytime programming at Symphony Square’s outdoor amphitheater on Saturday, October 30, and adult programming at APL’s Central Library on Sunday, October 31, for a limited number of in-person sessions.

Austin Central Library

All in-person sessions are free, but please note that capacity will be limited at in-person venues. Attendees must RSVP for each session on a first-come, first-served basis in advance of the Festival. RSVPs will be available online once the schedule is announced in the first week of October. There are no attendance limits for the robust lineup of virtual sessions featuring authors for all ages and genres. There will be a small number of ticketed virtual events with the featured author’s book included in the ticket price.

Revised Hybrid Festival Dates

Virtual

Oct. 23 – 24:

  • Children’s programming
  • Texas Teen Book Festival: Young Adult Authors and panels

Oct. 25 – 31:  Adult fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and cooking

In-Person

Oct. 30: 

  • Read Me A Story children’s picture book authors at Symphony Square 
  • Lit Crawl at Symphony Square

Oct. 31: Adult programming at Austin Central Library

The full author lineup is available here.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

Event Details

Ticket Information

  • Cost: FREE

Presenter Details

  • Name: Texas Book Festival
  • The Texas Book Festival (TBF) began with a simple purpose: to bring authors and readers together in a celebration of literature and literacy. Founded in 1995 by Laura Bush (a former librarian and then First Lady of Texas), Mary Margaret Farabee, and a dedicated group of volunteers, the TBF set out to honor Texas authors, promote the joys of reading, and benefit the state’s public libraries. The first Festival took place in November 1996 and is now one of the nation’s premier annual literary events, featuring 300 authors of the year’s best books and drawing 50,000 book lovers.