If you are *anywhere* in Texas (or have the ability to get to Austin) on Saturday, October 18th, then you NEED to go to the Texas Teen Book Festival! Held at St. Edward’s University and FREE (yes, FREE) to the public, this awesome event is going to have amazing authors from around the country speaking, including The Young Elites and Legend trilogy author MARIE LU, Maze Runner author JAMES DASHNER, Uglies series and Afterworlds author SCOTT WESTERFELD, and Delirium series and Panic author LAUREN OLIVER.
Born in 2009 in the Westlake High School, the Texas Teen Book Festival (formerly known as the Austin Teen Book Festival) has grown in FIVE years to be one of the largest events of its kind. The purpose is to foster “a community effort to celebrate and promote reading and writing by connecting teens to local and award-winning authors, whose writing spans across genres and interest levels” and they do an amazing job.
BookPeople, the most brilliant independent book store I’ve seen in Texas, is a huge sponsor, and they will be selling books. In order to help keep the festival free, for every book that you purchase from BookPeople, you can bring 3 personal copies to sign. And, for those of us/you who want to give away signed book as prizes for teens (or add to your personal collection) BookPeople has their price sheet up.
If you’re interesting in VOLUNTEERING at the festival, there are still some amazing opportunities available (including assisting with book signings and other inside things as well as some outdoor ones), so be sure to check them out. I’m going to be a Game Show Monitor, an Event Moderator for the A.S. King and Andrew Smith panel, and an Event Moderator for the Keynote Closing. And I am completely excited about it all. If you can find me, definitely say HI, because I would LOVE to meet people and connect.
So, if you’re in or around Austin or can make the trip, definitely put the Teen Texas Book Festival on your agenda for October 18th. It’s going to be a wonderful time.