The Best Bookhouse in Texas
Book lovers descend on Austin, Texas, to share their passion for reading and writing at the annual Texas Book Festival.
By Jason Hensel
Fanning themselves with schedules, thousands of literature lovers lingered in lines waiting to see and hear their favorite authors at the 13th annual Texas Book Festival in Austin, Texas.
Held in the State Capitol and on surrounding streets, this year’s event during the weekend of Nov. 1-2 was absent any big political names, such as past speakers U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama and former U.S. President Bill Clinton. But the lack of political players didn’t deter approximately 40,000 people from taking part in this free festival that promotes reading and literacy—profits from book sales go toward Texas public libraries.
Some attendees held heavily notated schedules with sessions circled or starred, while others wandered around the event like lottery winners not sure what to buy first.
“I was in town visiting my sister, and I saw a sign at the airport,” said one attendee while in line for Ann Packer (The Dive from Clausen’s Pier) and Daniel Wallace’s (Big Fish) session about writers on reading. “I told myself I should come before I leave.”
Started in 1995 by First Lady Laura Bush, this year’s festival featured approximately 200 authors, 168 events, 80 exhibitors and a variety of musical acts and cooking demonstrations. Notable and popular authors included Roy Blount Jr. (Alphabet Juice), Christopher Buckley (Thank You for Smoking), Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Michael Dirda (Classics for Pleasure) and Susan Orlean (The Orchid Thief).
“We always read for excitement,” Dirda said during his standing-room only session. “That’s what counts to start with. It’s important we don’t become too sheepish in our reading. We should challenge ourselves.”
Handling the large number of visitors is one of the festival’s biggest challenges. It is solved, though, by a dedicated staff and volunteers.
“The festival’s staff consists of an executive director, a literary director, an operations manager and a director of outreach,” said Heidi Marquez Smith, executive director for the festival. “All tasks and operations are organized and arranged by the staff and the more than 900 volunteers who devote their time and talents to making the festival run smoothly and successfully. We could not do it without our wonderful volunteers.”
And those volunteers were everywhere—handing out schedules on street corners, guiding visitors toward session rooms and answering questions with a smile. Their enthusiasm for the event was matched only by the love of attendees and visiting authors for books and reading.
“I love the idea that a book can be magical,” Orlean said during a question-and-answer session following a reading of her new children’s book, Lazy Little Loafers. “Every story is worth doing if a part of you says, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this!’”
There are plans, also, to bring this magical feeling to other areas of the state.
“We hope to bring the festival to cities around Texas through our programming and community outreach,” Smith said. “Namely, our Reading Rock Stars program, which brings children’s authors to economically disadvantaged schools in Texas. These authors present their books to the entire school, and the festival donates signed copies of their books to each student in the school.”
Dirda says that reading is a sustained pleasure, and starting a reading program early in a child’s life can have positive effects on the reader. Still, the rampant feeling at this year’s festival was that reading (and writing) is more about quality and not quantity.
“It’s not how many books you get through,” Dirda said, quoting Mortimer J. Adler. “It’s how many books get through you.”
JASON HENSEL is associate editor for One+ and an unapologetic book-a-holic.