The annual literary festival staged around the state’s Capitol announced its lineup of national and Texas-based authors. From sci-fi novelists to Pulitzer Prize winners, the Texas Book Festival aims to connect readers and authors through story times, Q&As, and interactive programs for all ages.
While festival admission is free to the public, you’ll have to pay a little extra to see Austin icon Matthew McConaughey and New York Times bestseller Malcolm Gladwell. Tickets for each of their sessions cost $35 and come with a pre-signed copy of the respective author’s books. Timed to the paperback release of McConaughey’s hit memoir Greenlights, the Academy Award-winning actor will have a Nov. 16 sit-down chat with Austin director Richard Linklater. Then on Nov. 17, Gladwell will take questions regarding his fresh thoughts on social epidemics, the topic of his Oct. 1 release of Revenge of the Tipping Point.
This year’s author’s list:
Hanif Abdurraqib, There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension
Jade Adia, Our Shouts Echo
(‘Pemi) Aguda, Ghostroots
Parisa Akhbari, Just Another Epic Love Poem
Athena Aktipis, A Field Guide to the Apocalypse: A Mostly Serious Guide to Surviving Our Wild Times
Rumaan Alam, Entitlement
Rosa Alcalá, YOU
Alisa Alering, Smothermoss
Hala Alyan, The Moon That Turns You Back
Julio Anta, This Land Is Our Land: A Blue Beetle Story
Marie Arana, LatinoLand: A Portrait of America’s Largest and Least Understood Minority
Michael Arceneaux, I Finally Bought Some Jordans
Isaac Arnsdorf, Finish What We Started: The MAGA Movement’s Ground War to End Democracy
Mateo Askaripour, This Great Hemisphere
Jami Attenberg, A Reason to See You Again
Javier Auyero, Portraits of Persistence: Inequality and Hope in Latin America
Brea Baker, Rooted: The American Legacy of Land Theft and the Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership
Mary Jo Bang, Raised by Wolves
Frankie Barnet, Mood Swings
Mac Barnett, The First Cat in Space and the Wrath of the Paperclip
Jean Becker, Character Matters: And Other Life Lessons from George H. W. Bush
Cate Berry, Scorch, Hedgehog of Doom
Jedediah Berry, The Naming Song
Marie-Helene Bertino, Beautyland
Sarah Bird, Juneteenth Rodeo
Kathleen Dorothy Blackburn, Loose of Earth: A Memoir
Jonathan Blitzer, Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis
Eugenia Bone, Have a Good Trip: Exploring the Magic Mushroom Experience
Charlene Bowles & David Bowles, The Hero Twins and the Magic of Song (Tales of the Feathered Serpent #2)
David Bowles, Hearts of Fire and Snow
H.W. Brands, America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War
Michelle Braxton, Supper with Love: Vibrant, Delicious, and Comforting Plant-Forward and Pescatarian Recipes for Every Day
Michael Andor Brodeur, Swole: The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle
KB Brookins, Pretty, Freedom House
Christopher Brown, A Natural History of Empty Lots: Field Notes from Urban Edgelands, Back Alleys, and Other Wild Places
Hannah Brown, Mistakes We Never Made
Jenny Browne, Texas, Being: A State of Poems
Rita Bullwinkel, Headshot
Drew Buxton, So Much Heart: Stories
Anne Byrn, Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories
Adriana Camacho-Church, Grandma’s Hair Is Ankle Length / El cabello de Abuela le llega hasta los tobillos
Cebo Campbell, Sky Full of Elephants
Alejandra Campoverdi, First Gen: A Memoir
Breanna Carzoo, The Squish
Katherine Center, The Rom-Commers
Matteo L. Cerilli, Lockjaw
J.C. Cervantes, The Daggers of Ire
Daniel Chacón, The Last Philosopher in Texas: Fictions and Superstitions
Jorge Cham, Volcanoes are Hot! (Oliver’s Great Big Universe #2)
Vanessa Chan, The Storm We Made
Myriam J. A. Chancy, Village Weavers
Jennifer Chang, An Authentic Life
Kristina Cho, Chinese Enough: Homestyle Recipes for Noodles, Dumplings, Stir-Fries, and More
Gina Chung, Green Frog
Amanda Churchill, The Turtle House
Ernest Cline, Bridge to Bat City
May Cobb, The Hollywood Assistant
Johnny Compton, Devils Kill Devils
Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, Catalina
Erin Cotter, By Any Other Name
Jennifer Croft, The Extinction of Irena Rey
Adrianna Cuevas, The No-Brainer’s Guide to Decomposition
Sarah Cypher, The Skin and Its Girl
Lilly Dancyger, First Love: Essays on Friendship
Dennis Carlyle Darling, Borrowed Time: Survivors of Nazi Terezín Remember
Jan Davis, Air Born: Two Generations in Flight
Caro De Robertis, The Palace of Eros
Jaime deBlanc, After Image
Elizabeth Dias, The Fall of Roe
Alice Driver, Life and Death of the American Worker: The Immigrants Taking on America’s Largest Meatpacking Company
Charlee Dyroff, Loneliness & Company
J. Elle, Shadows of Perl
Victoria Grace Elliott, Please Be My Star
Jay Ellis, Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (or Just Me)?: Adventures in Boyhood
Tonya Duncan Ellis, They Built Me for Freedom: The Story of Juneteenth and Houston’s Emancipation Park
Ashley Elston, First Lie Wins
Bunmi Emenanjo, I’ll See You in Ijebu
Kevin Fedarko, A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon
Glenn A. Fine, Watchdogs: Inspectors General and the Battle for Honest and Accountable Government
Nick Flynn, Raised by Wolves
AG Ford, Construction Site: Garbage Crew to the Rescue!
Carrie Fountain, Texas, Being: A State of Poems
Susan Toomey Frost, Witness to War: Mexico in the Photographs of Walter Elias Hadsell
Marcela Fuentes, Malas
Gabriella Gamez, The Next Best Fling
Angela Garcia, The Way That Leads Among the Lost: Life, Death, and Hope in Mexico City’s Anexos
Guadalupe García McCall, Hearts of Fire and Snow
Jonny Garza Villa, Canto Contigo
Amina Gautier, The Best That You Can Do
Michael Genhart, Spanish Is The Language Of My Family/El Español Es La Lengua De Mi Familia
Shawneé Gibbs, Ghost Roast
Shawnelle Gibbs, Ghost Roast
Lamar Giles, Ruin Road
Malcolm Gladwell, Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering
Sara Goetter, Warriors Graphic Novel: The Prophecies Begin #1
Chloe Gong, Vilest Things
Xelena González, Te recuerdo, Remembering, LOTERIA REMEDIOS
Elizabeth Gonzalez James, The Bullet Swallower
Jessica Goudeau, We Were Illegal: Uncovering a Texas Family’s Mythmaking and Migration
Alina Grabowski, Women and Children First
Elyse Graham, Books & Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II
Evan Griffith, The Strange Wonders of Roots
Jesse Griffiths, The Turkey Book: A Chef’s Journal of Hunting and Cooking America’s Bird
Scott Guild, Plastic
Prachi Gupta, They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us
Frank Andre Guridy, The Stadium: An American History of Politics, Protest, and Play
Jas Hammonds, Thirsty
Alex Hannaford, Lost in Austin: The Evolution of an American City
Shawn Harris, The First Cat in Space and the Wrath of the Paperclip
Alison B. Hart, April May June July
Cristina Henríquez, The Great Divide
Tim Z. Hernandez, They Call You Back: A Lost History, A Search, A Memoir
Joanna Ho, We Who Produce Pearls: An Anthem for Asian America
Jessica Hoppe, First in the Family: A Story of Survival, Recovery and the American Dream
Harry Hunsicker, The Life and Death of Rose Doucette
Gabino Iglesias, House of Bone and Rain
Luis Jaramillo, The Witches of El Paso
Meghan Riordan Jarvis, End of the Hour: A Therapist’s Memoir
Rick Jervis, The Devil Behind the Badge
Mónica A. Jiménez, Making Never-Never Land: Race and Law in the Creation of Puerto Rico
Bret Anthony Johnston, We Burn Daylight: A Novel
Stephen Graham Jones, I Was a Teenage Slasher
Erika Lynne Jones, Feelings Deck for Kids: 30 Activities for Handling Big Emotions
Ieva Jusionyte, Exit Wounds: How America’s Guns Fuel Violence Across the Border
Megan Kamalei Kakimoto, Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare
Jesse Katz, The Rent Collectors: Exploitation, Murder and Redemption in Immigrant LA
John Katzenbach, Jack’s Boys
Laekan Zea Kemp, Desert Song
Porochista Khakpour, Tehrangeles
Rachel Khong, Real Americans
Kazu Kibuishi, Waverider: A Graphic Novel (Amulet #9)
Megan Kimble, City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America’s Highways
Eliza Kinkz, Mamá’s Magnificent Dancing Plantitas
Lisa Ko, Memory Piece
Jean Hanff Korelitz, The Sequel
R.O. Kwon, Exhibit
Anna Lapera, Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice
Gume Laurel III, Samson & Domingo
Kari Lavelle, Butt or Face? Volume 2: Revenge of the Butts
Erika Lee, Made in Asian America: A History for Young People
Lyla Lee, Gigi Shin Is Not a Nerd
Margaret Juhae Lee, Starry Field: A Memoir of Lost History
Lisa Lerer, The Fall of Roe
Betsy Lerner, Shred Sisters
Cynthia Levinson, Free to Learn: How Alfredo Lopez Fought for the Right to Go to School
Darcie Little Badger, Sheine Lende: A Prequel to Elatsoe
Margot Livesey, The Road From Belhaven
Attica Locke, Guide Me Home
Jeffrey Dale Lofton, Red Clay Suzie
Ernesto Londoño, Trippy: The Peril and Promise of Medicinal Psychedelics
Loren Long, The Yellow Bus
Diana López, Los Monstruos: Rooster and the Dancing Diablo
Tara López, Chuco Punk: Sonic Insurgency in El Paso
Shefali Luthra, Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America
Glynnis MacNicol, I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself: One Woman’s Pursuit of Pleasure in Paris
Monika Maeckle, The Monarch Butterfly Migration: Its Rise and Fall
Marty Makary, Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health
Sally Wen Mao, Raised by Wolves
Pedro Martín, Mexikid
Rachel Más Davidson, The Helping Sweater
Jennifer Mathieu, The Faculty Lounge
Kwame Mbalia, Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek
Jennifer Maritza McCauley, When Trying to Return Home
Matthew McConaughey, Greenlights
Katharine McGee, A Queen’s Game
Steve McHugh, Cured: Cooking With Ferments, Pickles, Preserves & More
Jasminne Mendez, Texas, Being: A State of Poems
Yamile Saied Méndez, The Beautiful Game
Claire Messud, This Strange Eventful History
Lily Meyer, Short War
Chanel Miller, Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All
Cat Min, The Shadow & the Ghost
Terry P. Mitchell, The City We Built: Black Leaders of Austin
Tomas Moniz, All Friends Are Necessary
Amanda Montell, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality
Liz Moore, The God of the Woods
Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, Black Chameleon: Memory, Womanhood, and Myth
Ibtihaj Muhammad, The Boldest White: A Story of Hijab and Community
Liza Mundy, The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA
Rebecca Nagle, By The Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land
Abdi Nazemian, Desert Echoes
Michele Norris, Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think about Race and Identity
Naomi Shihab Nye, I Know About a Thousand Things: The Writings of Ann Alejandro of Uvalde, Texas, Grace Notes
Téa Obreht, The Morningside
Jamie Ofelia, Miguel Must Fight!
Rex Ogle, Pizza Face
Cindy Juyoung Ok, Ward Toward
José Olivarez, Promises of Gold
Claribel A. Ortega, Witchlings 3: House of Elephants
mónica teresa ortiz, Book of Provocations
Mark Oshiro, Jasmine Is Haunted
Deborah Paredez, American Diva: Extraordinary, Unruly, Fabulous
Morgan Parker, You Get What You Pay For: Essays
Cecily Parks, Texas, Being: A State of Poems
John Parra, Spanish is the Language of My Family
Kimberly King Parsons, We Were the Universe
Nikki Payne, Sex, Lies and Sensibility
Rena Pederson, The King of Diamonds: The Search for the Elusive Texas Jewel Thief
Elba Iris Pérez, The Things We Didn’t Know
Jamar Perry, Jaden Powers and the Inheritance Magic
Julia Phillips, Bear
Micah Player, Itty Bitty Betty Blob
Julie Poole, Gorgeous Freak
Alejandro Puyana, Freedom Is a Feast
Jamie Quatro, Two-Step Devil
Erin Quinn-Kong, Hate Follow
Reyes Ramirez, El Rey of Gold Teeth
Paola Ramos, Defectors
Sarah Mughal Rana, Hope Ablaze
Alice Randall, My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music’s Black Past, Present, and Future
Rae Giana Rashad, The Blueprint
Raúl the Third, ¡Vamos! Vamos a comer / ¡Vamos! Let’s Go Eat
Laura Raun, Andrew Sansom: A Life in Conservation
Ebony Reed, Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap
Anastacia Reneé, Here in the (Middle) of Nowhere
Natalie Riess, Warriors Graphic Novel: The Prophecies Begin #1
Sara Daniele Rivera, The Blue Mimes
Lilliam Rivera, Tiny Threads
Cristina Rivera Garza, Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice
José Antonio Rodríguez, The Day’s Hard Edge
Brandon Rottinghaus, Rick Perry: A Political Life
Rudy Ruiz, The Border Between Us
Marisel Salazar, Latin-ish: More Than 100 Recipes Celebrating American Latino Cuisines
Anamely Salgado Reyes, My Mother Cursed My Name
Liz Garton Scanlon, Everyone Starts Small
John Schu, Louder Than Hunger
Avrel Seale, The River Nuts: Down the Nueces with One Stroke
Khushbu Shah, Amrikan: 125 Recipes from the Indian American Diaspora
Nina Sharma, The Way You Make Me Feel: Love in Black and Brown
Michael Sierra-Arévalo, The Danger Imperative: Violence, Death, and the Soul of Policing
ire’ne lara silva, The Eaters of Flowers
Elissa R. Sloan, Double Exposure
Sarah Smarsh, Bone of the Bone: Essays on America by a Daughter of the Working Class
Jane Smiley, Lucky
Andrew Smith, Devil in the Stack
Cynthia Leitich Smith, Blue Stars: Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem
Nicholas Solis, The Littlest Grito
Hyeseung Song, Docile: Memoirs of a Not-So-Perfect Asian Girl
Christina Soontornvat, The Squad, Made in Asian America: A History for Young People
Louise Story, Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap
Ray Suarez, We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century: an Oral History
Natalia Sylvester, A Maleta Full of Treasures
Deborah Jackson Taffa, Whiskey Tender: A Memoir
Carmen Tafolla, Warrior Girl
Jiaming Tang, Cinema Love
Kat Tang, Five-Star Stranger
Don Tate, The Day Madear Voted
Justin Taylor, Reboot
Wei Tchou, Little Seed
Alex Temblador, Writing an Identity Not Your Own: A Guide for Creative Writers
Aiden Thomas, Celestial Monsters
Joseph Earl Thomas, God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer
Lynne Thompson, Blue on a Blue Palette
Rufi Thorpe, Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Amy Tintera, Listen for the Lie
Jesús Trejo, Mamá’s Magnificent Dancing Plantitas
Paul Tremblay, Horror Movie
J. M. Tyree, The Haunted Screen
Ngozi Ukazu, Barda
Karen Valby, The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History
Dave Valeza, Pizza Face
John Vercher, Devil Is Fine
Marcelo Verdad, The Dream Catcher
Vanessa Angélica Villarreal, Magical/Realism: Essays on Music, Memory, Fantasy, and Borders
Thao Votang, Linh Ly Is Doing Just Fine
Jasmine Warga, A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall
Tony Weaver, Jr., Weirdo
Steven Weinberg, What Is Color?: The Global and Sometimes Gross Story of Pigments, Paint, and the Wondrous World of Art
Sasha West, How to Abandon Ship
Jennifer M. Wilks, Carmen in Diaspora: Adaptation, Race, and Opera’s Most Famous Character
LaDarrion Williams, Blood at the Root
Phillip B. Williams, Ours
Sarah Wilson, DIG: Notes on Field and Family
Marion Winik, I Know About a Thousand Things: The Writings of Ann Alejandro of Uvalde, Texas
Mark Wunderlich, Raised by Wolves
Anne Wynter, Patrick and the Not So Perfect Party
Paula Yoo, Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992. Edward Jae Song Lee, Latasha Harlins, Rodney King, and a City on Fire.
Nicola Yoon, One of Our Kind
Aaron Jay Young, Queen
Isabel Zapata, Empty Pool
Joaquín Zihuatanejo, Occupy Whiteness
The Texas Book Festival is set for the weekend of Nov. 16. Check out the Chronicle’s coverage of TBFs past. Visit texasbookfestival.org for more information.
This article appears in September 13 • 2024.