Texas Book Festival Scales Back In-Person Programming
COVID puts the kibosh on State Capitol as a venue
By Kimberley Jones, 10:14AM, Mon. Sep. 13, 2021
The Texas Book Festival had already planned for a hybrid festival this year, offering both in-person and virtual programming. But amid concerns over the Delta variant’s continued prevalence in Austin, TBF has announced in-person events will be scaled back dramatically.
There will be no longer be any sessions held at the Texas State Capitol or any of the other regular Downtown Austin venues. Children’s programming and the Texas Teen Book Festival shift to online-only Oct. 23-24, while adult fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and cooking panels will be offered virtually Oct. 25-31.
Some in-person events will still take place, with COVID precautions in place (including limits on the number of attendees). On Oct. 30, Symphony Square's outdoor amphitheater will play host to children’s picture book authors for the “Read Me a Story” session; the always-popular “adults-get-rowdy” Lit Crawl is also on the docket for Oct. 30. Some adult programming – not yet announced – will be held on Oct. 31 at Austin Central Library. All in-person sessions are free, but capacity will be limited and attendees will have to RSVP for each session on a first-come, first-served basis in advance of the festival.
Texas Book Festival will announce the full author lineup on Sept. 22. Previously announced speakers include Colson Whitehead, Amor Towles, Sandra Cisneros, and Elizabeth McCracken.
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