Texas Book Festival reveals the first 15 authors for 2018 festival weekend lineup

Annual festival to showcase acclaimed authors Tayari Jones, Erin Entrada Kelly, Sandra Cisneros, David Grann, and Leslie Jamison, among others

AUSTIN — The Texas Book Festival is excited to announce fifteen authors who will appear at the 2018 Texas Book Festival Weekend October 27–28, including 2018 Newbery medalist Erin Entrada Kelly, bestselling author of an Oprah Book Club pick Tayari Jones, and poet and multifaceted author Sandra Cisneros.

“We are honored to welcome these fifteen exceptional authors to this year’s Texas Book Festival,” says Julie Wernersbach, festival literary director. “Their insightful and engaging work, from stories of Arctic adventure and 1900s Galveston to absorbing fiction and riveting memoir, inspires our imaginations and encourages us to connect with the world both on and off the page. We look forward to their memorable conversations at the Festival.”

The first round of 2018 Festival authors once again represents a diverse array of topics, genres, and writers, including acclaimed poets, illustrators, and bestselling authors of both fiction and nonfiction.

Tayari Jones will present her new novel, An American Marriage, the bestseller which was picked for Oprah’s Book Club this year. At its heart a love story, An American Marriage confronts thorny issues around race, the criminal justice system, and the complexities of the human heart.

David Grann, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, will present his latest biography, The White Darkness. Generously illustrated with full-color photos, the book chronicles the true story of Henry Worsley, a decorated British special forces officer obsessed with a mission to walk across Antarctica alone, and his experiences as he pushed himself to the extremes of human capacity.

Celebrated poet and author Sandra Cisneros will present her new chapbook, Puro Amor, a bilingual short story that contains illustrations and line drawings by the author. Puro Amor reflects on the lives of characters Mister and Missus Rivera and their home, which is overflowing with rescue animals. For more than fifty years, Cisneros’s short stories, novels, poetry, and essays have explored the lives of the working class.

Leslie Jamison, bestselling author of the 2014 essay collection The Empathy Exams, will present her new memoir, The Recovering. A New York Times bestseller and a deeply personal, in-depth look at addiction, The Recovering demonstrates that the story of recovery can be as electrifying as the train wreck itself.

For young readers, 2018 Newbery medalist Erin Entrada Kelly will present her latest middle grade novel, You Go First, a story that explores issues of family, bullying, word games, and the ever-complicated world of middle school friendships.

Bestselling and award-winning author of The Magic Tree House series Mary Pope Osborne will present her brand new Magic Tree House adventure, Hurricane Heroes in Texas, in which beloved time-traveling adventurers Jack and Annie are whisked back to 1900 Galveston, where they find out a big storm is coming and everyone must help.

The full lineup, along with the works they will be presenting during the festival, is as follows:

• Chloe Benjamin, The Immortalists

• Alexander Chee, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays

• Sandra Cisneros, Puro Amor

• Alfredo Corchado, Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries, and the Fate of the Great Mexican-American Migration

• David Grann, The White Darkness

• Joe Holley, Hurricane Season: The Unforgettable Story of the 2017 Houston Astros and the Resilience of a City

• Leslie Jamison, The Recovering

• Tayari Jones, An American Marriage

• Erin Entrada Kelly, You Go First

• Sandhya Menon, From Twinkle, with Love

• Fatima Farheen Mirza, A Place for Us

• Walter Mosley, John Woman

• Tommy Orange, There There

• Mary Pope Osborne, Magic Tree House #30: Hurricane Heroes in Texas

• V.E. Schwab, Vengeful

The 2018 Texas Book Festival poster, revealed last week, is created by Austin-based artist Valerie Fowler. Her oil painting “Spring, Everything Changes” features a surrealistic interpretation of Fredericksburg peach trees in bloom.

In addition to the above authors, the 2018 TBF lineup will feature 250 celebrated and emerging writers, including journalists, artists, scientists, and more. The Festival Weekend includes acclaimed authors at readings, panel discussions, and signings; exhibitor booths and food vendors; tents and venues, including cooking, C-SPAN, children’s entertainment, and live music performances. Spread throughout the grounds of the state capitol and along Austin’s iconic Congress Avenue, the 2018 Texas Book Festival Weekend will take place on October 27 and 28, 2018.

For more information on the Texas Book Festival, please visit the organization’s new website, which was designed by Foxtrot, at www.texasbookfestival.org and follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @texasbookfest.

(Information from organization’s press release)

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