Monday, September 21, 2009

2009 Texas Book Festival






As a follow-up to yesterday's post on the National Book Festival, I wanted to do something similar for the upcoming Texas Book Festival. Since Laura Bush made a formal announcement in Dallas earlier this month of the authors who will be attending this year, I can share that information:









2009 Authors


Jeff Abbott
Belinda Acosta
Buzz Aldrin
Jill S. Alexander
Jessica Lee Anderson
Margaret Atwood
Jimmy Santiago Baca
Blake Bailey
Derrick Barnes
Mac Barnett
Lidia Mattichio Bastianich
John O. Baxter
David Baxter
Kyle Beachy
Colin Beavan
Vince Bell
Marvin Bendele
Elizabeth Berg
James P. Bevill
Phil Bildner
Scott Blackwood
Pseudonymous Bosch
James R. Boylston
Jan Bozarth
Taylor Branch
Jay Brandon
Libba Bray
Bobby Bridger
Douglas Brinkley
Po Bronson
Katharine Brooks
Donnie Brown
Sandra Brown
Bryan Burrough
Andrew Busch
Robert Olen Butler
Janie Bynum
Howard Campbell
Bryan Carlile
Isobelle Carmody
Novella Carpenter
Ally Carter
Keith Carter
Oscar Casares
Kathryn Casey
Kristin Cast
P.C. Cast
Katherine Center
Dan Chaon
William Chemerka
Gary Clark
Rosemary Clement-Moore
Betty Bailey Colley
Gail Collins
Lucha Corpi
Sarah Cortez
Jim Crace
Dave Cullen
Marcia Hatfield Daudistel
Tracy Daugherty
Steven L. Davis
Carolina De Robertis
Gina Donovan
Dayton Duncan
Jancee Dunn
David Eagleman
Nadine Eckhardt
Owen Egerton
William D. Eggers
Barbara Ehrenreich
Kurt Eichenwald
Elizabeth Engelhardt
Ted Lee Eubanks Jr.
Harold Evans
Percival Everett
Glenda Pierce Facemire
Bruce Feiler
Willa F. Finley
Brian Floca
Jonathan Safran Foer
Greg Foley
Jamie Ford
Bruce Foster
Kinky Friedman
Tad Friend
Amanda C. Gable
Dwight Garner
Julia Glass
William H. Goetzmann
Barbara Renaud Gonzalez
Brad Gooch
Keith Graves
Jack Graves
Amelia Gray
Michael Greenberg
Jeff Guinn
Melanie Haupt
Giuliano Hazan
Heather Hepler
Robert Hinkle
Rolando Hinojosa-Smith
K.A. Holt
Vickie Howell
Ard Hoyt
Rupert Isaacson
Sid Jacobson
Francisco Jimenez
Jacqueline Jones
Daniel Kalder
Jacqueline Kelly
Gary Kent
Ellie Krieger
Harold S. Kushner
Christian Lander
Joe R. Lansdale
Victoria Laurie
Peter Lerangis
Jonathan Lethem
Lance Letscher
David Liss
Amanda Little
Victor Lodato
Loren Long
Diana Lopez
Jose Lozano
Frank Luntz
Peter Maass
C. Marina Marchese
Katherine Marsh
Jeff Martin
Kati Marton
Michael H. Marvins
C.M. Mayo
Brian McCall
Annette McGivney
James McManus
Wyatt McSpadden
James E. McWilliams
Bryan Mealer
Bill Minutaglio
Jane Clements Monday
Benjamin Moser
Cara Natterson
Dina Nayeri
Daniel Nayeri
Bill Neal
Antonya Nelson
Clay Nichols
LaShara J. Nieland
Louise S. O'Connor
John O'Leary
Mary Jo O'Rear
Lauren Springer Ogden
Scott Ogden
Daniel M. Olsen
James A. Owen
ZZ Packer
Christos H. Papadimitriou
Laurence Parent
John Pipkin
Gerald Posner
Lucas A. Powe, Jr.
Brad Powell
Rebecca Rather
Andy Rhodes
Steven Rinella
Rick Riordan
Robert Rummel-Hudson
Richard Russo
Benjamin Alire Saenz
Rene Saldana Jr.
Michael J. Sandel
Bob Ray Sanders
Lisa Sanders
Tammi Sauer
Gerald Saxon
Liz Garton Scanlon
Judy Schachner
Bill Scheft
Jon Scieszka
Michael Scott
Mark Seal
Danzy Senna
Jason Sheehan
Lucy Silag
Anita Silvey
Jane Smiley
Cynthia Leitich Smith
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Julie Speed
Willard Spiegelman
Aaron Starmer
Deanne Stillman
W.K. Stratton
Carmen Tafolla
Woody Tasch
David A. Taylor
Billy Taylor
Cecilia Thompson
Helen Thorpe
Sergio Troncoso
Luis Alberto Urrea
Samantha Vamos
Henk Van Assen
Jeannette Walls
Robb Walsh
Amanda Eyre Ward
Diana Welch
Rosemary Wells
Mark Weston
Kathy Whitehead
Colson Whitehead
Allen J. Wiener
Mo Willems
Jennifer Williams
Terry Tempest Williams
Diane Wilson
Brenda Wineapple
Dan Winters
Heather Green Wooten
David Wroblewski
Anissa Zamarron
Sara Zarr
Gwendolyn Zepeda
A few names jumped out at me on my first quick glance at the list: Margaret Atwood, Jay Brandon, Sandra Brown, Jonathan Safran Foer, Kinky Friedman, Richard Russo, Jim Crace, Buzz Aldrin, Jane Smiley, Douglas Brinkley...

I had a great time at the festival last year and I learned a lot about making the most of the experience. It can all be a bit overwhelming because of the huge number of authors and books being presented, but I'll be much better organized this year. I've learned a lot from my music festivals about capturing the event in as much detail as possible, so I'll be carrying a still camera, a video camera, a digital sound recorder and plenty of paper on which to jot down notes and reminders. Last year, my still camera broke on the very first image I tried to capture and I was left with only a sound recorder. I have some interesting readings and lectures, as a result, but they would be much better if accompanied by some pictures of the authors and the festival setting.

Speaking of the setting, it all happens on the Capitol grounds and many of the sessions are in the Senate or House chambers themselves:

I still get a kick out of getting to a session early enough to grab a seat at one of the desks on the chamber floor but even the gallery seats upstairs are good ones. The sound inside the chambers is excellent and it is easy enough to grab one of the upstairs seats near the speaker's stage.

9 comments:

  1. That's a great list - it seems even longer than the National list.

    I'd LOVE to hear/meet Buzz Aldrin - that'd be something!

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  2. I'm hoping to make this event this year, and I'd love to hear more about making the most of my time there. I'm most interested in seeing/hearing Mo Willems and some of the other children's authors.

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  3. P.C. and Kristen Cast write YA vampire novels. Their characters are very much your regular teenagers with a few minor "complications". Like trying to save the world from an ancient evil, etc.:)

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  4. That is SOME festival! What a lineup. Sounds amazing.

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  5. It really is a great list, Annie, but, as you know from attending the National Book Festival, it's only possible to see a handful of them...so hard to choose.

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  6. Sherry, do a lot of pre-planning by going through the schedule carefully. That way you can maximize the number favorites you get to see. It's the overlap of some of my favorites that always irks me. :-)

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  7. Sounds interesting, Erin. It amazes me how popular vampires are these days...everywhere you look.

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  8. It's great fun, Malanie. I'm hoping for nice weather...cool and dry.

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  9. Its really a great list. i ever search for book festivals to get best books. i got another place bookcloseouts coupon codes. i got treasure of nice books with great savings.

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