On the Books
Texas Book Festival reveals blockbuster 2026 author lineup
Writer and illustrator Don Tate signs a book at a past Texas Book Festival.
The annual Texas Book Festival, a huge celebration of books and authors in Austin, has announced its full list of authors who will make an appearance in 2026. The festival will take place at multiple venues downtown on November 14 and 15.
More than 280 writers are on the lineup, including Pulitzer Prize winners Hernan Diaz, Andrew Sean Greer, Daniel Kraus, and Colson Whitehead, plus National Book Award winners Elizabeth Acevedo and Patricia Smith. A press release also draws attention to internet personalities Mychal Threets and John Kanell.
Folks who are following the festival's announcements already knew about some authors thanks to a July preview, but that only showed off less than seven percent of who's to come.
Of course, all of the books or authors have something to do with Texas. Many also have San Antonio ties, including first City Poet Laureate Carmen Tafolla, Trinity University professor Jenny Browne, book cover designer Cloud Delfina Cardona, Nowhere Bookshop owner Jenny Lawson, multi-disciplinary healer Xelena González, and novelist Jason Stone.
For books that deal directly with Texas and Texan topics, notable additions include Wild Women for Good: Stories of Conservation in Texas by Jennifer L. Bristol; My Big Book of Texas: All That's Great About the Lone Star State! by C.S. Jennings; One State Under God: A History of Religion in Texas by Joseph L. Locke; The Best "Stories from Texas": Some of Them Are True! by W. F. Strong; and The Selena Reader: Remembering the Queen of Tejano by Yndalecio Isaac Hinojosa.
Texas foodies will also have much to chew on. Among the featured culinary personalities are Nixta Taqueria owners Sara Mardanbigi and Edgar Rico, Suerte and Este chef-owner Fermin Núñez, Veracruz All Natural owners Reyna and Maritza Vazquez, and pitmaster Evan LeRoy. The latter will appear with senior writer and food critic at Texas Monthly, Paula Forbes, who worked with Cured’s Steve McHugh on his debut cookbook.
Almost every event at the Texas Book Festival is free to attend and open to the public. (The exception is two ticketed events with Colson Whitehead and Patrick Radden Keefe.) Much of the festival is set up like any book fair, with rows and rows of books on display outside near the Capitol and authors on hand for questions and signings. Other events include cooking demonstrations, a "Lit Crawl," and more. The schedule will be available to browse on the festival's website in October.
Texas Book Festival is a nonprofit for fostering literacy, ideas, and imagination, plus funding school reading programs, Texas public libraries, and events throughout the year.
