The San Antonio Book Festival (SABF) has released their list of more than 100 acclaimed national, regional and local authors who will appear at the 5th annual festival.
SABF is a free, daylong, family-friendly event that draws thousands for author presentations, panel discussions, book sales and signings, recipe demonstrations, children’s and teen activities and food trucks. The Festival will take place on Saturday, April 8 from 9 am to 5 pm at the Central Library and Southwest School of Art. A full schedule of events is available at saplf.org/festival.
Headlining the 2017 lineup is New York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett, whose most recent novel, Commonwealth, has spent 16 weeks on the Times’ bestseller list. Patchett is also known for her PEN/Faulkner award-winning novel Bel Canto, State of Wonder, and This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. Other top attractions in the SABF lineup include Rules of Civility author Amor Towles with his bestselling new novel A Gentleman in Moscow; Jessica Luther, whose book Unsportsmanlike Conduct: College Football and the Politics of Rape addresses the Baylor rape scandal; Alexandra Zapruder sharing untold family stories from their accidental association with the assassination of JFK in Twenty-Six Seconds: A Personal History of the Zapruder Film; Craig Johnson, author of the Longmire books behind the popular TV series, with An Obvious Fact: A Longmire Mystery; noted poet Martín Espada with his latest collection, Vivas to Those Who Have Failed; and Pulitzer Prize winner Lawrence Wright with The Terror Years: From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State, a collection of 10 essays published in The New Yorker.
“For some time now, the daily news has brought an intensity and even anxiety into our lives, regardless of your political affiliation. Books—fiction, nonfiction, children’s stories—give us context, insight, and help us stay grounded,” said Clay Smith, the Festival’s literary director. “Some of America’s most thoughtful writers will be talking about their ideas in San Antonio on April 8 and we are excited to host them and to create a city-wide conversation about ideas that matter deeply to us all.”
The SABF lineup this year features the highest number of local and regional authors yet, including the city’s three poet laureates, Carmen Tafolla (This River Here: Poems of San Antonio), Laurie Ann Guerrero (A Crown for Gumecindo), and Jenny Browne (Dear Stranger); former San Antonio medical examiner Vincent DiMaio and Ron Franscell, co-authors of Morgue: A Life in Death; S.C. Gwynne (The Perfect Pass: American Genius and the Reinvention of Football); and Michael Soto (Measuring the Harlem Renaissance: The U.S. Census, African American Identity, and Literary Form).
The lineup also draws on national talent for authors of children’s and young adult literature: beloved picture book writers and illustrators Denise Fleming (5 Little Ducks) and Academy Award and Emmy Award winner William Joyce (Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo) will be among the authors featured in the Festival’s Holt Family Children’s Reading Tent; Pura Belpré winner Raul the Third (Lowriders to the Center of the Earth), popular San Antonio writer David Liss (Rebels), and Jon Scieszka (Guys Read: Heroes and Villains), the first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, will present for middle graders; and bestselling YA authors Laini Taylor (Strange the Dreamer), Kendare Blake (Three Dark Crowns), and Claudia Gray (Defy the Stars) will be among the authors featured in the H-E-B YA Authors Venue, as will Reyna Grande, whose memoir The Distance Between Us, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award, was recently adapted for YA readers.
As part of its 5th anniversary celebrations, SABF is presenting The Moth Mainstage, the renowned and beloved show dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling, at the Majestic Theatre on April 7; adding a beer garden to the Frost Garden at the Southwest School of Art; and premiering a commemorative overview video at its annual fundraiser, the Book Appétit Literary Feast, which will feature Ann Patchett as its distinguished speaker at the Witte Museum’s Mays Family Center on April 7.
Other Festival highlights include:
- The Mayor’s Book Club session with Mayor Ivy Taylor and Jan Jarboe Russell, author of the Mayor’s Spring Book Club selection, The Train to Crystal City: FDR’s Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and America’s Only Family Internment Camp During WWII.
- Panel topics include women who fight back; love’s ability to transcend borders regardless of political fervor about immigration; the Old West and new West in fiction; revenge; and visionary writers, among many other topics.
- Back again this year, four Book It! luncheons provide an opportunity to dine with a Festival author and eight companions at Club Giraud.
- Cooking demonstrations in the Central Market Cooking Tent by cookbook authors Jarod Neece and Mando Rayo (The Tacos of Texas), Lesley Téllez (Eat Mexico: Recipes from Mexico City’s Streets, Markets & Fondas), Molly Gilbert (One Pan & Done: Hassle-Free Meals from the Oven to Your Table), and Genevieve Ko (Better Baking: Wholesome Ingredients, Delicious Desserts).
- A performance by Magik Theatre for kids, free books from the Literacy Caravan, and a range of activities provided by the Doseum, San Antonio Museum of Art, Botanical Garden, and more.
- Expanded programming in Geektown, the Festival’s space for teens, including a life-size chess board, cosplay contest, poetry slam, and photo booth.
- Student winners of the 2017 San Antonio Book Festival Fiction Contest, sponsored by the Texas Cavaliers, will be recognized at an awards ceremony at the Festival, with King Antonio presenting.
