Texas Teen Book Fest announces lineup [press release]

Full author lineup, schedule announced

for Texas Teen Book Festival, Oct. 18

AUSTIN—The full lineup of 29 authors appearing at the Texas Teen Book Festival this October has been unveiled, and it represents some of the most popular and critically acclaimed authors in the booming Young Adult genre.

Two of the most-anticipated headliners are James Dashner, author of the Maze Runner series; and Lauren Oliver, creator of the bestselling Delirium series and Before I Fall.

Dashner’s latest novel is The Eye of Minds, a novel set in a world of hyper-advanced technology, cyberterrorists, and gaming. A movie based on Maze Runner debuts next month. Oliver’s YA book Panic has been optioned by Universal Pictures in a major movie deal, and her first novel for adults, Rooms, comes out this fall.

Other headlining authors include Scott Westerfeld, Marie Lu, A.S. King, and Andrew Smith. The full list and schedule are available at www.texasteenbookfestival.org.

The one-day Festival takes place Saturday, Oct. 18, from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. on the campus of St. Edward’s University, 3001 South Congress Avenue. Organizers believe that the location on the beautiful college campus, along with free parking, will be another big hit of this year’s Festival and its expected 4,000-plus attendees.

“This year's festival is THE one to attend,” says librarian and Fest founder Heather Schubert. “You'll find amazing keynotes, interactive events, writing workshops, a hilarious game show, and much, much more. Expect to leave with a list of new favorite authors and a stack of books you can't wait to read!”

The popular Game Show feature is a high-energy competition with teams of authors led by Marie Lu (the Legend trilogy) and Paolo Bacigalupi (Shipbreaker). 

“This year’s Game Show will take the competition to a new, ridiculous level with challenges ranging from the awesome to the zany,” says show host Sarah Pitre.  “I’m looking forward to hijinks with some of my favorite authors, all of whom are good sports. I promise that they will walk away with at least some remnant of their pride,” Pitre says.

The Texas Teen Book Festival is presented by the Texas Book Festival in conjunction with the Austin Public Library Friends Foundation, in partnership with BookPeople and venue sponsor St. Edward’s University. The program is also made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Texas Teen Book Festival will “bookend” the Texas Book Festival, which features books for all ages and takes place Oct. 25 and 26 in and around the state capitol building. Both Festivals are free and open to the public thanks to generous donors, sponsors, and volunteers.

Click to see schedule full size

###

About the Texas Book Festival

The Texas Book Festival celebrates authors and their contributions to the culture of literacy, ideas, and imagination. Founded in 1995 by first lady Laura Bush, Mary Margaret Farabee, and a group of volunteers, the nonprofit Texas Book Festival promotes the joys of reading and writing through its annual Festival weekend, the one-day Texas Teen Book Festival, the Reading Rock Stars program, grants to Texas libraries, youth fiction writing contest, and year-round literary programming. The Festival is held on the grounds of the Texas capitol each fall and features more than 250 renowned authors, panels, book signings, live music, cooking demonstrations, and children’s activities. Thanks to generous donors, sponsors, and nearly 1,000 volunteers, the Festival remains free and open to the public. 
www.texasbookfestival.org, www.facebook.com/TexasBookFestival, www.twitter.com/texasbookfest, #txbookfest; and www.texasteenbookfestival.org, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Texas-Teen-Book-Festival/279530382062638, www.twitter.com/txteenbookfest, #ttbf14.