Texas Book Festival

Festival ends

14th annual event wrapped Sunday after a weekend in which thousands of readers gathered downtown to hear some 220 authors discuss their latest works.

By Jody Seaborn
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, November 02, 2009

The 14th annual Texas Book Festival wrapped Sunday after a weekend in which thousands of readers gathered downtown to hear about 220 authors discuss their latest works.

While the crowds Sunday were more modest than the those seen Saturday, the enthusiasm evident at Sunday’s various sessions was Saturday’s equal.

This year’s festival emphasized fiction more than recent festivals have. Clay Smith, the festival’s literary director, said he and other organizers felt “a little nervous” before the festival began because “fiction tends to draw fewer people than harder, nonfiction political books.”

But Smith estimated this year’s festival attracted at least as many people as the 35,000 who have attended recent ones focused on politics. Smith called this year’s turnout proof that “the publishing industry and readers are in sync right now.”

The two-day Texas Book Festival, which began in 1996, was co-founded by Laura Bush and benefits public libraries.

[excerpt of article]

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