Texas Teen Book Festival Date, Location Revealed

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Texas Teen Book Festival organizers on Monday announced the date and new location for the annual event.

The 11th annual iteration of the book festival will take place on Oct. 12 at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, officials said.

“We are so pleased to begin planning our eleventh Texas Teen Book Festival through this new partnership with Southwestern University,” said Lois Kim, Executive Director of Texas Book Festival. “We are so grateful for the many wonderful years working with St. Edward’s University that helped grow the Festival. Holding the Festival at Southwestern University this year allows us to reach new readers in Central Texas who may have never been to the TTBF before.”

This highly anticipated annual event—which draws thousands of teen and adult readers for a day of author discussions, book signings, creative workshops, special events for under-resourced students, and more—features more than 30 popular and acclaimed Young Adult authors, and is free and open to the public.

“We are delighted to be hosting the 11th annual Texas Teen Book Festival and partnering with an organization that shares our focus on the intellectual and personal growth of individuals,” Southwestern University President and Professor Edward Burger said in a prepared statement. “When that growth happens at all ages, it is truly lifelong learning—a practice that remains at our core at Southwestern University.”

The 2018 Texas Teen Book Festival lured more than 4,000 attendees and featured 36 Young Adult authors, including keynote presenters Nic Stone and Neal and Jarrod Shusterman, participating in 20-plus panels and interactive workshops.

“The TTBF crew is thrilled to have found a new home on Southwestern University’s beautiful, safe, and accessible campus,” Shawn Mauser, TTBF Festival Director, said. “Attendees can look forward to an exciting lineup of more than 30 Young Adult authors and an engaging schedule of panels, workshops, contests, and more.”

The Texas Teen Book Festival is a collaboration among Texas Book Festival, BookPeople, a dedicated team of librarians, and venue sponsor Southwestern University. The Festival is presented by H-E-B. Other sponsors include Brigid Cockrum & Family, AT&T, the Buena Vista Foundation, and 3M. The program is also made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

TTBF remains free and open to the public thanks to generous donors, sponsors, and dozens of committed volunteers. For more information, visit the Texas Teen Book Festival website and keep up with announcements on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

ABOUT THE TEXAS TEEN BOOK FESTIVAL

The Texas Teen Book Festival is a one-day event that celebrates the teen reading experience by inviting fans to visit with some of the most popular and critically acclaimed young adult authors in the country. The Texas Teen Book Festival began as the Austin Teen Book Festival in 2009, when librarian Heather Schubert partnered with BookPeople to organize a gathering at Westlake High School. Five hundred guests and sixteen authors attended the first year and the event grew every year thereafter. From 2011-2013, the Festival was sponsored by the Austin Public Library Friends Foundation, and in 2014, the Festival became a program of Texas Book Festival and was renamed the Texas Teen Book Festival. One of the largest gatherings of its kind anywhere, the annual TTBF takes place October 12, 2019, on the campus of Southwestern University in Georgetown.

For more information, visit www.texasteenbookfestival.org.