The annual San Antonio Book Festival arrived for its 12th consecutive year, announcing a lineup featuring over 100 authors. At the festival, readers can visit tents dedicated to meeting authors and getting their favorite books signed. These tents make discovering and purchasing new books easy.
Throughout the festival, many booths offer activities for children and young adults, such as life-sized games, caricature artists and a photo booth. UTSA’s Southwest School of Art dedicated a booth for children’s activities to introduce young ones to printmaking bookmarks.
In addition, there was also a bus alley consisting of the SAPLF Literacy Caravan and SAISD Foundation Book Buddies Bus. Executive Director Amy Hone provided insight into the bus alley and its work with the San Antonio Public Library Foundation, which started 41 years ago.
“In 2019, we spun the book festival off. They became their organization. Our primary mission is to support the library and its service to the community,” Hone shared.
When asked how some festivities are possible, Hone only had positive insights.
“We raise money for capital projects, programs and library technology, but we also run two early literacy programs of our own,” Hone said. She explained that a retrofitted RV called Board to Read, which publishes and gives away 10 to 15,000 bilingual books to babies born in Bexar County, was present at the festival.
Also, readers could attend a conference where authors would answer fan questions. One panel at the Texas Monthly Tent explored the life and legacy of Larry McMurtry, discussing the book “Pastures of the Empty Page: Fellow Writers.” This book is a collection of essays celebrating McMurtry and his impact on American Letters. Sherry Kafka Wagner said wise and beautiful things about McMurtry and gave tips on being a great writer. “One thing excellent writers do is pay attention to what’s happening around them — how people speak, sound or spend their lives. Another essential thing to know about Larry is that he was not afraid to ask you personal questions about your life,” Wagner shared.
Lastly, visitors could visit the food trucks for food and refreshments. A few trucks were present, including Taquito Aranadas Jalisco, Uncle Denny’s BBQ and Cori Jean’s Ice Cream. Water, lemonade, beer and wine were also available.
The San Antonio Book Festival is a fun and unique experience for readers. It includes exciting activities, is family-friendly and gives readers a glimpse into the minds of their favorite authors and the opportunity to meet them. For those unable to attend, the event will return next year with more authors and unique opportunities.
