10th Annual Texas Teen Book Festival

The Texas Teen Book Festival has announced the date of their TENTH year - October 6, 2018! I am so lucky to be a part of an amazing organization that connects teens and fans of YA to some pretty amazing authors and their books. Last year was a year of so many firsts, and we've already been planning some new and exciting things for 2018.

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Texas Teen Book Festival 2017

The 9th Annual Texas Teen Book Festival was amazing, as always! I really enjoyed the new iTent that had interactive programming for smaller audiences. Ask Me Anything sessions and super cool Vine Making workshop with Tillie Walden and Jennifer Mathieu. Here are some of my favorite photos of the day.

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Texas Teen Book Festival 2014

It's that time of year where it looks like I've fallen off the face of the planet, but in all actuality I'm busy bee with Texas Teen Book Festival. Check out the full lineup, and thank you to artist Michael Sieben for lending the image!

Feel free to share on your blog, social media, and in your library. Use #TTBF14 so we can find you and RT. Want a PDF or high res version? Email [email protected] and we'll send you one. We'll see you October 18th at St. Edward's University!

Events: YA and Kidlit Events Coming to Texas

May is full of amazing events right here in Texas! We post weekly events at Literary Lonestars and for a full list of events here is our calendar, bookmark it! Here is just a sampling of the awesome coming our way!

Dark Days Tour is coming and Texas is the first stop! Tuesday, May 6th at Irving Public Library.

Announcement: Texas Teen Book Festival 2014

The news is out! James Dashner of The Maze Runner fame is headlining the Texas Teen Book Festival! Join us October 18th, 2014 at St. Edward's University. This was a super hard secret to keep. We first met Dashner in 2010 right when The Maze Runner came out. He was a dynamic speaker and had instant fans. We can't wait to share more author lineup information and have another exciting addition this week. Stay tuned to TTBF on Facebook and Twitter, and of course the website for more information. Here is the full press release:

Young Adult genre rock star author James Dashner, creator of the wildly popular Maze Runner series, will be the headliner of the Texas Teen Book Festival Oct. 18 at St. Edward’s University.

Dashner’s latest novel is The Eye of Minds, a novel set in a world of hyper-advanced technology, cyberterrorists, and gaming. He is also the author of the 13th Reality series.

“We couldn't be more excited to announce James Dashner as our headlining author,” says Heather Schubert, librarian and founder, along with BookPeople, of what was originally called the Austin Teen Book Festival. “And we are so excited about The Maze Runner movie release in September. This year's festival is going to be the most interactive and wild yet, and we have an amazing list of all-star YA authors to prove it!” Schubert says.

Repost: Virtual Road Trip: Texas & Book Festivals

I was asked to write a post about youth something unique to Texas that has to do with youth services. Well that took me less than two seconds! Below is what I wrote for YALSA:

You know that saying “Everything is bigger in Texas”? It’s true and when we talk about literary events for young readers and book lovers the saying couldn’t be more fitting. Devoted fans travel across the country, and teachers and kids pack in school buses at too-dern-early o’clock to spend the day with their favorite and soon-to-be favorite authors in Texas. There are more than just a few opportunities to discover new authors and series. Texas hosts a multitude of events throughout the year. Some are YA focused while others bring a mix of YA, middle grade, and picture books that are loved at every age.