White tents, lush green lawns, hot coffee and crisp new books are just some of the things you’ll see, smell and feel at the
2011 Texas Book Festival. There will be families and authors and illustrators coming together to share and celebrate the joy of reading and literacy. I can’t wait! Can you?
This year, I’ve been asked to moderate a panel titled
Books Between Us with authors
Heather Vogel Frederick (author of the popular
Mother-Daughter Book Club series) and
Nancy Tillman, her latest picture book is
The Crown on Your Head. A heartfelt thank you to my good friend
Marika Flatt, founder of the boutique publicity firm
PR by the Book, for passing my name along to Clay Smith, literary director for the festival. I’m thrilled to be introducing these two ladies as the audience interacts with their questions. What a grand topic we have to explore and I hope if you’re in the area you’ll stop by and join us on Saturday, October 22nd, between 12:00 – 1:00pm in the Capitol Extension Room E2.016.
The line up this year is impressive and you can click on the entire schedule for the two days, October 22-23, HERE. Also, author Greg Leitich Smith has put together a blog post on the children’s and young adult sessions occurring at the festival. Click HERE to visit that post.
There’s an in depth interview with Heidi Marquez Smith, the festival’s executive director, online at Austin Women magazine reported by Julie Tereshchuk. Click HERE to read the interview.
In closing, I’d like to leave you with a quote that I read in Esther Hershenhorn’s picture book S is for Story: A Writer’s Alphabet, illustrated by Zachary Pullen. It sets the tone nicely for the upcoming weekend’s festivities.
“What happens is a reciprocal gift between writer and reader: one heart in hiding reaching out to another.” –Katherine Paterson
