The Lone Star State of Books
By Dick Donahue -- Publishers Weekly, 11/5/2009 8:45:00 AM
For two days last weekend, “The Live Music Capital of the World” could have been mistaken for “The Live Book Capital of the World,” as Austin hosted the Texas Book Festival in its 14th year. Founded in 1996 by Laura Bush, the festival, said literary director Clay Smith, “celebrates authors and their contributions to the culture of literacy, ideas and imagination.” The celebratory atmosphere was palpable; as debut novelist Victor Lodato commented, “the energy here was terrific: a festival that actually felt festive.” Festive indeed, as some 220 authors from the adult and children’s publishing sectors (up from last year’s 190) engaged in panel discussions, held one-on-one conversations with festival moderators, autographed books in sprawling signing tents, offered cooking and crafts demonstrations and entertained throngs of youngsters with lively readings and musical presentations.
In keeping with what Smith called “a great literary year in publishing,” many noted fiction writers were in attendance—among them Margaret Atwood, Elizabeth Berg, Robert Olen Butler, Oscar Casares, Dan Chaon, Jim Crace, Jonathan Safran Foer, Jonathan Lethem, David Liss, Richard Russo, Jane Smiley and David Wroblewski.
The primary venue for the Festival’s myriad activities was the Texas State Capitol building, with many events held in the Senate and House chambers (each seats approximately 600), others in what seemed an endless warren of offices and meeting rooms of varying configurations. And ensuring that authors and audiences alike reached their destinations, a cadre of 850 volunteers were stationed seemingly every few yards.
Outside the capitol building, an array of gleaming white tents housed the al fresco events, with lengthy autograph lines fostering convivial chat about topics ranging from favorite authors to favorite eateries, from the glories of Austin itself to the rave reviews for the Festival. Said Lodato “Austin seems to be a city of passionate readers, and the audiences were wonderfully intelligent and attentive and curious. And they came out in droves.”
A particularly notable venue a few blocks from the capitol—and the location with the largest capacity—was the 1,200-seat Paramount Theatre, which just observed its 93rd season. Among the festival authors appearing at this Austin landmark—which is currently getting a make-over both online and on the building itself—were Margaret Atwood, Rick Riordan and Buzz Aldrin.
As Sunday’s programming drew to a close, Smith said, “This year proved to us that although political panels may bring people to the Festival, readers are interested in books that go beyond hot-button issues. We got nothing but praise for featuring so much fiction, and it seemed that publishers and readers are in sync.”
