Looking for some after-Festival fun? Join us downtown on Saturday, November 8 from 7–10:30 PM for the 15th annual Lit Crawl Austin! Enjoy a night of literary performances, games, trivia matches, storytelling sessions and more! Lit Crawl events will take place at Speakeasy Austin (412 Congress Ave. D, Austin, TX 78701) and Cheer Up Charlies (900 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701). All events are free and open to the public. Guests must be 21+ to attend Speakeasy, and 18+ to attend Cheer Up Charlie’s. Check out what’s in store:

Speakeasy Austin

Music Lounge
  • 7 – 8 PM Writers’ League of Texas Presents Build a Story: For this one-of-a-kind event, join the Writers’ League of Texas staff and some of your favorite authors to build a story – sentence by sentence. Authors will respond to audience prompts (however serious, silly, or ridiculous) and craft a three act story in real time. What could go wrong? You won’t want to miss it!
    • FEATURED AUTHORS: Marcela Fuentes, Ashley Whitaker, Christopher Brown, Megan Okonsky, and Lucas Schaefer
  • 8 – 9 PM Haunt Happy Horror Trivia: A live trivia game show featuring horror and dark fiction authors as contestants. This session is hosted by Lockhart’s Haunt Happy Books.
    • FEATURED AUTHORS: Dan Chaon, Johnny Compton, Adrianna Cuevas, Jessica Hagemann, and Stephen Graham Jones
Kabaret
  • 7 – 8 PM Worded Funny: Worded Funny is Austin’s only literary humor show, with readings from our city’s best (and best up-and-coming) short-form satire and humor writers. Experience the charm and wit of prose comedy, as read by its authors
    • FEATURED AUTHORS: Jessica Francis Kane, Kari Lavelle, John Scalzi, Laurie Woolever, Annie Hartnett, Ruth Pennebaker, Valerie Nies, Dina Gachman, Lucy Frost, and Wendi Aarons
  • 8 – 9 PM Austin Bat Cave Presents Austin Originals: Join us for readings from Austin writers who are challenging genres, upending expectations, and turning Austin into one of the most exciting literary scenes in the country.
    • FEATURED AUTHORS: Callie Collins, Rickey Fayne, Fernando Flores, Stephen Harrigan, and more.
    • HOSTED BY: Mason Ayer

Cheer Up Charlies

Inside
  • 7 – 7:45 PM Praisesong for the People: Celebrate the release of Praisesong for the People: Poems from the Heart and Soul of Texas, edited by the 61st Texas Poet Laureate, Amanda Johnston. Poets featured in the anthology will share praise poems celebrating unsung heroes from their communities.
    • FEATURED AUTHORS: Amanda Johnston, Zell Miller, Sam Treviño, and more
  • 7:45 – 8:30 PM Torch Showcase: Celebrating Black Women Writers: Writers from across genres read in this inspiring showcase of emerging and established local and national authors
    • FEATURED AUTHORS: C. Prudence Arceneaux, Ebony LaDelle, Carrie R. Moore, Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo, and Fabienne Josaphat
    • HOSTED BY: Amanda Johnston
  • 8:30 – 9:30 PM Texas Poetry Crush: Have you ever had a crush on a poem? How about a poet? Five poets will share poems by a Texas poet they admire and read their own poems inspired by living in Texas.
    • FEATURED AUTHORS: Cecily Parks, Sebastián Páramo, C. Prudence Arceneaux, Amanda Johnston, Cloud Cardona, Bo Hee Moon, Hala Alyan, and Saúl Hernández
  • 9:30 – 10:30 PM Librotraficantes: Banned Book Bash: Librotraficantes and allies flagrantly flout contraband prose from books that have been formerly banned, currently banned, or are so freakin’ good they are bound to be banned in the future.
    • FEATURED AUTHORS: Jasminne Mendez, Ivan Gerardo Morales, Zeke Peña, and more
Outside Stage
  • 7:30 – 8:30 PM Noir at the Bar: A collection of some of the best hard-boiled and noir writers from around the country read from their dark-hearted work. Expect a night of humor, crime, and style.
    • FEATURED AUTHORS: Nic Stone, Sara Sligar, Mike McCrary, Meg Gardiner, and Ashley Winstead
  • 8:30 – 10 PM Literary Death Match: Literary Death Match, now in 73 cities worldwide, brings together a mix of four brilliant writers to read their most electric writing for five minutes or less before a live audience and a panel of three all-star judges. After each reading, the judges take turns spouting hilarious commentary about each story, and then select their two favorites to advance to the finals. There, the show trades in its literary sensibility for a comical climax as the finalists play a game (think “Pin the Mustache on Hemingway”) to determine who will take home the Literary Death Match crown.
    • FEATURED AUTHORS: Xelena Gonzalez, Maris Kreizman, Claire Jia, Rex Ogle, Andrew Porter, Bob Shea, and YuYi Morales.
    • HOSTED BY: Adrian Todd Zuniga