The 29th annual Texas Book Festival Weekend will take place on November 16–17 in and around the State Capitol in downtown Austin. Festival Weekend is FREE and open to all, featuring almost 300 authors of the year’s best books across all ages and genres.
There are two ticketed sessions at the 2024 Festival: Malcolm Gladwell and Matthew McConaughey. Tickets for the Matthew McConaughey session are currently sold out. Ticket holders receive session access as well as a pre-signed copy of the featured author’s book at their ticketed session.
November 16–17
- Free and open to all
- In and around the State Capitol and downtown
Festival Hours
- Saturday, November 16: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Sunday, November 17: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Festival Location
The 2024 Texas Book Festival will host programming in tents set up along 11th Street and on Congress Avenue, directly south of the Capitol. Sessions will also be held in several nearby venues, including:
- Texas State Capitol (1100 Congress Avenue)
- State Theatre (719 Congress Avenue)
- First Baptist Church (901 Trinity Street)
- First United Methodist Church (1201 Lavaca Street)
- Central Presbyterian Church (200 East 8th Street)
- The Contemporary Austin (700 Congress Avenue)
- Texas State Library and Archives Commission (1201 Brazos Street)
Parking
Free parking is available in multiple State Lot parking garages on San Jacinto between 12th and 15th Streets.
Accessible parking is available at the Capitol Visitors Parking Garage at 1201 San Jacinto Boulevard. If you require special accommodations, please contact the Texas Book Festival prior to your visit at 512-477-4055 or bookfest@texasbookfestival.org.
Cap Metro partners with TBF to provide Festival attendees with free day passes!
Request your pass using this form.
Quantities are limited. Request your pass before November 13. Riders under the age of 18 and UT students ride free! Simply present a valid ID.
Book Sales and Signings
BookPeople is the Texas Book Festival’s official bookseller. BookPeople will be on-site selling books for all featured Festival authors in the Main Book Sales Tent and Children’s Book Sales/Signing Tent, both on Congress Avenue. You can also buy Festival books year-round at the BookPeople TBF online store.
Book Sales Tent Hours:
- Saturday, November 16: 9:30 A.M. to 5 P.M.
- Sunday, November 17: 10:30 A.M. to 5 P.M.
Festival Tents
Are you curious about where to go to discover new voices? Here’s what you can expect to see in each location:
TBF will host author sessions in the Capitol Auditorium and House Extension rooms on level 2. These sessions feature a wide range of themes, so visit our schedule to see who is speaking.
This tent hosts programming highlighting all your favorite young adult authors and books.
Our newest addition to the Festival, the Camp TTBF tent is our activity tent for teenage attendees. TBF illustrators and partner organizations will host a range of interactive programs, from upcycling activities to drawing demonstrations.
*Please note that this tent is 13+
Sponsored by Kirkus Reviews, this tent hosts fiction and nonfiction literary programming.
Sponsored by H-E-B, this tent hosts all cookbooks featured at the Festival and includes both cooking demonstrations and cookbook authors in conversation.
One of the largest programming tents at the Festival, TBF partners with BookTV on C-SPAN2 to host programming on literature, politics, and everything in between. All sessions will be recorded and available to watch through C-SPAN.
This tent hosts all middle grade programming, including readings and student writers who participate in our Fresh Ink program.
Leamos hosts Latine and Hispanic authors and literature in Spanish and features English, bilingual, and dedicated Spanish-language sessions. Spanish titles are available for purchase in the Main Book Sales tent.
This tent hosts all picture book authors in 30-minute storytelling sessions with authors and illustrators.
In this tent, partner organizations and TBF illustrators host crafts and drawing demonstrations for kids ages 3 and up.
Authors from all adult programming tents and offsite venues* sign in this tent 15 minutes following the end of their sessions.
*Ticketed sessions will host signings at offsite venues.
Sponsored by Texas Monthly, this tent features books related to all things Texas, whether written by a Texas author or about Texas topics.
New to the TBF lineup, the Poetry Tent hosts readings from all poets at the Festival.
Each of our offsite venues hosts authors in conversation on a broad variety of topics. These venues tend to have larger capacity and anticipate larger crowds.
Locations:
- State Theatre
- First Baptist Church
- First United Methodist Church
- Central Presbyterian Church
- The Contemporary Austin
- Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Buy all your 2024 Texas Book Festival merchandise here! Supplies are limited, so make this your first stop at the Festival.
BookPeople is the Texas Book Festival’s official bookseller. Buy all your TBF books here and 5% of your purchase will go towards keeping the Festival free!
All children’s books featured at the Festival will be sold here!
Looking to do some shopping between author sessions? Check out our Exhibitor Marketplace! Vendors from around the country come to sell books, services, and handcrafted items.
Festival Friends
Festival Friends are donors who support our mission and programs with an annual donation of $100 or more. We thank these donors with a Festival Friends Pass that offers seating and signing line access at ten Festival Friends Pass-designated sessions. Festival Friends help us keep the Festival free for all, put books on library shelves across Texas, and fund literacy programming for students across the state of Texas.
It is best to donate in advance, but you can also make your donation during Festival Weekend at the TBF Store Tent.
Accessibility
Accessibility at Texas Book Festival
We believe that accessibility is essential, and we strive to make our Festival accessible to all attendees.
If you have accessibility requests or requirements, please contact the Texas Book Festival prior to your visit at 512-477-4055 or bookfest@texasbookfestival.org so we can work together to find an accommodation.
ASL Interpretation
There will be a select number of sessions with ASL interpretation that will be indicated on the schedule once it is published in mid-October with the option of requesting additional sessions up to a week before Festival weekend.
ADA/ASL Entry & Seating
All venues, tents, and locations have accessible entrances. Volunteers on the ground can assist with identifying accessible entrances to and paths through each location.
There will be reserved ADA seating available in all tents and venues Festival weekend.
Transportation & Parking
- Free public transportation is available through our partner, CapMetro. To receive a complimentary bus pass Festival weekend, please request your pass using this form before November 13.
- Accessible parking is available at the Capitol Visitors Parking Garage at 1201 San Jacinto Boulevard.
- The Festival is held in and around the State Capitol in downtown Austin as well as in nearby venues spanning a large area. If mobility is a concern, please contact our offices in advance to request accommodations. We will do our best to accommodate your request based on availability.
Mobility devices
There is no equipment rental of any kind offered by TBF.