The Texas Writer Award is given by the Texas Book Festival to a Texas writer in recognition of outstanding contributions to Texas literature. The award recipient is honored at the Texas Book Festival. Recipients include Robert Caro, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Tim O’Brien, Sandra Cisneros, and many others. We are honored to announce that the 2017 Texas Writer Award is given to journalist, writer and Wharton County native Dan Rather.

 

“In an age of pervasive video content, there remains an enduring power in the written word.” – Dan Rather

With a storied career that has spanned more than six decades, Dan Rather has earned his place as one of the world’s best-known journalists. He has interviewed every president since Eisenhower and, over that time, personally covered almost every important dateline in the United States and around the world. He has also written several books, including Rather Outspoken; The American Dream: Stories from the Heart of Our Nation; America at War; Deadlines and Datelines; and The Camera Never Blinks: Adventures of a TV Journalist.

Now, Rather writes and publishes daily as President and CEO of News and Guts, an independent production company he founded that specializes in high-quality nonfiction content across a range of traditional and digital distribution channels. His new book, What Unites Us, is a collection of original essays that offer up an intimate view of history, tracing where we have been in order to help us chart a way forward and reflect on what it means to be an American.

Join us on Saturday, November 4 at 12:00pm when we present Dan Rather with the Texas Writer Award at his Festival session at First Baptist Church. Seating for the general public will open on a first come, first serve basis at 11:50AM. Doors open for Book Ticket holders at 11:00AM.