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What is Lit Happens?
Your neighborhood block party focused on books, authors, and storytelling.
This year SABF will host a new 21+ event called Lit Happens on the evening of April 14, from 6 pm to 9 pm. Lit Happens is a night of engaging literary entertainment featuring SABF authors with libations on the side. Taking place on the eve of the festival, Lit Happens is a three-part celebration of storytelling and community in the heart of downtown San Antonio.
Event Details
6PM Literary Apéritif
7PM Worth Repeating: SABF Edition
8PM Literary Death Match
Parking details and Lit Happens map below…
6PM Literary Apéritif La Zona 337 W. Commerce
The San Antonio Book Festival invites one and all to kick off our night of literary revelry with 2023 Book Festival author José Olivarez (Promises of Gold) and Eddie Vega (Asina Is How We Talk). Catch a DJ set courtesy of AM Project, samples from Fermenteria and Picadas, and food truck offerings from Mi Taquito Arandas Jalisco.
Emcee: Derrick Garcia
7PM Worth Repeating Texas Public Radio 321 W. Commerce
The second chapter of the evening takes place upstairs at Texas Public Radio in the form of the TPR live storytelling event, Worth Repeating. Stacked with San Antonio Book Festival authors, this storytelling session will include a selection of writers from our 2023 lineup as they take on the topic “Fight or Flight.”
Enjoy downtown views of the flowing San Pedro Creek while listening to stories from Mahogany L. Browne (Chrome Valley), Stephen Graham Jones (Don’t Fear the Reaper), Rebecca Makkai (I Have Some Questions for You), and Priscilla Oliveras (Kiss Me, Catalina).
Concession stand available indoors. This event will also be streamed outdoors at La Zona.
Emcee: Tori Pool, Events Manager at Texas Public Radio.
8PM Literary Death Match Outdoors at Legacy Park 103 W. Houston
The night will officially end under the night sky with the return of Literary Death Match, a lethal (not literally) literary battle that places the fate of four Texas-connected authors in the hands of a panel of local judges:
- Literary Merit: Jenny Lawson, writer and proprietress of Nowhere Bookshop
- Performance: Marisela Barrera, writer and performer
- Intangibles: Maddy “Skye” Mendoza, writer
Following the Worth Repeating event, organizers will lead the crowd a block down the road to Legacy Park where Rubén Degollado (The Family Izquierdo), Bobby Finger (The Old Place), Jonny Garza Villa (Ander & Santi Were Here), and Kimberly Garza (The Last Karankawas) will prove once and for all that the pen is the sharpest sword.
Drinks will be available on the premises. This is an outdoor event with limited seating on the Legacy Park lawn. Please dress comfortably. Some blankets will be provided so guests can recline as they enjoy their drinks and take in all the action. Those looking to extend the celebration after the dust settles can easily walk to several local bars.
About Literary Death Match
Part literary event, part comedy show, part game show, Literary Death Match brings together four writers to compete in an edge-of-your-seat read-off critiqued by three judges. The performance is concluded by a slapstick showdown to decide the ultimate champion.
Adrian Todd Zuniga is the host/creator of Literary Death Match and host of LDM Book Report on YouTube. He has been featured in Gopher Illustrated and Stymie, and online at Lost Magazine and McSweeney’s. He lives between Los Angeles and London.
Parking & Map
Lit Happens takes place at three different venues but they are all walking distance from each other. Legacy Park is only 0.1 miles from Texas Public Radio. There are plenty of paid parking options nearby…plus Lit Happens is FREE!
