The San Antonio Book Festival - A Program of the San Antonio Public Library Foundation
Festival Info

Community & Educational Outreach

Author Visits To Schools

The San Antonio Book Festival partners with select authors who make visits to area schools and teach lessons in the days leading up to the Festival. During the 2019 Book Festival weekend, nine SABF authors visited seven schools, impacting nearly 1,500 students. In 2018, Jason Reynolds (For Every One and Sunny), winner of the Kirkus Prize, the National Book Award, Newbery Award, and more, visited Roosevelt High School, Ed White Middle School, and Bibliotech East, presenting to nearly 1,200 students. In the past, Jack Gantos (The Key that Swallowed Joey Pigza), spoke at an Education Service Center-Region 20 evening event for librarians and teachers and spent the day teaching writing classes to three different grades at KIPP’s Camino Academy and Un Mundo Dual Language Academy.

While SABF is committed to expanding these author visits throughout the calendar year, due to popular demand, we have migrated this valuable program to an application system. If you are a teacher, librarian, or school administrator interested in booking one of these meaningful teaching sessions, please visit the Authors in Schools page or sign up for our newsletter to be informed when there is a call for applications.

Two young students introduce author Brian Floca at the 2014 SABF.

Youth Participation

Students wishing to participate in the San Antonio Book Festival have several options. Every year we are looking to fill positions for student introducers and volunteers.

Student Introducers

Each year we select student presenters from area schools to introduce authors at Festival sessions. Student introducers receive an advance copy of the author’s book to help with preparation; the student’s teacher can receive a copy as well.

Organized Groups

Group Visits to the Festival

Through partnerships with non-profit organizations such as SAReads, Girls, Inc., Boys and Girls Club, Divas, Inc., and others, over 400 kids from underserved areas participate in this special program of the Festival. The kids are transported to the Festival where they take part in the activities, hear author presentations, and receive a Festival author’s book and a Festival T-shirt.  

If you are interested and plan to organize a group of students or kids to attend the Book Festival at the Central Library and Southwest School of Art on Saturday, April 6, please contact Shelley Harris. We recommend that students bring their own lunch. There will also be food trucks on site.

MyStory : Mentoring Younger Generations

For the 2015 Book Festival, students from the Young Women’s Leadership Academy received training by MyStory professionals in how to conduct interviews. Then at the Book Festival, the young ladies had the opportunity to sit and interview selected Festival authors. This program encouraged active listening and participation as students interacted with authors, all of which was captured on video.

If you are an educator interested in assembling a MyStory experience at the Book Festival for your students, please contact Shelley Harris, Educational Outreach Coordinator.

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