The San Antonio Book Festival (SABF) has released its lineup of more than 100 national, regional, and local authors who will appear at the 5th annual Festival. A detailed schedule of author sessions will be available at saplf.org/festival in March.
Headlining the 2017 lineup is New York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett, whose most recent novel, Commonwealth, has spent 16 weeks on the Times’ bestseller list. Patchett is also known for her PEN/Faulkner award-winning novel Bel Canto, State of Wonder, and This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. Other top attractions in the SABF lineup include Rules of Civility author Amor Towles with his bestselling new novel A Gentleman in Moscow; Jessica Luther, whose book Unsportsmanlike Conduct: College Football and the Politics of Rape addresses the Baylor rape scandal; Alexandra Zapruder sharing untold family stories from their accidental association with the assassination of JFK in Twenty-Six Seconds: A Personal History of the Zapruder Film; Craig Johnson, author of the Longmire books behind the popular TV series, with An Obvious Fact: A Longmire Mystery; noted poet Martín Espada with his latest collection, Vivas to Those Who Have Failed; and Pulitzer Prize winner Lawrence Wright with The Terror Years: From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State, a collection of 10 essays published in The New Yorker.
“For some time now, the daily news has brought an intensity and even anxiety into our lives, regardless of your political affiliation. Books—fiction, nonfiction, children’s stories—give us context, insight, and help us stay grounded,” said Clay Smith, the Festival’s literary director. “Some of America’s most thoughtful writers will be talking about their ideas in San Antonio on April 8 and we are excited to host them and to create a city-wide conversation about ideas that matter deeply to us all.”
The SABF lineup this year features the highest number of local and regional authors yet, including the city’s three poet laureates, Carmen Tafolla (This River Here: Poems of San Antonio), Laurie Ann Guerrero (A Crown for Gumecindo), and Jenny Browne (Dear Stranger); former San Antonio medical examiner Vincent DiMaio and Ron Franscell, co-authors of Morgue: A Life in Death; S.C. Gwynne (The Perfect Pass: American Genius and the Reinvention of Football); and Michael Soto (Measuring the Harlem Renaissance: The U.S. Census, African American Identity, and Literary Form).
The lineup also draws on national talent for authors of children’s and young adult literature: beloved picture book writers and illustrators Denise Fleming (5 Little Ducks) and Academy Award and Emmy Award winner William Joyce (Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo) will be among the authors featured in the Festival’s Holt Family Children’s Reading Tent; Pura Belpré winner Raul the Third (Lowriders to the Center of the Earth), popular San Antonio writer David Liss (Rebels), and Jon Scieszka (Guys Read: Heroes and Villains), the first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, will present for middle graders; and bestselling YA authors Laini Taylor (Strange the Dreamer), Kendare Blake (Three Dark Crowns), and Claudia Gray (Defy the Stars) will be among the authors featured in the H-E-B YA Authors Venue, as will Reyna Grande, whose memoir The Distance Between Us, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award, was recently adapted for YA readers.
“Five years represents a significant milestone for us,” explained Katy Flato, SABF executive director. “To make a positive and lasting impact in our community through the sharing of stories and to elevate the San Antonio cultural experience with a major free event is something all of us—our writers, moderators, donors, volunteers, partners—should be proud of.”
As part of its 5th anniversary celebrations, SABF is presenting The Moth Mainstage, the renowned and beloved show dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling, at the Majestic Theatre on April 7; adding a beer garden to the Frost Garden at the Southwest School of Art; and premiering a commemorative overview video at its annual fundraiser, the Book Appétit Literary Feast, which will feature Ann Patchett as its distinguished speaker at the Witte Museum’s Mays Family Center on April 7.
Other Festival highlights include:
- The Mayor’s Book Club session with Mayor Ivy Taylor and Jan Jarboe Russell, author of the Mayor’s Spring Book Club selection, The Train to Crystal City: FDR’s Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and America’s Only Family Internment Camp During WWII.
- Panel topics include women who fight back; love’s ability to transcend borders regardless of political fervor about immigration; the Old West and new West in fiction; revenge; and visionary writers, among many other topics.
- Back again this year, four Book It! luncheons provide an opportunity to dine with a Festival author and eight companions at Club Giraud.
- Cooking demonstrations in the Central Market Cooking Tent by cookbook authors Jarod Neece and Mando Rayo (The Tacos of Texas), Lesley Téllez (Eat Mexico: Recipes from Mexico City’s Streets, Markets & Fondas), Molly Gilbert (One Pan & Done: Hassle-Free Meals from the Oven to Your Table), and Genevieve Ko (Better Baking: Wholesome Ingredients, Delicious Desserts).
- A performance by Magik Theatre for kids, free books from the Literacy Caravan, and a range of activities provided by the Doseum, San Antonio Museum of Art, Botanical Garden, and more.
- Expanded programming in Geektown, the Festival’s space for teens, including a life-size chess board, cosplay contest, poetry slam, and photo booth.
- Student winners of the 2017 San Antonio Book Festival Fiction Contest, sponsored by the Texas Cavaliers, will be recognized at an awards ceremony at the Festival, with King Antonio presenting.
Our full 2017 San Antonio Book Festival Author Lineup:
Anurag Agrawal (Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution)
Frederick Luis Aldama (Long Stories Cut Short: Fictions from the Borderlands)
Julissa Arce (My (Underground) American Dream: My True Story as an Undocumented Immigrant Who Became a Wall Street Executive)
Gregg Barrios (contributor, Altermundos: Latin@ Speculative Literature, Film, and Popular Culture)
Diane Gonzales Bertrand (The Story Circle/El Círculo de Cuentos)
David Biespiel (A Long High Whistle: Selected Columns on Poetry)
Sheila Black (Iron Ardent)
Kendare Blake (Three Dark Crowns)
H.W. Brands (The General vs. the President: MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War)
Jenny Browne (Dear Stranger)
Catherine Burns (The Moth Presents All These Wonders: True Stories About Facing the Unknown)
Jade Chang (The Wangs vs. the World)
Hayan Charara (Something Sinister; The Three Lucys)
Catherine Nixon Cooke (Juan O’Gorman: A Confluence of Civilizations)
Carol Dawson (Miles and Miles of Texas: 100 Years of the Texas Highway Department)
Vincent DiMaio (Morgue: A Life in Death)
Casey Dunn (Marfa Modern: Artful Interiors of the High Desert Plain)
Martín Espada (Vivas to Those Who Have Failed)
Denise Fleming (5 Little Ducks)
Carolyn Dee Flores (A Surprise for Teresita/Una Sorpresa para Teresita)
Ron Franscell (Morgue: A Life in Death)
Xavier Garza (Rooster Joe and the Bully/El Gallo Joe y el Abusón)
Amy Gentry (Good as Gone)
Molly Gilbert (One Pan & Done: Hassle-Free Meals from the Oven to Your Table)
Maria Goodavage (Secret Service Dogs: The Heroes Who Protect the President of the United States)
Reyna Grande (The Distance Between Us: Young Readers Edition)
Claudia Gray (Defy the Stars)
Nikki Grimes (One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance)
Helen Kleberg Groves (Bob and Helen Kleberg of King Ranch)
Laurie Ann Guerrero (A Crown for Gumecindo)
Jeff Guinn (The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple; Silver City: A Novel of the American West)
S.C. Gwynne (The Perfect Pass: American Genius and the Reinvention of Football)
Rachel Howzell Hall (Trail of Echoes)
Tim Z. Hernandez (All They Will Call You)
Karl Jacoby (The Strange Career of William Ellis: The Texas Slave Who Became a Mexican Millionaire)
Kelly Jensen (Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World)
Joe Jiménez (Bloodline)
Craig Johnson (An Obvious Fact: A Longmire Mystery)
William Joyce (Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo)
Kathleen Kent (The Dime)
Genevieve Ko (Better Baking: Wholesome Ingredients, Delicious Desserts)
Minerva Koenig (South of Nowhere)
René Colato Laínez (Mamá the Alien/Mamá la extraterrestre)
David Samuel Levinson (Tell Me How This Ends Well)
David Liss (Rebels)
Jessica Luther (Unsportsmanlike Conduct: College Football and the Politics of Rape)
Marie Marquardt (The Radius of Us)
Guadalupe García McCall (Shame the Stars)
Cathryn Merla-Watson (co-editor, Altermundos: Latin@ Speculative Literature, Film, and Popular Culture)
John T. Montford (Board Games: Straight Talk for New Directors and Good Governance)
Maceo Montoya (Chicano Movement for Beginners)
Angela Morales (The Girls in My Town)
Barbara Morgan (On Story: Screenwriters and Filmmakers on Their Iconic Films)
Jarod Neece (The Tacos of Texas)
Ali Noorani (There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration)
Ben Olguín (co-editor, Altermundos: Latin@ Speculative Literature, Film, and Popular Culture)
Sharon Olinka (Old Ballerina Club)
Larry Olmsted (Real Food/Fake Food: Why You Don’t Know What You’re Eating and What You Can Do About it)
Morgan Parker (There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé)
Ann Patchett (Commonwealth)
Emmy Pérez (With the River on Our Face)
Maya Perez (On Story: Screenwriters and Filmmakers on Their Iconic Films)
John Pipkin (The Blind Astronomer’s Daughter)
Roger Allen Polson (Miles and Miles of Texas: 100 Years of the Texas Highway Department)
Lydia Pyne (Seven Skeletons: The Evolution of the World’s Most Famous Human Fossils)
Eduardo Rabasa (A Zero-Sum Game)
Mando Rayo (The Tacos of Texas)
Lydia Reeder (Dust Bowl Girls: The Inspiring Story of the Team that Barnstormed Its Way to Basketball Glory)
Jan Jarboe Russell (The Train to Crystal City: FDR’s Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and America’s Only Family Internment Camp During World War II)
René Saldaña, Jr. (A Mystery Bigger than Big/Un Misterio Más Grande Que Grandísimo)
John Phillip Santos (contributor, Altermundos: Latin@ Speculative Literature, Film, and Popular Culture)
Liz Garton Scanlon (Bob, Not Bob!: *to be read as if you have the worst cold ever)
Joseph Scapellato (Big Lonesome: Stories)
Will Schwalbe (Books for Living)
Judith Schwartz (Water in Plain Sight: Hope for a Thirsty World)
Jon Scieszka (Guys Read: Heroes and Villains)
David Shields (Other People: Takes and Mistakes)
Edmundo Paz Soldán (Norte: A Novel)
Michael Soto (Measuring the Harlem Renaissance: The U.S. Census, African American Identity, and Literary Form)
Bradley Spinelli (The Painted Gun)
Amy Stone (Cornyation)
Carmen Tafolla (This River Here: Poems of San Antonio)
Billy Taylor (Thieving Weasels)
Laini Taylor (Strange the Dreamer)
Lesley Téllez (Eat Mexico: Recipes from Mexico City’s Streets, Markets & Fondas)
Raul the Third (Lowriders to the Center of the Earth)
Helen Thompson (Marfa Modern: Artistic Interiors of the West Texas High Desert)
Jennifer Torres (Stef Soto, Taco Queen)
Amor Towles (A Gentleman in Moscow)
Deb Olin Unferth (Wait Till You See Me Dance)
Andrea Valdez (How to be a Texan: The Manual)
Alexandra Van de Kamp (Kiss/Hierarchy)
Debora K. Vasquez (contributor, Altermundos: Latin@ Speculative Literature, Film, and Popular Culture)
Alfredo Véa (The Mexican Flyboy)
Emma Virján (What This Story Needs is a Bang and a Clang)
Siobhan Vivian (The Last Boy and Girl in the World)
Amanda Eyre Ward (The Nearness of You)
Renée Watson (Piecing Me Together)
Steven Weinberg (You Must Be This Tall)
Bill Wittliff (The Devil’s Sinkhole)
Lawrence Wright (The Terror Years: From al-Qaeda to the Islamic State)
Alexandra Zapruder (Twenty-Six Seconds: A Personal History of the Zapruder Film)
