SABF announces the departure of Clay Smith, who has served as the festival’s Literary Director since the organization’s inception in 2012. Clay has accepted the position of Chief of Literary Initiatives at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. His last day with SABF is Friday, October 8, 2021.
Though saddened by his departure, the SABF team is excited for Clay, grateful for his contributions to the festival over the past ten years and extremely proud of his accomplishments. During his time with SABF, Clay increased the number of participating writers from 40 to more than 200. He brought notable high profile writers like Ann Patchett, Sonia Manzano, Lawrence Wright, Luis Alberto Urrea, Jason Reynolds, Jorge Ramos, Tayari Jones and others to San Antonio. He also introduced new and vibrant cultural programs to San Antonio, such as Literary Death Match and The Moth Mainstage.
“Clay has left an indelible imprint on our Book Festival over the last 10 years,” said San Antonio Book Festival Executive Director, Lilly Gonzalez. “His gift in selecting books and writers that captivate San Antonio audiences got us to our 10th anniversary. We are both undeniably sad to lose him and eternally grateful that he lent us his talents for as long as he did.”
Prior to joining the SABF team full-time, Clay worked with the festival part-time while serving as the editor in chief of Kirkus Reviews, one of the nation’s leading book review publications. Clay was part of the original trio of SABF, which included then San Antonio Public Library Foundation President Tracey Bennett and SABF founding Executive Director and Governing Board Chair, Katy Flato.
“From the very beginning, Clay took SABF to a high level that most established festivals could only aspire to achieve,” said Katy. “His deep experience as a journalist and literary programmer, combined with his important publishing contacts and innate sense of literary trends and current topics allowed our start-up festival to punch way above our weight. Simply put, we could never have achieved the success we have without Clay. Plus, he is a joy to work with.”
Clay will serve as the Chief of Literary Initiatives at the Library of Congress. That office curates the National Book Festival, oversees literary programming and ambassadorships including the United States Poet Laureate, the National Ambassador for Youth Literature, among other Library of Congress ambassadorships and initiatives. The chief of the Literary Initiatives office serves as the Library’s literary expert, providing guidance and inviting authors for programming to retain and attract new audiences to the Library.
“It’s a bittersweet moment leaving the San Antonio Book Festival,” said Clay. “I take a lot of pride in helping to found the festival, and I leave some of my heart here in San Antonio with the staff, volunteers, and audience that make this festival unique and really quite special among America’s book festivals. The opportunity to program events for the Library of Congress was a strong motivation for me.”
The SABF team wishes Clay the very best of luck in his new position and looks forward to learning about his future successes.
Literary Director Clay Smith at the inaugural San Antonio Book Festival, then called "Texas Book Festival: San Antonio Edition."
Literary Director Clay Smith at the San Antonio Book Festival's Book Appétit Literary Feast featuring Naomi Shihab Nye and Lawrence Wright in 2015.
SABF Board Chair and founder Katy Flato and Literary Director Clay Smith welcoming the audience at the Empire Theatre for Literary Death Match 2015.
SABF Literary Director revealing the 2017 festival author lineup at the San Antonio Public Library
Kudos and Kickoff reception - SABF Literary Director Clay Smith, Board Chair and founder Katy Flato, and then SAPLF President Tracey Bennett
Literary Director Clay Smith and SABF Board Chair Katy Flato at The Moth Mainstage at the Majestic Theatre
(L to R): SABF Board member Cathy Green, Library Foundation President Tracey Bennett, SABF Board Chair Katy Flato, Literary Director Clay Smith, SABF Board member Josie Seeligson, SABF Board member Martin Acevedo, SABF Board member Carmen Goldberg, SABF Managing Director Maritza Cirlos, SABF Executive Director Lilly Gonzalez, retired SABF Managing Director Sherry Layman
SABF Board Chair Katy Flato, Literary Director Clay Smith, and Executive Director Lilly Gonzalez at the Esquire Tavern's Epilogue party following the 7th annual San Antonio Book Festival in April 2019.
Literary Director Clay Smith and Executive Director Lilly Gonzalez onstage at the Majestic Theatre to introduce The Moth Mainstage in April 2019.
(L to R): SABF Literary Director Clay Smith, Susan Page, and Dr. Deneese Jones, Trinity University's VP for Academic Affairs at SABF's GET LIT with Susan Page event in 2019.
Literary Director Clay Smith in conversation with author Stephen Harrigan at the Alamo for SABF's GET LIT with Stephen Harrigan event in October 2019.
SABF Literary Director Clay Smith revealing the 2020 festival author lineup
