BIG NEWS FOR SABF!
Lilly Gonzalez Joins the Book Festival Team
The San Antonio Book Festival is pleased to introduce Lilly Gonzalez as our new Assistant Managing Director. Lilly is an incredible addition to SABF and will be taking on a variety of logistical and event planning duties, helping with our annual fiction contest, as well as guiding our social media strategy as we move toward the 4th annual Festival on April 2, 2016.
After living in Chicago for the last 14 years, Lilly says returning to Texas was a “coming-home experience.” Born in Pharr, Lilly left the Rio Grande Valley to attend Northwestern University in Chicago, where she received a Bachelor of Science in journalism and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. Lilly has written articles for publications such as Texas Monthly, The Texas Observer, and The Acentos Review, and at Fifth Wednesday Journal, she edited fiction. Her rich job history brings a lot of talents to the table. Most recently she worked in public affairs at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, one of the world’s largest philanthropic foundations with many different initiatives and grant programs for causes such as human rights, justice, and economic development.
SABF Executive Director, Katy Flato, says, “We are really lucky that the tough Chicago winters sent Lilly back to Texas and to our staff. She’s smart, a voracious reader, talented writer. She’s been an editor, research assistant, paralegal, and worked at the Chicago Humanities Festival–we couldn’t really ask for a better match and expertise. Plus she’s nice!”
For starters, Lilly intends to bring some of her knowledge of communications strategies to the Festival’s social media. Look forward to expansion and streamlining of SABF’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts. September 15th will be Lilly’s first day and she says she can’t wait to “dive right in” to what she considers to be her dream job. She’s most looking forward to “working with the amazing people who make up the Festival team.”
We are thrilled to get Lilly on board,” adds Tracey Bennett, president of the Library Foundation. “Her experience and skills are extremely valuable for SABF’s tasks ahead.”
A serious book lover, Lilly describes books as the “heroes” of her life and adds that being a reader from a young age has changed her life for the better. Some books she’s read recently include Mexican Enough by Stephanie Elizondo Griest and An Untamed State by Roxane Gay. Besides reading, Lilly loves exploring the local food scene and has already enjoyed several Culinaria events.
Please help us welcome Lilly to town and to the SABF family. You can reach her at lilly.gonzalez@saplf.org.
