More fun for Bibliophiles
Texas Book Festival releases finalized schedule including late night Lit Crawl
The Texas Book Festival explodes around the Texas State Capitol in three weeks, but it's not too early to start planning out your two days of bibliophilic fun.
Texas Book Festival has just announced the latest additions to the 2012 schedule, including locations and lineups for the nighttime Lit Crawl, which provides exciting, unconventional readings by TBF authors over drinks at various well-known venues on Austin's East Side.
Based on the long-running Lit Crawl held in San Francisco, the Texas version of the walking/drinking/reading event was an enormous success last year. Organizers Clay Smith and Jill Meyers are back again with new venues and new authors to make this year's Lit Crawl an even more spectacular first night of the festival.
This year, the Lit Crawl will take place at Clayworks, Rio Rita, Pine Street Station, Shangri-La, Cheer Up Charlie's and The Texas State Cemetery, with shows beginning at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. at each location.
In the earlier shift, House of Leaves author Mark Z. Danielewski reads from his new novel, The Fifty Year Sword, at The Texas State Cemetery. Meanwhile, Suzy Spencer, Tyler Stoddard Smith and J.R. Helton will fill Shangri-La with their salacious tales of sex and drugs, while storytellers from The Austin Bat Cave's Story Dept. entertain the masses at Cheer Up Charlie's.
Then, at 9 p.m., stick to your current locale or travel to a nearby spot for a whole new show. The Encyclopedia Show welcomes actors/writers Chris Elliott and Stephen Tobolowsky into the educational fold at Pine Street Station. Texas historians Will Erwin and Jason Walker will give tours of the cemetery once again this year, and 5 Things founder Amelia Gray returns to Austin to join four other authors telling ghost stories at Cheer Up Charlie's.
For many, the Lit Crawl is the favorite new addition to the Texas Book Festival schedule, since it avoids the daytime heat and includes access to a bar. But, of course, it's all about the great literature from fantastic authors, in which none of these shows are lacking.
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Check out the entire schedule for the Texas Book Festival and the Lit Crawl at the festival website. You can organize your schedule online and create a game plan for both days.