Lit Crawled So You Could Run

Texas Book Festival's rowdy Lit Crawl has made a big change for 2024

Book readings can seem dull, but the Lit Crawl always has something unconventional up its sleeve.

The Texas Book Festival is coming back to Austin again on November 16 and 17, bringing plenty of opportunities to browse books and hear from authors. But one free, annual event expands the opportunities for community engagement beyond the main festival — the Lit Crawl, now turning the page for its 13th year on Saturday.

This year things are different: attendees won't move from venue to venue (i.e. no more crawling), but the spirit is the same with nine different events and organizations coming together for programming under one roof. That central venue is Speakeasy (412 Congress Ave. D), a three-level nightclub about half a mile down the road from the main festival.

Since the venue is so large, there will still be a change of scenery for book-lovers who aren't ready to sit still. (They exist.)

On the ground floor there are readings from comedy and satire books, and then readings by noir writers. Simultaneously, on different sides of the ballroom, there's collaborative storytelling, advice from books, a trivia game show, and a Literary Death Match for selecting a favorite live reading.

Finally, on the rooftop, there are poetry readings, a showcase of Black women writers, and a celebration of banned books — or even books organizers expect to banned in the future.

Programming is organized by:

Haunt Happy Books
Literary Death Match
Austin Indie Book Festival
American Short Fiction
Texas Poetry Crush
Torch Literary Arts
Librotraficantes
Worded Funny
Noir at the Bar

All the events take place from 7-10 pm, so it's possible to hop between them, but difficult to make all of them. Thankfully, it won't cut into festival time: the events closer to the capitol are scheduled from 10 am to 4:15 pm. Guests must be at least 21 years old to attend the crawl, but the main festival is open to everyone. Both are free and accessible to the public.

Hot Headlines

Aba's sister restaurant sets sights on Austin in this week's top stories

Photo courtesy of Jeff Marini

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Editor's note: This week's top Austin news is chock-full of happenings in the local restaurant scene. An Austin taco shop and Austin-born bourbon garner national acclaim, and a Lake Austin cafe lights up for the holidays. Plus, an exciting eatery plans its Austin debut, and a farmers market favorite returns to its roots. Read the hottest headlines of the week below, and then find some holiday fun for the weekend here.

1. Aba's sister eatery and a surprising Chinese closure jolt Austin food news. Big restaurant news surfaced at the end of last week, including famous restaurant Aba's new sister eatery, Zoé Tong's surprising closure, and a new shop from the folks at Small Victory.

2. Austin taco truck nabs spot on New York Times best dishes of 2024 list. Austin taco truck Paprika earns praise for its freshly made salsas and next-level brisket.

3. Austin cafe Mozart's adds luxe igloos to its sprawling light festival. Put this on your bucket list for a very festive VIP holiday experience.

Mozart's Festival of Lights Euro Igloos Euro Igloos are decked out and cozy, providing a refuge for up to 10 guests. Photo from Mozart's Coffee Roasters Facebook Page

4. Still Austin bourbon named one of the top 10 whiskies of 2024. Still Austin's five-year Red Corn Bourbon ranks No. 7 on Whisky Advocate's annual list, scoring 94 points.

5. Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market. In bittersweet news, Confituras is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22.