31st annual Texas Book Festival, the largest book event in Texas, held in downtown Austin with author readings, book signings, cooking demonstrations, and family activities.
The Texas Book Festival returns to Downtown Austin on November 14 and 15, 2026, taking over the State Capitol and the surrounding streets for its 31st year. It's the largest book event in Texas and one of the biggest literary celebrations in the country, and it's free and open to the public.
What makes it work is how much it packs into a single weekend. The festival brings together more than 250 authors across a wide range of genres, with readings and book signings as the main draw. There are also cooking demonstrations, activities for families and teens, and hundreds of book-related exhibitors. On Saturday night, the Lit Crawl takes the celebration out into the city. The festival also presents the Texas Writer Award to a writer for outstanding contributions to Texas literature.
It's a non-profit event, and they don't charge featured authors to participate in the official program. That's something to keep in mind if you're an author or vendor: the festival has issued a fraud notice warning about scams that ask for payment to participate. All official vendor payments are invoiced through the secure Stripe platform from official @texasbookfestival.org email addresses.
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As for the authors, the final lineup is expected to be announced in September 2026, so you'll have a few months to see who's coming before the festival kicks off. It runs November 14 and 15 in downtown Austin, and admission is free.
Date
14 November – 15 November
10:00
Location
Downtown Austin
Price
Free
Recommended Age
+6 years
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