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Over 100 authors will meet with thousands of book fans this weekend for the 14th annual San Antonio Book Festival.
The festival’s executive director Lisa Ayres said the day-long event features dozens of panel discussions with authors who will be signing and selling their books.
And it has something for readers of all ages.
"We're going to have activities for children and teens. We're going to have food trucks. We have a wine and beer garden," says Ayres.
One of the authors who’ll be present is Young Adult fiction author, Marcia Argueta Mickelson. She started out writing fiction and grew to love writing for teens who are experiencing certain life experiences for the first time, like love or loss.
"In some writing books, they refer to something called a shard of glass,' which is like the problem that you really have, like your major flaw that you might have," said Mickelson. "Sometimes they feel like that's their whole world, like their challenge is everything, and they're never going to get past it, and it feels so big at the time. And I like to see that through the length of the novel, that they're able to overcome whatever tragedy it is or whatever challenge it is, and they become a better person, a less flawed person, by the end of the book. They've kind of taken out that shard of glass that they're feeling."
Mickelson is promoting her recent YA book The Writing Room at the festival with a special panel and workshop called Find Your Voice: Teen Reads.
Festival executive director Lisa Ayres said if YA isn’t your game, there’s romance, horror, “romantasy,” thrillers, and cozy mysteries.
And the list of authors coming to speak about their work is just as impressive, including George Saunders, Sandra Cisneros, and National Book Award winner, Megha Majumdar.
Ayres is also excited about the cookbooks that will be highlighted at the festival.
"Arnie Segovia, who is 'ArnieTex,' he's going to be here. San Antonio's own Curry Boys who just came out with their cookbook," said Ayres.
"And talking about young adults in middle grade, we have the authors of Keeper of the Lost Cities and Warriors who are huge authors who are translating their books now into graphic novels," she said. "(A)lmost all of our former mayors have written a book this year, and they will all be here."
And Texas Public Radio will also have a presence at the festival.
The festival officially begins Thursday, April 8, with a ticketed event with Jenna Bush Hager and author Juliet Faithfull.
All other events are free at Saturday’s San Antonio Book Festival, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Central Library downtown and the UT San Antonio Southwest campus, formerly the Southwest School of Art. Parking is $5 at the library parking garage and the nearby Baptist Medical Center garage.
View highlights from the 2025 San Antonio Book Festival below:
