Longhorns Lead the 2024 Texas Book Festival

By Keana Saberi in TXEX on November 19, 2024 at 5:41 pm | No Comments

Marianne DeLeón, CEO of the Texas Book Festival

“The University of Texas sparked a number of opportunities for me to become engaged in the ethic of service,” says Marianne DeLeón, BA ’99, chief executive officer of the Texas Book Festival. After studying English at UT, she went on to serve in the Peace Corps. DeLeón’s prior role as chief reserve officer for the Pease Park Conservancy lead to her joining the Texas Book Festival team as CEO in December 2023.

This year’s Texas Book Festival on Nov. 16 and 17 featured nearly 30 Texas Exes as well as professors from the University. The festival, which has been a local fixture during its 29-year run, spotlighted locally based and national authors alike and drew in more than 40,000 attendees. Congress Avenue and the surrounding streets were filled with event tents and vendors throughout the weekend. Tourists and locals were able to attend panels at seven locations in the heart of the city, including within the Texas Capitol Building. This year’s festival also heralded new programming, including a dedicated poetry tent for author readings and discussions.

“We’re hoping that you can find a book in a session that is absolutely perfect for you and the things that you love,” DeLeón told the Alcalde ahead of the weekend’s festival. “That’s one of the things I’m most excited about.”

Vignettes from the Festival

Power, Race & Identity in America: Colonial Legacies and the Modern Immigrant Experience

Authors: Mónica A. Jiménez, PhD ’15, JD ’07; Ray Suarez

Mónica A. Jiménez, an assistant professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at UT, spoke about her new book Making Never-Never Land: Race and Law in the Creation of Puerto Rico at the C-Span Tent. She engaged in conversation with author and journalist Ray Suarez, who authored We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century, an Oral History. Suarez’s book threads together a series of vignettes of global immigration told through interviews conducted by the author and historical contextualization. Through her book, Jimenz also delves into immigration through her family’s experience. In conjunction, she writes about the legal relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States, and the impact of colonial power on communities in Puerto Rico.

Asian American History and Legacy: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Authors: Christina Soontornvat, MS ’07; Erika Lee; Joanna Ho

At the Next Chapter Tent, Christina Soontornvat spoke about her book Made in Asian America: A History for Young People, which she co-authored with author and historian Erika Lee, who teaches at Harvard University. (Soontornvat is also known for her best-selling children’s and middle grade literature, such as the Legends of Lotus Island.) The panel discussed the history of the Asian American diaspora in the United States, misrepresentation, and “invisibility” in the canon of American literature. The authors also chronicled the “evolution of language,” looking closely at the roots of the term Asian American and its effects on either championing or minimalizing diversity. The writers also delved into community solidarity, sharing experiences of pain, resilience, and joy among the diaspora, with the other panelists emphasizing “there are multiple Asian American stories, multiple American stories.”

Memoirs of Adventure & Adversity Exploring Nature

Authors: Avrel Seale, BS ’89, Life Member; Kevin Fedarko

The Alcalde found a familiar friend on a panel held deep in the Capitol Building: Avrel Seale, a frequent contributor to the magazine as well as its former editor-in-chief. Seven years ago, Seale suffered a major hemorrhagic stroke that left him without the use of his right arm. Throughout his arduous rehabilitation process, he kept returning to his childhood dream of taking a camping trip along a river. “For anyone who ever hears the story of Huck Finn, the archetype of a river trip takes root,” Seale said. Eventually he learned to paddle a tandem pedal canoe and, alongside a good friend, set off on an 84-mile trip down the Nueces River to the Gulf of Mexico—which became the story of his memoir The River Nuts. Joining Seale on the panel was Kevin Fedarko, whose award-winning book A Walk in the Park is about his journey traversing the Grand Canyon on foot. “If you think about the metrics we traditionally use—length, time, and the famousness of the terrain—you might think mine is the superior journey,” Fedarko said, “but nothing I did even compares to the things Avrel had to do.” —Eliza Pillsbury

Avrel Seale (left), Kevin Fedarko, and moderator Pam LeBlanc

Poetry Reading & Discussion

Authors: Jennifer Chang & Sasha West

Grief, freedom, and the climate crisis served as the foundational pillars of the readings and discussion between authors Dr. Jennifer Chang and Sasha West. Chang, associate professor of English at the University and author of poetry collection An Authentic Life, discussed poetic process with West, whose book How to Abandon Ship focuses on the reverberations of climate change. The authors delved into how the practice of writing can move from the contemplative “unfurling of ideas” to rapid, revelatory insights for readers and authors alike. Chang described poetry as a container for grief and a way to process emotion. “Poetry gives us music for a feeling,” Chang said as the panel came to a close.