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Humanities Texas will host its fourteenth annual Holiday Book Fair at the historic Byrne-Reed House in Austin on Saturday, December 7, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Nineteen Texas authors will visit with the public and sign copies of their latest books, which Humanities Texas will offer for purchase at a discounted price. Available titles include works of fiction and nonfiction, with selections for both adult and young readers.

This year's authors include:
Sarah Bird • Jenny Browne • Don Carleton and Erin Purdy • Breanna Carzoo • Cary Clack • Chad S. Conine • Natalie Musgrave Dossett • Jessica Goudeau • Joe Holley • Bret Anthony Johnston • Eliza Kinkz • Monika Maeckle • Naomi Shihab Nye • Catherine O'Connor • ire'ne lara silva • Thao Votang • Roy Vu • James Wade

All proceeds benefit Texas libraries.

Park for free in the St. Martin's Evangelical Lutheran Church lot on the northwest corner of 15th and Rio Grande Streets, and enjoy coffee and a bake sale of donated and homemade treats. Invite your friends!

Friends of Humanities Texas receive an additional 25% percent discount on Holiday Book Fair purchases!

Juneteenth Rodeo

Sarah Bird

In the late 1970s, as they had been doing for generations, Black communities across East Texas held local rodeos for the talented cowboys and cowgirls who were segregated from the mainstream circuit. Bestselling Texas writer Sarah Bird, then a young photojournalist, found herself drawn to these vibrant community events. In Juneteenth Rodeo, Bird's photographs immerse viewers in a day at the rodeo, from the moment the pit master fired up his smoker, through the death-defying rides, to the last celebratory dance at a nearby honky-tonk. Essays by Bird and sports historian Demetrius Pearson highlight the crucial role of Black Americans in the Western U.S. and convey how modern rodeo riders continue the traditions of a more than two-hundred-year lineage of Black cowboys.

Sarah Bird. Juneteenth Rodeo (University of Texas Press, 2024).

Texas, Being: A State of Poems

Jenny Browne

Texas, Being: A State of Poems collects more than forty-five poems from a beautiful and brutal state. Some are about the music of their languages. Some speak to the dead, some to the sun, and others to omissions of history. One concerns a hedgehog cactus, and another a roller rink. From "Happy, Texas" to "Palestine, TX," from seashores to skeletons to Selena, all are in one way or another about Texas, but good poems are always about more than one thing. Selected by Jenny Browne, 2017 poet laureate of Texas, these poems draw a picture of one of America's vastly sublime yet most audaciously independent corners. In these diverse voices, the state is a lovely and painful contradiction of space and meaning. Featured poets include Naomi Shihab Nye and ire'ne lara silva, who will also be attending the 2024 Humanities Texas Holiday Book Fair.

Jenny Browne, ed. Texas, Being: A State of Poems (Trinity University Press, 2024).

Bill Hobby: A Life in Journalism and Public Service

Don Carleton and Erin Purdy

During his five terms as lieutenant governor of Texas, Bill Hobby became one of the most powerful political figures in the state's history. He was first elected lieutenant governor of Texas in 1972 and served until 1990. Thanks to his brilliance as a political tactician and his personal integrity, Hobby was able to set the Senate's agenda and garner respect from legislators on both sides of the aisle. In Bill Hobby: A Life in Journalism and Public Service, Don Carleton and Erin Purdy document Hobby's significant contributions to Texas as a journalist, politician, and philanthropist.

Don Carleton and Erin L. Purdy. Bill Hobby: A Life in Journalism and Public Service (University of Texas Press, 2024).

The Squish

Breanna Carzoo

Meet Sandcastle. Sandcastle's world was new and exciting until their very first . . . SQUISH! In an effort to protect themselves from ever getting squished again, Sandcastle tries to be bigger and taller and stronger! But is that enough to stop all the squishes? From Breanna Carzoo, the acclaimed creator of Lou and Greenlight, comes an uplifting picture book story that reminds us that while we can't stop all of life's squishes, we can reach out to others, reconnect with our ingrained resilience, and maybe even have some fun!

Breanna Carzoo. The Squish (HarperCollins, 2024).

More Finish Lines to Cross: Notes on Race, Redemption, and Hope

Cary Clack

Cary Clack has captured the hearts and minds of Texans since the mid-1990s, gaining a national reputation as an incisive and sensitive journalist and developing a significant following as a columnist. More Finish Lines to Cross is a collection of Clack's best short- and long-form columns since his return to the San Antonio Express-News in 2019. It includes more than eighty pieces about the issues of the day, from Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and the war in Ukraine to the impact of COVID, the death of George Floyd, and the mass shooting of schoolchildren in Uvalde, Texas. Along the way we meet the people who influenced Clack, which in turn reminds us to reflect on how we become the people we are and what inspires us to be better members of our communities.

Cary Clack. More Finish Lines to Cross: Notes on Race, Redemption, and Hope (Trinity University Press, 2024).

Tommy Bowman: Answering the Call

Chad S. Conine

In Tommy Bowman: Answering the Call, Chad Conine, a Waco sportswriter, tells the story of Tommy Bowman's impact on not only Baylor basketball, but Baylor as a whole. Tommy Bowman quietly arrived at Baylor in 1966 for the fall semester. He found himself, almost by surprise, integrating the Baylor basketball team. Bowman had been recruited by Baylor basketball assistant coach Carroll Dawson to be a pioneer for the Bears—Baylor's first Black scholarship athlete. Bowman faced, without flinching, all the challenges of helping to break the race barrier in the Southwest Conference. With the help of his Baylor teammates, he excelled on the court and on campus. Now, more than fifty years later, Bowman's achievements have gained their rightful acclaim.

Chad S. Conine. Tommy Bowman: Answering the Call (Baylor University Press, 2023).

Sarita: A Novel

Natalie Musgrave Dossett

In the summer of 1920, nineteen-year-old Sarita's younger brother, JJ, bleeds to death in her arms after being shot by Javier Salsito de Ortega, a ruthless tequila smuggler. The Texas Rangers have their hands full with Prohibition and border issues. Still, Sarita is stunned when they refuse to help. JJ's death devastates her father. Even in his despair, she knows her father yearns for justice, but he is too ill and weak to seek it. Sarita isn't.

Determined to prove herself and change her fate, Sarita crosses the Rio Grande into a world of deadly threats. Quickly, she realizes she's stumbled into a web of danger far bigger and more sinister than she imagined. If she is caught, the consequences could jeopardize innocent lives and put her father's safety at risk. In a tumultuous landscape of social and political upheaval, what lines will Sarita cross to survive? Will her relentless pursuit of justice exact a price too steep to bear?

Natalie Musgrave Dossett. Sarita: A Novel (Atmosphere Press, 2024).

We Were Illegal: Uncovering a Texas Family's Mythmaking and Migration

Jessica Goudeau

Seven generations of Jessica Goudeau's family have lived in Texas, and her family's legacy—a word she heard often growing up—was rooted in faith, right-living, and the hard work that built their great state. It wasn't until her aunt mentioned a stowaway ancestor and she began to dig more deeply into the story of the land she lives on today in suburban Austin that Goudeau discovered her family's far more complicated role in Texas history: from a swindling land grant agent in the earliest days of Anglo settlement that brought slavery to Mexican land, up through her Texas Ranger great-uncle, who helped a sociopathic sheriff cover up mass murder. Tracking her ancestors' involvement in pivotal moments from before the Texas Revolution through today, We Were Illegal is at once an intimate and character-driven narrative and an insider's look at a state that prides itself on its history.

Jessica Goudeau. We Were Illegal: Uncovering a Texas Family's Mythmaking and Migration (Penguin Random House, 2024).

Native Texan: Stories from Deep in the Heart

Joe Holley

Native Texan: Stories from Deep in the Heart is a lively and personal tour of small town and big city Texas in search of what makes the state unique. Nationally acclaimed columnist Joe Holley is widely loved for his popular "Native Texan" column, which appears in the Houston Chronicle. In thirty stories curated from column archives, Holley introduces readers to his favorite people and places across the state. From interviews on the "weird" streets of Austin and his search for ghosts in Bigfoot to a decades-long love affair with everything about Marathon and hikes on the back trails of the Big Bend, Holley is a masterful storyteller. He reveals small-town Texas, and some small towns within the largest cities, with a style that has proven popular with readers and a keen eye for a unique spin on an old story. The result is an entertaining and certainly surprising view of the Lone Star state.

Joe Holley. Native Texan: Stories from Deep in the Heart (Trinity University Press, 2024).

Power: How the Electric Co-op Movement Energized the Lone Star State

Joe Holley

Opening with the coming of electricity to Texas’ major cities at the turn of the twentieth century, Power: How the Electric Co-op Movement Energized the Lone Star State describes the dramatic differences between urban and rural life. Though the major cities of Texas were marvels of nighttime brilliance, the countryside remained as dark as it had been for centuries before. Beginning with the New Deal–era efforts of Sam Rayburn, Lyndon Johnson, and others, Holley chronicles the birth and development of the electric cooperative movement in Texas. Holley concludes with the devastation wrought by Winter Storm Uri in 2021 and the debate that continues around climate resilience and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Power is sure to enlighten, entertain, and energize readers and policymakers alike.

Joe Holley. Power: How the Electric Co-op Movement Energized the Lone Star State (A&M University Press, 2024).

We Burn Daylight: A Novel

Bret Anthony Johnston

Waco, Texas, 1993. People from all walks of life have arrived to follow the Lamb's gospel—signing over savings and pensions, selling their homes, and shedding marriages. They've come here to worship at the feet of a former landscaper turned prophet who is preparing for the End Times with a staggering cache of weapons. Jaye's mother is one of his newest and most devout followers, though Jaye herself has suspicions about the Lamb's methods—and his motives. Roy is the youngest son of the local sheriff, a fourteen-year-old boy with a heart of gold and a nose for trouble who falls for Jaye without knowing of her mother's attachment to the man who is currently making his father's life hell. The two teenagers are drawn to each other immediately and completely, but their love may have dire consequences for their families.

Based on the true events that unfolded thirty years ago during the siege of the Branch Davidian compound, Bret Anthony Johnston's We Burn Daylight is an unforgettable love story, a heart-pounding literary page turner, and a profound exploration of faith, family, and what it means to truly be saved.

Bret Anthony Johnston. We Burn Daylight: A Novel (Penguin Random House, 2024).

Mamá's Magnificent Dancing Plantitas

Eliza Kinkz

When Jesús gets home after school, he has to fill the time until Mamá can take him outside to play. It's tough, until Mamá appoints him Chief Plant Officer—he'll be like a big brother to her precious houseplants! Jesús does an excellent job keeping them watered, entertained, and happy—until an unfortunate accident during a dance party throws Jesús's entire job into crisis mode. Join Jesús and a hilarious cast of houseplants as they navigate the biggest challenge of all.

The high-spirited hero of Papá's Magical Water-Jug Clock is back with another irresistible family misadventure that will warm your heart and make you laugh.

Eliza Kinkz, ill. Mamá's Magnificent Dancing Plantitas (Minerva, 2024).

The Monarch Butterfly Migration: Its Rise and Fall

Monika Maeckle

Each fall, millions of monarch butterflies migrate from Canada to Mexico. Their incredible journey—nearly three thousand miles long—takes them through Oklahoma, Texas, and other U.S. states, where butterfly devotees eagerly await their arrival. The monarch migration is a brilliant demonstration of nature's ingenuity, but the delicate creatures face many perils, and the number of migrating monarchs is declining sharply. Through meticulous reporting, journalist and butterfly advocate Monika Maeckle offers unique insights on the butterflies as well as a nuanced portrait of the shifting and sometimes contentious community of scientists, enthusiasts, and "flutterati" who have emerged to support the monarchs' cause. The Monarch Butterfly Migration reminds each of us to notice—and never take for granted—the natural wonders in our own backyards.

Monika Maeckle. The Monarch Butterfly Migration: Its Rise and Fall (University of Oklahoma Press, 2024).

Grace Notes: Poems about Families

Naomi Shihab Nye

National Book Award finalist and former Young People's Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye's Grace Notes: Poems about Families celebrates family and community. This rich collection of one hundred never-before-published poems is also the poet's most personal work to date. With poems about her own childhood and school years, her parents and grandparents, and the people who have touched and shaped her life in so many ways, this is an emotional and sparkling collection to savor, share, and read again and again.

Naomi Shihab Nye. Grace Notes: Poems about Families (HarperCollins, 2024).

Dust-Covered Lies: A Novel

Catherine O'Connor

Set in Texas during the 1870s and in the 1930s at the height of the Dust Bowl, Dust-Covered Lies tells the story of Frances Abbott, or Frannie, an orphaned immigrant who faces a terrible choice that will haunt her the rest of her life. Frannie is a teenage champion markswoman when she and her autistic and artistically-gifted brother, Juan Esteban, set off on a scientific hunting expedition on the Colorado River led by a dangerous con man who claims to be a French zoologist. When a murder is committed and Juan Esteban's life is in danger, Frannie lies to protect him. Determined to take her secret to the grave, Frannie and her brother flee to the dust-covered Texas panhandle to escape the one person who could reveal the truth about their past.

Catherine O'Connor. Dust-Covered Lies: A Novel (TCU Press, 2024).

the eaters of flowers

ire'ne lara silva

In the eaters of flowers—her third book of poems for Saddle Road Press after the much-loved Blood Sugar Canto and CUICALLI/House of Song—2023 Texas State Poet Laureate ire'ne lara silva writes about the loss of her brother, her adopted son. In her unique canto style, silva sings the stunned, broken months following his death, navigating grief, loss, loneliness, and the remembrance of joy, as she begins to reassemble her life.

ire'ne lara silva. the eaters of flowers (Saddle Road Press, 2024).

Linh Ly is Doing Just Fine: A Novel

Thao Votang

When twenty-seven-year-old Linh Ly's recently divorced mother begins dating a coworker, Linh is determined to make sure he is worthy of her mother. She's seen the kind of men her mother ends up with—she grew up watching her unreliable and volatile alcoholic father as her mother worked two jobs to make ends meet. Linh is certain that her mother can't do this on her own, but what begins as genuine worry quickly turns obsessive. Linh is slowly forced to reconcile the image of her mother from her childhood with the woman she's getting to know as an adult. Growing up Vietnamese in the middle of Texas with a broken household taught Linh a certain guarded way of living—one she never quite left behind. Moving, insightful, and caustically funny all at once, Linh Ly Is Doing Just Fine depicts a quarter-life crisis in deeply relatable prose.

Thao Votang. Linh Ly is Doing Just Fine: A Novel (Alcove Press, 2024).

Farm-to-Freedom: Vietnamese Americans and Their Food Gardens

Roy Vũ

Home gardens, in addition to providing sustenance and satisfaction, embody a sense of self identity. In this groundbreaking work on Vietnamese foodways, Farm-to-Freedom: Vietnamese Americans and Their Food Gardens brings to light how the Vietnamese diasporic population in Texas uses gardens literally and figuratively to set down roots in a new country. These gardens, often hidden in plain sight, establish the seat of Vietnamese immigrant culture, according to author Roy Vũ. They can also offer Vietnamese Americans an empowering pathway to forging a new homeland duality by retaining ties to the foods and environs they drew comfort from in Vietnam.

With a wealth of original oral histories, community-based recipes and poetry, and photographs of home gardens in suburban and urban settings, Farm-to-Freedom provides a deeper understanding of the Vietnamese diaspora in Texas for scholars, professionals, and general readers alike.

Roy Vũ. Farm-to-Freedom: Vietnamese Americans and Their Food Gardens (A&M University Press, 2024).

Hollow Out the Dark: A Novel

James Wade

A veteran of the Great War, Jesse Cole is grateful for the quiet life he now leads. But when his closest friend runs afoul of local criminals Frog and Squirrel Fenley, Jesse is forced to spin his moral compass and enter a violent and volatile underworld. There he encounters corrupt lawmen, hired assassins, and a dark family secret that will upend all he once knew. Complicating matters are Texas Ranger Amon Atkins—who arrives to investigate the Fenleys just as their empire is threatened by a deadly new competitor—and the green-eyed, raven-haired Adaline, a love Jesse thought he'd lost forever. With resources scarce and winter falling hard on the town, a desperate Jesse must choose between the law and the lawless and find a way to survive while still protecting the people he loves. A heart-pounding tale full of plot-twisting revelations, Hollow Out the Dark brings readers into a whiskey-fueled world where everyone has a secret, and love everlasting balances on the edge of a knife.

James Wade. Hollow Out the Dark: A Novel (Blackstone Publishing, 2024).