San Antonio Book Festival bringing Stephen Graham Jones, Laila Lalami, Karen Russell, more authors to town

On a normal Friday evening, the Central Library grows dark, still, quiet, the only discernible voices being those contained in the books on the shelves.

However, this Saturday morning, the library and its grounds — alongside UTSA Southwest’s campus — will roar to full volume with the arrival of the 13th annual San Antonio Book Festival.

With more than 60 author panels to choose from, there’s truly something for any reader. Highlights include “Fearless Books, Brave Writers” presented by Sandra Cisneros (10 a.m.), the first ever SABF “Romantasy” panel (11 p.m.), “Poetry, Art and the Border” with poets Octavio Quintanilla and Roberto Tejada (1:15 p.m.) and the “Ultimate Illustrator Sketch-Off” featuring four illustrious illustrators competing based on audience suggestions (2:45 p.m.).

The festival casts a wide net, and the creators in its ample grasp range from writers with national reach such as Stephen Graham Jones, Laila Lalami, Karen Russell and NPR host Linda Holmes to local luminaries Joe Holley, Diana López and UTSA historian Omar Valerio-Jiménez.

Expect plentiful book signings, thought-provoking conversations and opportunities to let one’s literary flag fly.

Free, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, April 12, Central Library, 600 Soledad St., UTSA Southwest Campus, 300 Augusta St., (210) 750-8951, sabookfestival.org.

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

This article appears in Apr 2-15, 2025.