Texas Book Festival

What Texas Book Festival does

Texas Book Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary organization founded in 1995 by Laura Bush, Mary Margaret Farabee, and a group of volunteers, headquartered at 1023 Springdale Road in Austin, Texas. Its flagship offering is the annual Texas Book Festival, a free two-day event held each fall at the Texas State Capitol that features more than 250 authors and attracts 40,000-45,000 attendees. The organization also runs a portfolio of year-round statewide literacy and outreach programs — Reading Rock Stars (author visits to Texas Title I elementary schools with free signed books), Real Reads (similar programming for middle and high school students), and Texas Library Grants (which has cumulatively deployed over $3.7 million to 600+ Texas public libraries across 1,492 grants).

Beyond its core event and education programs, TBF operates ancillary initiatives including the bilingual ¡Leamos! Let's Read! program for Latine and Spanish-speaking Texans, the First Edition Literary Gala (an annual black-tie fundraiser held at Fairmont Austin), a tiered Membership Circles donor program ($5 to $1,000 annually), and — most recently — Burro Libro Press, a literary fiction publishing imprint launched in 2026 with Deep Vellum Publishing, Letterpress PLAY, and Tejemos Foundation. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and Board of Advisors with CEO Marianne DeLeón leading operations.

Revenue is not publicly disclosed and is sourced from individual donations, corporate sponsorships (H-E-B as Presenting Sponsor), the annual Gala, membership circles, and foundation grants (including the Laura Bush Legacy Fund endowment initiative). Technology infrastructure is minimal and consists of standard SaaS tools — Bloomerang for donations, Stripe for exhibitor payments, Mailchimp for newsletters, Submittable for Burro Libro Press submissions, Bonfire for merchandise, and Eventbrite for select ticketing — with no proprietary AI, platform, or technology products.

Name

Texas Book Festival

Legal name

Texas Book Festival

Website

https://texasbookfestival.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Texas Book Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates the annual Texas Book Festival in Austin (250+ authors, 40,000+ attendees) and runs statewide literacy programs including Reading Rock Stars school visits, Real Reads, and Texas Library Grants benefiting 600+ public libraries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Literary Events and Cultural Programs

NAICS

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Theatre & Storytelling Festivals (MPAGAEAI), Genre Writing Workshops (Sci‑Fi, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Horror) (EDAMAMAG)

Keywords

• Literary festival
• Author events
• Literacy programs
• Library grants
• Book publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting literacy and literary programs
2. First Edition Literary Gala: Annual black-tie cocktail reception and dinner held the Friday before the Festival, raising vital funding to support the annual Festival and outreach programs including Reading Rock Stars, Real Reads, and Texas Library Grants. Features prominent authors as speakers.
3. Membership Circles: Tiered membership program with Fan Club ($5/year), Festival Friend ($120/year), and Foreword Collective ($1,000/year). Includes benefits such as 10% discount on Gala tickets for Foreword Collective members.
4. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors visible to 45,000+ Festival attendees, on website and social media. Sponsorship opportunities developed creatively with companies. H-E-B serves as Presenting Sponsor.
5. Burro Libro Press Submissions: A $10 submission fee for manuscript submissions to the Burro Libro Press publishing prize. First 500 manuscripts accepted. Author receives $5,000 cash prize if selected.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Texas Book Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that produces an annual free literary festival in Austin featuring 250+ authors and 40,000–45,000 attendees, along with year-round literacy programs for schools (Reading Rock Stars, Real Reads, Leamos), statewide grants to Texas public libraries, a publishing imprint (Burro Libro Press), and supporting fundraising events such as the First Edition Literary Gala.

Product overview

Texas Book Festival operates as a nonprofit literary organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs centered around its flagship Annual Festival event. The core offering is the Annual Texas Book Festival in downtown Austin, one of the nation's premier literary events featuring 250+ authors. Supporting this are educational outreach programs: Reading Rock Stars (elementary schools), Real Reads (middle/high schools), and Texas Library Grants statewide. The organization has expanded into publishing through Burro Libro Press (in partnership with Deep Vellum), and cultural programming through ¡Leamos! Let's Read! for Latine communities. Year-round engagement includes the First Edition Literary Gala, Content Hub with video/audio content, and Membership Circles for donor support. The Festival Archive preserves historical content including author records and poster galleries dating to 1996.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Burro Libro Press: A literary fiction imprint launched in 2026 in partnership with Deep Vellum, Letterpress PLAY, and Tejemos Foundation to publish debut works of literary fiction by emerging authors with strong Texas ties.

Products and services

• Annual Texas Book Festival Free, public literary festival held annually in downtown Austin, Texas, featuring 250+ authors and drawing 40,000–45,000 attendees; designed for general readers, families, and literary enthusiasts across Texas.
• Reading Rock Stars Author-in-schools literacy program serving Texas Title I schools, providing free author engagement and books to students who otherwise lack access; offered to K-12 public school campuses.
• Real Reads In-school literacy program for middle and high school students that brings authors and curated reading experiences into Texas public secondary schools.
• Texas Library Grants Grant program distributing funds to Texas public libraries to expand collections, programming, and literacy resources at the local level.
• Leamos (Let's Read!) Bilingual (Spanish/English) literacy initiative delivering Spanish-language programming and reading resources to Latine communities across Texas.
• Burro Libro Press Publishing imprint of the Texas Book Festival producing books aligned with the festival's mission, sold directly to consumers through the organization's channels.
• First Edition Literary Gala Annual ticketed fundraising gala that convenes authors, supporters, and sponsors to raise funds for the Texas Book Festival's mission and year-round programs.
• TBF Membership Circles Tiered individual membership program offering supporters benefits in exchange for recurring contributions to fund the festival and literacy programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $3.7 million in library grants awarded to date
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and supporting.

• Deep Vellum PublishingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Partnership with Deep Vellum Publishing to launch Burro Libro Press, a new literary fiction imprint. Deep Vellum provides professional editorial development and publication services for the inaugural Burro Libro Press title - a debut work of literary fiction by an emerging author with strong Texas ties.
• Letterpress PLAYcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Collaborative partner in the Burro Libro Press publishing prize, working with Texas Book Festival and Deep Vellum to discover and publish emerging literary fiction voices from Texas.
• Tejemos FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Collaborative partner in the Burro Libro Press publishing prize, supporting the initiative to invest in literary fiction and the future of storytelling in Texas.
• H-E-BflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting Sponsor of the Texas Book Festival. H-E-B is a major Texas-based grocery retailer that supports literacy and community programs throughout the state.
• H-E-B Read3coreGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting Sponsor of the Reading Rock Stars program. H-E-B Read3 is H-E-B's literacy initiative that supports reading programs for children.
• TresGracesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the Reading Rock Stars program, supporting literacy initiatives for students in Title I schools.
• El Paso Community FoundationsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the Reading Rock Stars program, supporting literacy programs in the El Paso region.
• Jordan Foster ConstructionsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the Reading Rock Stars program.
• Applied MaterialssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the Reading Rock Stars program.
• Burdine Johnson FoundationsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the Reading Rock Stars program.
• Addy FoundationsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the Reading Rock Stars program.
• Texas Commission on the ArtssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the Reading Rock Stars program through state arts funding.
• BookPeoplecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAustin-based independent bookstore partner for book sales at the Festival and co-presented author events throughout the year.
• Harry Ransom CentersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural partner for author events and discussions, partnering with TBF on literary programming in Austin.
• C-SPAN BookTVsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerRecords Festival sessions for broadcast on C-SPAN 2, expanding reach of Festival programming to national audience.
• Austin Film FestivalsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presented screening events with Texas Book Festival, combining literary and film programming.
• First Baptist Church AustinsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partner for author events and discussions throughout the year.
• 2025 Gala Auction DonorssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerVarious community and literacy-minded businesses that donated items to the 2025 First Edition Literary Gala silent auction, including 360 MD Austin, Canyon Ranch, Howler Bros, SXSW, Austin City Limits, Franklin Barbecue, and many others.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Edinburgh International Book Festival: The Edinburgh International Book Festival is one of the world's largest literary festivals, featuring a comparable mix of fiction, nonfiction, children's, and YA programming, along with educational outreach. It is similar in mission and programming mix to Texas Book Festival, though internationally focused.
• SXSW (South by Southwest): SXSW is an Austin-based mega-festival that includes a major literary and education track and overlaps with TBF on Austin audiences, sponsors, and venue infrastructure. While much broader, it competes for the same corporate sponsorship dollars and book-event programming attention in Austin each fall and spring.
• Library of Congress National Book Festival: The Library of Congress's annual National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. is a similarly free, large-scale literary festival featuring hundreds of authors and a comparable mix of panel discussions, book signings, and family programming, making it a direct national-scale analog to Texas Book Festival.
• Hay Festival: Hay Festival is an internationally recognized literary festival network spanning the UK, Spain, Peru, and other locations, with flagship events featuring hundreds of writers and a strong educational outreach arm. It is comparable to TBF in scale and programming philosophy, though it operates globally rather than in a single state.

Others

• National Book Foundation: The National Book Foundation runs the National Book Awards and associated literacy and education programs, including Books for Everyone. It overlaps with TBF in mission (celebrating authors, expanding access to literature) and in the literacy-program space, though its awards-driven model differs from TBF's festival model.
• PEN America: PEN America is a nonprofit literary and free-expression organization that runs author programming, festivals, and advocacy campaigns. While not a single annual festival like TBF, it competes for the same donor pool, author engagement, and Freedom-to-Read alignment that TBF promotes on its website.
• Deep Vellum Publishing: Deep Vellum Publishing is a Dallas-based nonprofit literary fiction publisher and TBF's partner on the Burro Libro Press imprint, providing editorial and production services. It is comparable as a Texas-rooted, mission-driven literary publishing partner rather than a direct competitor.

Regional players

• Austin Film Festival: Austin Film Festival is an Austin-based cultural festival partner of TBF that co-presents screening events, sharing a regional Texas audience, sponsor overlap, and a year-round literary/arts programming calendar with overlapping attendees.

Direct peers

• Miami Book Fair: Miami Book Fair, presented by Florida International University, is one of the nation's largest and longest-running literary festivals, featuring hundreds of authors, a strong school program (Generation Genius Reads/I Read You Read), and year-round cultural programming. It is the closest U.S. peer to Texas Book Festival in scope, free public access, and education outreach.
• Brooklyn Book Festival: Brooklyn Book Festival is a free, large-scale annual literary event drawing tens of thousands of attendees with hundreds of authors, an emphasis on diverse and emerging voices, and citywide programming. It competes for the same author roster and reader attention that Texas Book Festival draws upon.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/texasbookfest
• YouTubeyoutube.com/texasbookfestival
• Facebookfacebook.com/texasbookfest
• Instagraminstagram.com/texasbookfest
• TikToktiktok.com/@texasbookfest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Texas Book Festival