Texas Book Festival Silent Auction

Each year the Texas Book Festival puts on an astounding array of speakers, authors and events over a two day period. What you might not know is that there is a ton of things going on before those two days. One event is the First Edition Literary Gala, which, incidentally, is already sold out. Part of the gala is a silent auction.

I was honored to go to the gala one year. At the time, I was the Executive Director of the Writers’ League of Texas and a friend of my husband donated money specifically so two staff members could attend the event. Terri and I went and did as much networking on behalf of the League as we could fit in. I also bought a very pretty hand-made vase at the silent auction.

Even if you can’t attend the gala, you can still bid on some of the auction items online. Some are very expensive and some are not so much so. Here are a couple of examples.

Four Night Stay at Hyatt Key West and Round Trip Airfare for Two

Enjoy a four-night stay in one of America's most exciting cities at the Hyatt Key West Resort & Marina. Home to Ernest Hemingway, Key Lime Pie and famous Front Street and Duval Street. Stay at this year-round resort on the Gulf of Mexico, in the heart of Old Town Key West on Front Street, within walking distance of shops and attractions, just 1 block from Duval Street. Valid one year from event date excluding October 30 to November 2 and from December 15 to January 5 and subject to availability.
Leading Bid: $2100.00

Framed 2008 Texas Book Festival Poster Signed by David Bates

The exuberant paintings and sculptures of maverick Texas artist David Bates (born 1952, Dallas) combine exquisite technique with a deep understanding of American modernist traditions, resulting in a body of work that is at once sophisticated, soulful, and accessible. Over the past thirty years, he has become known for his lush early paintings of the Arkansas nature conservancy Grassy Lake and the Texas Gulf Coast, his figural reliefs and sculptures created at a bronze-casting foundry in Washington State, and his recent paintings depicting survivors of Hurricane Katrina. He lives and works in Dallas, where he is currently at work on a new body of work of landscapes and still lifes of the Gulf Coast and the Caribbean.
Opening Bid: $60.00

Keep in mind that new items will go up weekly and there will also be preview items for the gala.