Unless you’re brand new to Straight From Hel (and if you are – WELCOME), then you know that I chair for the Texas Book Festival. I oversee the events that take place at the Austin Museum of Art.
The Festival is HUGE. I mean it. Huge. We’re in the Capital, on the grounds of the capital, and we’ve branched out to other buildings nearby, like the Austin Museum of Art. In addition to speakers and panels, there are children’s events, music tents, food, vendor tents, book tents, author signing tents, all kinds of stuff. And there are over 190 authors participating.
You can imagine that from the time the staff and volunteers start preparing for the Festival (which is a year-long thing) until it happens, things change.
We’re getting close now. The Festival is only two weeks away. The schedule is already up online. And yet….things change.
Authors cancel. Authors are added. Room assignments have to be changed. And when those things happen, the staff notifies all the Chairs, and then makes the changes online.
How this affects you is that if you’re coming – and I hope you are and that you’ll run by AMOA and say howdy to me – don’t just check the schedule once and write down where and when you want to go to something. Check it again right before the Festival starts. Things may have changed.
But if you get to an event and discover that you forgot to check and you’ve missed your event, come by the Austin Museum of Art!
Also – there’s still time to volunteer.
5 months ago
Wish I could join you }-:> Baaaw. But I look forward to your event updates and posts. Next year I hope to be able to get out and get to some conventions. I know it is soooo important and sooooo worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteTTYS.
I can tell you whatever you need to know about the Texas Book Festival if you decide to come next year, Marvin.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a busy time for you. All those last minute details, such a pain. All the behind the scenes work nobody even realizes.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you with the event.
Morgan Mandel
www.morganmandel.com
http://morganmandel.blotspot.com
Thank you Morgan. We had our last official meeting, so we're off to the races.
ReplyDeleteAnd "races" is an interesting word since on Sunday the entire Festival is encircled by a huge race on the streets of Austin. It should be over by the time the Festival actually starts, but for volunteers and participants, parking and getting across the race to the Festival will be very interesting.
Austinites are used to that sort of thing, though, since we seem to have some kind of foot race every weekend.