Nov. 8 (at Cheer Up Charlies)

We're back, Austin! We return for the stellar Texas Book Festival's LitCrawl at the one-and-only Cheer Up Charlies, for a night of wit, whimsy, humanity and general vibrant merriment. Best yet, it's FREE! So come one, come all, and let's pack the joint. 

Here's the full lineup from the night:

ALL-STAR JUDGES: 

Literary Merit: Maris Kreizman, award-winning critic and author of I Want to Burn This Place Down, and creator of Slaughterhouse 90210. Her essays appear in the New York Times, Esquire and The Atlantic

Performance: Yuyi Morales, award-winning author-illustrator of Dreamers and Viva Frida, recipient of the Caldecott Honor and Pura Belpré Medal. Her newest book Little Rebels continues her celebration of culture, imagination and resilience

Intangibles: Bob Shea, award-winning author and illustrator of your favorite children’s books. His titles include Chez Bob, the popular Ballet Cat series, The Dinosaur VS. … series and run
away smash hit, Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great

ALL-STAR READERS:

Round 1: 
* Andrew Porter, award-winning author of The Imagined Life (currently longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal of Excellence in Fiction) and The Theory of Light and Matter, winner of the Flannery O’Connor Award. His collection The Disappeared was longlisted for The Story Prize and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize

* Xelena González, award-winning author of Remembering, Where Wonder Grows and All Around Us, recipient of the American Indian Youth Literature Honor. She’s also a dancer and wellness educator celebrating ancestral storytelling

Round 2:
* Rex Ogle, award-winning author of more than 100 books, comics, and memoirs. He wrote Free Lunch (YALSA Nonfiction Award), Abuela Don’t Forget Me, and Road Home (Printz & Stonewall Honors). He also creates middle-grade graphic novels, including Four Eyes and Pizza Face.

* Claire Jia, author of debut novel Wanting (Tin House, 2025), her writing appears in The New York Times and The Rumpus. She writes for TV and co-wrote the 2024 Peabody Award-winning video game We Are OFK

Hosted by LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga (author of the award-nominated novel Collision Theory)

Produced by Richard Santos

Where: Cheer Up Charlies, 900 Red River St. (map)
When: November 8, 8:30pm sharp (until 9:45pm)
Cost: Free!