San Antonio Book Festival 2026 announces 110-plus authors and adds a new ticketed kickoff event
Free downtown festival set for April 11, with a separate April 9 program introducing a new weekend opener
The San Antonio Book Festival will return to downtown on Saturday, April 11, 2026, with a published lineup of more than 110 participating authors and a new, separately ticketed kickoff event scheduled two days earlier. Organizers said the daylong festival will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. across the San Antonio Central Library and UTSA’s Southwest Campus.
The 2026 edition is the festival’s 14th annual installment. Programming is expected to include author conversations, panel discussions, book sales and signings, children’s and teen activities, and food trucks. Organizers said a detailed session-by-session schedule is planned for release in mid-March.
New kickoff event centers on publishing imprint launch programming
For the first time, the festival will open its weekend with a ticketed event on Thursday, April 9, at Central Christian Church, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The program will feature Jenna Bush Hager in an onstage event connected to her new publishing imprint, Thousand Voices, and its latest title, Liar’s Dice, by debut novelist Juliet Faithfull.
Organizers said tickets for the kickoff include a signed copy of the featured book, distinguishing it from the festival’s core Saturday programming, which remains free to attend.
Headline authors span fiction, nonfiction, poetry, memoir, and cookbooks
The announced roster includes writers with national profiles alongside Texas-based and San Antonio-area authors. Among the festival’s highlighted participants are Julia Alvarez, George Saunders, Jeff Hiller, Megha Majumdar, and cookbook author Arnie “ArnieTex” Segovia. The festival’s author categories for 2026 include adult, children’s, middle grade, teen and young adult, poetry, memoir, nonfiction, fiction, and food and cookbooks.
Festival materials also emphasize a substantial poetry component in 2026 and a mix of debut and established authors. Organizers said the intent is to program across genres and age groups, with expanded offerings for kids and teens that can include picture books, middle-grade and young adult titles, graphic novels, and activity-based programming.
Festival footprint and book sales operations
As in prior years, the festival’s downtown footprint will center on the Central Library and adjacent partner spaces. Book sales and author signings are planned to be hosted through a designated festival bookselling area operated by Nowhere Bookshop, which will serve as the official bookseller for the event.
Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026 (9 a.m.–5 p.m.)
Locations: San Antonio Central Library and UTSA Southwest Campus (downtown)
Kickoff event: Thursday, April 9, 2026 (6:30 p.m.), Central Christian Church
Lineup size: More than 110 authors announced
Schedule: Full program timetable expected mid-March
Organizers describe the festival as a free, family-friendly day of talks, panels, signings, and youth programming, anchored at the Central Library and nearby UTSA downtown spaces.