Large Gatherings of Bibliophiles, Now and Later

If you like large gatherings of book lovers, book authors, and books themselves, then October's your month. In only its third year, the Austin Teen Book Festival has fast grown into one of the largest gatherings of its kind in the country. The one-day event – which is totally free, by the way – takes place this Saturday, Oct. 1, 10am-5pm, at the Palmer Events Center (900 Barton Springs Rd.). Scott Westerfeld, author of the bestselling Uglies series, is the keynote speaker; other YA writers in attendance include Gabrielle Zevin, Jennifer Ziegler, Jessica Brody, and David Levithan, as well as hometown reps Margo Rabb, Varian Johnson, and Cynthia Leitich Smith. Levithan will get a jump on the proceedings the night before, in fact, with a special screening plus Q&A for Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, which was adapted from his novel with Rachel Cohn. That event (sadly, not free) goes down Sept. 30 at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. See www.austinteenbookfestival.com for more details.

A few short weeks later, the Texas Book Festival settles in for its annual weekend squat at the Texas State Capitol, Oct. 22-23. With roughly 240 authors in attendance, plus music, booksignings, a trade show, and a food vendor alley, you might want to start plotting your course now (the two-day schedule is now live at www.texasbookfestival.org). Need some suggestions? Check us out online at austinchronicle.com/texas-book-festival, where we've handily gathered all of our past interviews and reviews of 2011 TBF authors and their books, along with the latest news on this year's festivities.