Regional topics take center stage for Boerne Book Fest

THE BOOKWORM

Mark your calendars and plan to attend the eighth annual Boerne Book Festival on Saturday, October 5 at Main Plaza.

Through the years we’ve learned that panel discussions focused on regional topics and regional authors attract the largest audiences. That’s been one key to the success of our book festival.

This year our regionally focused panels include an interview between award-winning authors James Wade and Elizabeth Crook. Wade will interview Crook on her latest novel, “The Madstone,” which begins in Comfort during the post-Civil War era. The action in the book quickly moves on to Boerne and beyond.

Crook won the Willa Literary Award from Women Writing the West for her previous novel, “The Which Way Tree.” Book groups in the Boerne area will enjoy listening to these two writers discuss their western novels at 1 p.m. at the book festival.

Two Trinity University Press authors will be featured on the Texas Journalists panel discussion at noon, moderated by Paul Barwick.

Joe Holley is a long-time writer for the Houston Chronicle and has published many books. His latest is “Native Texan: Stories from Deep in the Heart.”

San Antonio Express-News journalist Cary Clack will also be featured on this panel. His latest book is “More Finish Lines to Cross: Notes on Race, Redemption, and Hope.” Both books are cataloged in the library for anyone wishing to read them.

The Kendall County Historical Commission is sponsoring the final panel discussion for the day, at 3 p.m., which is centered on the book, “The German Texas Frontier in 1853: Ferdinand Lindheimer’s Newspaper Accounts of the Environment, Gold, and Indians.”

Scholars Daniel J. Gelo and Christopher J. Wickham co-authored this book and will be on hand to discuss this significant work on Hill Country history. This title was published by UNT Press and is available at the library.

If you’d like to learn about other authors, publishers and writers participating at this year’s festival please check out our website: www. boernebookfest.com and follow our social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram.

Thanks to our sponsors of the Boerne Book Festival, which include The Friends of the Boerne Public Library, The Boerne Public Library Foundation and Hill Country Mile.