McAllen brings books and authors to the heart of South Texas
The public library’s international festival combines talks, signings, family activities and free books for young readers.
McAllen Public Library turned 24 October into a citywide meeting point for readers and writers with the South Texas International Book Festival. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the main library hosted conversations, storytimes, drawing sessions, book sales and signings. The programme featured Reyna Grande, Katherine Center, Saadia Faruqi, Varian Johnson, Huda Fahmy and Chris Barton, among others, with activities for children, teenagers and adults. Under the theme Pages to Possibilities, the day explored how stories can open unexpected perspectives. Admission was free, and children and teens could also take home donated books through support from H-E-B Read 3 and Literacy for Texas. The result was a festival model rooted directly in a community library and designed to extend reading beyond the event itself.