Tweens Read Book Festival

The eighth annual Tweens Read Book Festival takes place Oct. 13 at South Houston High School, in conjunction with Blue Willow Bookshop. Aimed at children in grades five through eight, Tweens Read is a free festival that offers young readers a chance to discover new books, broaden horizons, and connect with established authors and illustrators.

Author Varian Johnson, whose critically-acclaimed 2018 mystery The Parker Inheritance is a loving ode to classic Newbery Medal winner The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, headlines the festival with a morning keynote address. A civil engineer-turned-author, Johnson has written several novels for children and young adults, which have been awarded various notable honors.

Twenty-six additional local and national authors will be in attendance, including #1 New York Times bestselling author Victoria Schwab, New York Times bestselling author Margaret Peterson Haddix, and National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author Jeanne Birdsall.

The festival will feature breakout sessions throughout the day, offering valuable insight into the creative processes of the diverse group of authors. The day will culminate in an autographing session, allowing tween readers the exciting opportunity to meet their favorite authors and ask questions one-on-one. Participants must purchase a book from Blue Willow Bookshop to access the autographing lines. 

Pre-registration is available on the Tweens Read website. Attendees may print out their pre-registration form and bring it to the event or show the form on their phones at the event to be entered in a prize drawing.

Full Author Lineup: Brooklyn Allen, Julissa Arce, Jeanne Birdsall, Ryan Calejo, J.C. Cervantes, Soman Chainani, Marie Miranda Cruz, Donna Gephart, Stu Gibbs, Karina Yan Glaser, Margaret Peterson Haddix, K.A. Holt, Varian Johnson, Tae Keller, Hena Khan, Torrey Maldonado, Katherine Marsh, Stacy McAnulty, Jennifer A. Nielsen, Brendan Reichs, Leila Sales, Victoria Schwab, T.R. Simon, Mariko Tamaki, Mark Tatulli, Jacqueline West, and Jennifer Ziegler.