Lit Crawl 2024

Looking for some after-Festival fun? Join The Texas Book Festival downtown on Saturday, November 16 from 7–10 PM for the 13th annual Lit Crawl Austin, a night of literary performances, games, trivia matches, storytelling sessions and more! For the first time, Lit Crawl Austin is under one roof. All Lit Crawl events will take place across various stages at Speakeasy Austin (412 Congress Ave. D, Austin, TX 78701). All events are free and open to the public. Guests must be 21+ to attend. Check out what’s in store:

Ground Floor Music Lounge

• 7:00–8:00 PM: Worded Funny. Worded Funny is Austin’s only literary humor show, with readings from our city’s best (and best up-and-coming) short-form satire and humor writers. Experience the charm and wit of prose comedy, as read by its authors. Featuring Wendi Aarons, Athena Aktipis, Kathryn Baecht, Erica Lies, Greg Marshall, Jennifer Matthieu, Meg Walsh, and more.
• 8:00–9:00 PM: Noir at the Bar. A collection of some of the best hard-boiled and noir writers from around the country, read from their dark-hearted work. a night of humor, crime, and style. Featuring Alisa Alering, May Cobb, Harry Hunsicker, John Katzenbach, Mike McCrary, Jesse Sublett, and more.

Congress Side of Ballroom

• 7:30–8:30 PM: Build a Story with the Austin Indie Book Fest. Join festival authors in a collaborative storytelling activity. Featuring Kari Lavelle and Jonny Garza Villa.
• 8:30–9:30 PM: American Short Fiction presents Dear Buffalo. Get answers to your greatest questions about life and love, straight from the pages of bold and exciting literary works. Featuring: ‘Pemi Aguda, Marie-Helene Bertino, Megan Kamalei Kakimoto, Kimberly King Parsons, Alejandro Puyana, and hosted by Stephanie Macias.

Ballroom

• 7:30–8:30 PM: Haunt Happy Books Presents Creeps and Geeks a Live Trivia Gameshow. Featuring: Johnny Compton, Sarah Cypher, Stephen Graham Jones, Elizabeth Gonzalez James, Lilliam Rivera, and more.
• 8:30–10 PM: Literary Death Match. Literary Death Match, now in 73 cities worldwide, brings together a mix of four brilliant writers to read their most electric writing for five minutes or less before a live audience and a panel of three all-star judges. After each reading, the judges take turns spouting hilarious commentary about each story, and then select their two favorites to advance to the finals. There, the show trades in its literary sensibility for a comical climax as the finalists play a game (think “Pin the Mustache on Hemingway”) to determine who will take home the Literary Death Match crown. Featuring Mateo Askaripour, Rita Bullwinkel, Porochista Khakpour, Ray Suarez, Hollie Hardy, Becka Oliver, and more.

Speakeasy Rooftop

• 7:00–8:00 PM: Texas Poetry Crush. Have you ever had a crush on a poem? How about a poet? Five poets will share poems by a Texas poet they admire and read their own poems inspired by living in Texas. Featuring KB Brookins, Jenny Browne, Sául Hernandez, Jennifer Maritza McCauley, mónica teresa ortiz, Sasha West, and more.
• 8:00–9:00 PM: Torch Showcase: Celebrating Black Women Writers. Writers from across genres read in this inspiring showcase of emerging and established local and national authors. Featuring Amina Gautier, Lynne Thompson, Morgan Parker, Anastacia Renee, and hosted by Amanda Johnston.
• 9:00–10:00 PM: Librotraficantes’ Banned Book Bash. Librotraficantes and allies flagrantly flout contraband prose from books that have been formerly banned, currently banned, or are so freakin’ good they are bound to be banned in the future. Featuring Daniel Chacón, Reyes Ramirez, Alex Temblador, and others. Hosted by Tony Diaz.