CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Attention all book lovers! Want to spice up your collection and get the inside scoop on some of your favorite books? Look no further because the 2025 Teen Bookfest by the Bay is back on Saturday, Feb. 22 at the American Bank Center.
“This year we have Diana Lopez, she’s from Corpus. One of our faithful returnees is Manuel Ruiz and he is from Robstown,” President of Teen Bookfest by the Bay Analisa Lawhon said.
The city’s Bookfest started in 2014 after now-retired librarian Analisa Lawhon and others took some students to Austin for a field trip.
“On the way back I said we should have this in Corpus Christi. We’re librarians, surely we can do this,” Lawhon said.
Lawson and other librarians got to work. The first Bookfest took a while to get started, but now, Lawhon said it takes about a year's worth of planning for one.
“There is a lot of planning. We take one month off during the summer but at that point we’re reading,” Lawhon said.
Here’s how it works. The event is made possible through grants and donations. It starts with a call to authors.
“We have 24 authors coming and we have grouped them based on their genre. So we have horror, romance… They send us their books and we read them. Anytime during the day there will be at least three panels going on of the authors,” Lawhon said.
Some of the authors are local, like Manuel Ruiz. He's a 1998 graduate from Robstown High School and he published his first book ten years ago.
"I’ve published seven books and started out as an independent author but signed with publisher Sterling and Stone in 2022," Ruiz said.
Most of his books have a supernatural twist and some are even inspired from South Texas folklore. His first Teen Bookfest by the Bay was eight years ago and he's been a favorite return author ever since.
"It’s one of my favorite events since it’s in the Corpus Christi area and gives me an opportunity to return home and meet fellow book lovers and aspiring writers. My favorite part about Teen Bookfest is seeing the excitement on the faces of area teens when they meet and talk to authors in person. It’s an opportunity I would have loved to have when I was younger and am proud to see it thriving here in Corpus," Ruiz said.
Teen Bookfest by the Bay is targeted towards teens 13-19 years old who either have an interest in the literacy scene or who just want to test out the waters.
“There are kids out there that like to write or love to read or maybe love to draw and this is their chance to talk to actual authors, hear their experience. A lot of these authors have full-time jobs. Writing is not their full-time job. They get to hear their process,” Lawhon said.
And there’s something there for everyone.
“We have a writers workshop, an illustrators workshop, manga activities going on, we have vendors,” Lawhon said.
Lawhon said teens who attend might find out that several of these authors have full-time jobs aside from writing, but the passion to create and inspire is what Ruiz said makes it all worth it.
"Writing can be a lonely process, but when a reader says something I wrote struck a chord and inspired them, it inspires me right back to write the next story. Sometimes an aspiring author just needs to know that someone believes in them. I credit my Robstown High School English teachers Peggy France, Martha Westfall, and Rudy Salazar for always encouraging me," Ruiz said.
Teens are encouraged to bring an old book to swap out and trade for someone else’s, keeping the love of reading alive and well in Corpus Christi.
The Teen Bookfest by the Bay will be on Saturday, Feb 22 at the American Bank Center. Doors will open at 9 a.m. and the event starts at 10 a.m. .
Teen Bookfest by the Bay is always looking for sponsors and donors to help keep the event going year after year. For those interested in helping out or looking for more information visit https://teensread.org.
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