On September 26, nearly 4,000 readers of all ages came from all over Texas to the campus of St. Edward’s University in Austin to meet 32 YA authors. Sonia Manzano, better known as Maria on Sesame Street, gave the keynote address, and the festival concluded with a live reading from David Levithan and Libba Bray, reading their comments from editorial edits on Beauty Queens. A Star Wars-themed game show featuring six authors and costumed guests drew a crowd of 1,200. See highlights from the event below.

Members of Austin indie bookstore BookPeople’s Teen Press Corp. Photo: Texas Teen Book Festival.

Author David Levithan meets a fan. Photo: Texas Teen Book Festival.

Readers wait in line to meet author Jennifer E. Smith. Photo: Texas Teen Book Festival.

Author Pierce Brown gets ready to sign a few books. Photo: Pierce Brown.

Festival founder Heather Schubert with her students from Hill Country Middle School in Austin. Photo: Hill Country Middle School.

Two fans, pictured here with Andrew Smith, dressed in Pine Mountain Academy costumes, the fictional school in the author’s novels Winger and Stand-Off. Photo: Andrew Smith.

Students from Good Hope Middle School in Monroe, La., drove for more than seven hours for a photo with Aaron Hartzler. Photo: Texas Teen Book Festival.

Delacorte Press sponsored a writing contest at the festival; here the three winners meet author Nicola Yoon. Photo: Texas Teen Book Festival.

From l., authors Pierce Brown, Cindy Pon, and Gareth Hinds test out some light sabers. Photo: Texas Teen Book Festival.

Attendees pictured in front of the John Jay Library, one of the Festival venues on campus. Photo: John Jay Library.

Author Libba Bray interrupts signing a few readers’ books to address the paparazzi. Photo: Texas Teen Book Festival.

Students from Pruitt and Theodore Roosevelt High School in San Antonio pose for a group photo. Photo: Pruitt and Theodore Roosevelt High School.

Author and Festival keynote speaker Sonia Manzano gets framed. Photo: Texas Teen Book Festival.

Students from Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District gather on the steps of a Festival venue. Photo: Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District.

Students from Fort Worth enjoy the Star Wars-themed Teen Press Corp photo booth. Photo: Texas Teen Book Festival.