Join us for our next installment of #TXBookChat LIVE, with author Dave Dalton Thomas! This event will be hosted in the Public Event Space at the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building, Capitol Complex, 1201 Brazos St., Austin.

A conversation with Texas Center for the Book Coordinator Michele Chan Santos will be followed by an audience Q&A session and book signing opportunity. Thomas has attended nearly every Willie Nelson Fourth of July Picnic since 1995. For the last 20 years, he has researched the history of the Picnic, chronicling the brutal heat and the quirky and sometimes illegal antics of fans, musicians, and others. Thomas has watched the Picnic evolve over the decades, as Willie and his audience have evolved. He has interviewed participants, including artists, organizers, promoters, and even a few colorful hangers-on.

Formerly a journalist for the Austin American-Statesman, Thomas released Picnic: Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Tradition in April 2024, published by Texas A&M University Press. With the American-Statesman from 2002 to 2019, his reporting and writing have also appeared in Texas Highways, the San Angelo Standard-Times, The Daily Beast, CNN.com, and other outlets.

This event is free and open to the public. Register now!