Join the Texas Center for the Book on Monday, Jan. 13 from 2 to 3 p.m. (CT) for #TXBookChat LIVE: His Majesty’s Airship: The Life and Tragic Death of the World's Largest Flying Machine with author S. C. Gwynne. 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.

S.C. “Sam” Gwynne is the author of two acclaimed books on American history: Empire of the Summer Moon, which spent 82 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award and won the Texas and Oklahoma book prizes; and Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson, which was published in September 2014. It was also a New York Times bestseller. His most recent book, His Majesty’s Airship: The Life and Tragic Death of the World’s Largest Flying Machine, was published in May 2023. It tells the tragic story of the British airship R101, which went down in a spectacular fireball in 1930, killing more people than the Hindenburg disaster seven years later. Attendees may RSVP online at: https://bit.ly/TXBookChat_Gwynne.

Hosted in the Public Event Space at the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building located in the Capitol Complex, 1201 Brazos St. in Austin, this event is free and open to the public. Parking is available at the Capitol Visitors Parking Garage across the street. Additional parking options, including handicapped parking, along with directions and maps, is available on TSLAC’s website at www.tsl.texas.gov/visit. 
 

Gwynne will sign books at the conclusion of the event. Books will not be for sale on site, but His Majesty’s Airship is available at local bookstores and online retailers.

Named a National Literary Landmark, the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building located directly east of the Texas Capitol. View the six flags flown over Texas, six Texas seal mosaics and the panoramic Texas history mural in the lobby. 

The Texas Center for the Book’s #TXBookChat series has provided a platform for discussions with authors, librarians and literary professionals since 2020. These informal events offer a quick look into different aspects of the state’s literary world while bringing together diverse voices and perspectives. For more information, and to view videos of past events, visit the website at www.tsl.texas.gov/txbookchat.

One of 50 state centers affiliated with the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, the Texas Center for the Book is under the direction of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

For more information, contact Michele Chan Santos at mcsantos@tsl.texas.gov or visit www.tsl.texas.gov/centerforthebook.

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The Texas State Library and Archives Commission provides Texans access to the information they need to be informed, productive citizens by preserving the archival record of Texas; enhancing the service capacity of public, academic and school libraries; assisting public agencies in the maintenance of their records; and meeting the reading needs of Texans with disabilities. For more information, visit www.tsl.texas.gov.