Austin, Ep. 16

November 5, 2022 — In our grand return to Austin — and more specifically the Texas Book Festival — the masses arrived to witness our LitCrawl Austin spectacular at Easy Tiger, which saw Gabino Iglesias outlast Lacy M. Johnson in a down-to-the-wire Repeat After Me finale, winning Iglesias the LDM Austin, Ep. 16 crown, and literary immortality to go with it. 

Here's the full lineup from the night of magic:

JUDGES: 
Literary Merit: Natalia Sylvester, award-winning author of Chasing the Sun and Everyone Knows You Go Home (winner of both the International Latino Book Award), her YA debut Running and the all-new Breathe and Count Back from Ten

Performance: Chris Scott, New York–based chef, owner of Butterfunk Biscuit,  a finalist on Top Chef Season 15, and author of Homage: Recipes and Stories from an Amish Soul Food Kitchen

Intangibles: Samira Ahmed, New York Times bestselling author of the all-new Hollow Fires; Love, Hate & Other Filters; Internment; Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know; the Amira & Hamza fantasy duology and the Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit comic miniseries

READERS:
Round 1:
* Sindya Bhanoo, author of the all-new Seeking Fortune Elsewhere (longlisted for ALA's Carnegie Medal of Excellence and winner of the New American Voices Award), and recipient of an O. Henry Award, the Disquiet Literary Prize, and an Elizabeth George Foundation grant

* Gabino Iglesias, author of the critically-acclaimed and award-winning novels Zero Saints and Coyote Songs and the all-new The Devil Takes You Home. He’s a member of the Horror Writers Association, the Mystery Writers of America, and the National Book Critics Circle

Round 2: 
* Lacy M. Johnson, author of More City than Water: A Houston Flood Atlas; The Reckonings (which was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist) and the memoirs The Other Side and Trespasses. She's appeared in Best American Essays, Best American Travel Writing, The New Yorker, and beyond

* Bill Cotter, author of three McSweeney's novels, including The Splendid Ticket (coming in December). His short fiction has appeared in The Paris Review and his essay titled "The Gentleman's Library" was awarded a Pushcart Prize

Hosted by LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga (author of the award-nominated novel Collision Theory)

Produced by Richard Santos & Matthew Patin

Where: Easy Tiger, 1501 E 7th St, Austin