‘Goosebumps’ author, 17 others drop out of 2025 Texas Book Festival following ‘flight challenges’

AUSTIN (KXAN) – A slew of authors have dropped out of the lineup for this weekend’s Texas Book Festival (TBF).

“Goosebumps” author R.L. Stine, along with 17 others, won’t appear at the festival due to “unforeseen circumstances,” according to a news release Friday:

• Brian Goldstone
• David A. Graham
• Peter Guralnick
• Alejandro Heredia
• Nathalia Holt
• Julia Ioffe
• Basia Irland
• Graci Kim
• Patricia Lockwood
• Cappy McGarr
• David Nasaw
• Mayra Olivares-Urueta
• Lyla Sage
• Crystal Silva-McCormick
• Peter Swanson
• Jennie Erin Smith
• Bryan Washington

The release came after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued repeated ground delays and limited flights at airports across the country due to the ongoing government shutdown. 

Air traffic controllers have been working unpaid since the shutdown began Oct. 1. The staffing shortages have put pressure on the FAA to take precautions, with the agency announcing Wednesday it would make cuts in “high-volume markets.”

While Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) is not among the 40 airports experiencing these cuts, 35 of those airports have direct flights arriving from AUS. 

Festival organizers did not specify if writers pulled out as a result of delayed or cancelled flights, only writing that one reason they pulled out was “ongoing flight challenges.”

The 2025 Texas Book Festival is Nov. 8-9 in downtown Austin. Admission is free, but there are ticketed sessions for select authors. Those currently scheduled to to appear include Chelsea Handler and Matthew McConaughey. 

TBF is a non-profit that brings authors to K-12 schools and awards grants to Texas public libraries to encourage literacy, according to the organization’s website.