BookPeople Presents: Local Author Spotlight

Format: * This event is free and open to the public and will feature several local authors tabling at BookPeople and available for a meet & greet, photo op, and signing books. * Location: The second floor of BookPeople. * Run time: The authors will be available for a 2 hour window. Signing Guidelines: * To get a book signed, a copy of the author's book or an item of equal value must be purchased from BookPeople. * The authors will be personalizing copies of the book. General Info: * If you have any accessibility concerns, please contact online@bookpeople.com * If you have any other questions, please visit our Eventbrite FAQ. If your question isn't covered in the FAQ, feel free to email us at online@bookpeople.com. * BookPeople reserves the right to cancel or postpone this event if necessary. * There will not be a live stream or recording available. * All event guidelines are subject to change. About the Authors Melvin E. Edwards is an author, journalist, and podcaster whose work examines storytelling as a force of inheritance, conscience, and moral responsibility in American life. Raised in Texas with family roots deep enough to earn him membership as one of the first African Americans in the Sons of the Republic of Texas, Edwards draws on Southern history and institutional tradition to explore how injustice often endures through lawful procedure and measured restraint — not violence. He is the creator and host of the award-winning podcast Stories from Real Life, named 2026 Male Podcast Host of the Year by the American Writing Awards, with more than 200 episodes of narrative journalism and conversation examining overlooked histories and compelling personal accounts. Edwards is the award-winning author of The Eyes of Texans and The Strength of a Thousand Sons. Nuremberg, Mississippi is his debut novel, blending legal drama and literary fiction to examine the space between legality and justice. A former newspaper columnist, he has received more than twenty writing honors and additional awards for his published books. He studied journalism at John Brown University — in a former sundown town in Arkansas. Edwards lives in Texas, where history remains open and unfinished. Charles Francis Guittard, before he decided he was a writer, served as a mediator & arbitrator, and teacher and coach to law students. Charles graduated from Baylor University and SMU School of Law where he coached championship negotiation teams. Before writing memoir, Charles published a trilogy on his grandfather & Baylor University, the third volume entitled, I WILL TEACH HISTORY. Charles was born in Austin many moons ago. He and Nancy married in December 2021. He no longer ventures out on a tennis court but walks around the block daily and is addicted to Dateline on TV. Nancy Davis Labastida is a native of Chicago who has lived in Texas most all of her life. She grew up in Dallas in a large family and has lived the last few decades in Austin. She is a sociology graduate of SMU and was married previously for a half century to a Mexican attorney who worked for the United Nations in New York and London. Somewhere along the way, she picked up a lot of stories which she will tell without much urging to whoever is nearby. Nancy, a former tennis champion, has also given up balls and racquets but is still playing bridge and prefers bidding no trump. Anita Varma is the author of Solidarity in Journalism: How Ethical Reporting Fights for Social Justice (Columbia University Press), which is her first book. After earning her PhD in Communication at Stanford University in 2018, Varma went on to start the Solidarity Journalism Initiative at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University) which she then brought with her to Austin, Texas when she joined the School of Journalism and Media (University of Texas at Austin) as faculty member in 2021. Varma’s work has been published in The Conversation, Nieman Lab, Journalism Studies, Journalism Practice, Journalism, Journal of Communication Inquiry, News Research Journal, and Communication, Culture and Critique. She has contributed to edited volumes on journalism, media, and society. Varma’s award-winning scholarship has gained international recognition among journalists fighting the good fight for social justice and human rights around the world. Her second book, Dangerous Solidarity: How Truth Telling Persists in Hostile Conditions is in development. Varma completed her BA in Media Studies with honors from Vassar College, where she was a community journalist and interned at The New Yorker magazine as well as the Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press. She has served on the boards of the Society of Professional Journalists (Northern California Chapter), Press On: A Southern Collective for Movement Journalism, The Objective, and the Solidarity History Initiative. Varma is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and her ancestral home is Chakia, Bihar (India). Varma is currently based in Austin, Texas. Chloe Walton writes contemporary fiction about disabled young people navigating bodies and systems that weren't built for them. As an AuDHD author who has been totally blind since birth, she writes from inside the experience of a body the world keeps trying to translate; accessibility isn't a feature of her work, it's the foundation. The Weight of Silence is her debut novel and the first book in the Faultlines series. When she's not writing, she's probably wrangling a busy toddler, explaining the emotional arc of a fictional character to anyone who will listen, disappearing into her ever-expanding series bible, or reminding herself that "almost done with this edit" is a state of mind, not a timeline. She lives in Texas with her husband Jim, their toddler, her active guide dog Odette (a little yellow Lab with opinions), Jim's active guide Orlando, and two retired guides, Kinley and Irwin, who have earned every nap. She can be reached at readers@chloewaltonwrites.com. Olga Fink writes stories about flawed characters navigating impossible circumstances, their own pain, loneliness, and grief. Love comes from unexpected places and is never easy. Sacrifices are made, and nothing ever goes as planned. In her dystopian worlds, stars die and empires crumble, yet people refuse to give up on hope, on each other, and on the impossible dream of a better tomorrow. Because even at the end of everything, love finds a way. You can follow her on Instagram @olgawritingthings [https://www.instagram.com/olgawritingthings/] and learn more at olgafink.space [https://olgafink.space/]. By purchasing a book from BookPeople, you are not only supporting a local, independent business – you’re showing publishers that they should continue sending authors to BookPeople. Thank you for supporting these local authors and your local independent bookstore!