# Event Details - **Event Name**: BookPeople and Torch Present: Amanda Johnston: Praisesong for the People - **Event Start and End Date**: Sat, 29 Nov, 2025 at 02:00 pm – Sat, 29 Nov, 2025 at 03:00 pm - **Event Description**: BookPeople and Torch Literary Arts welcome Amanda Johnston to celebrate the release of Praisesong for the People.About this EventPlease welcome Amanda Johnston and to celebrate Praisesong for the People!This event is free and open to the public.Start time: 2:00 P.M.Run time: 45-60 minutes, followed by a signing line.Location: The second floor of BookPeople.The author will be signing and personalizing copies of the book after the speaking portion of the event.To get a book signed, a copy of the event book or an item of equal value must be purchased from BookPeople.For high volume events, post-talk signing lines can become very long. For such events, we recommend arriving and checking in to the event early as that will get you into an earlier signing group.Guidelines:Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.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.All event guidelines are subject to change.BookPeople reserves the right to cancel or postpone this event if necessary.There will not be a live stream or recording available.About the book:“We turn to poetry in our greatest moments of joy and sorrow to help us tune in to our emotions and connect with others,” writes Johnston. In Praisesong for the People, poetry brings us together to celebrate the people across the state who make this land feel like home.Edited by Amanda Johnston, the 61st Texas Poet Laureate and first Black woman to receive this honor, this vibrant anthology collects the work of 70 emerging and established poets across the state. Commissioned to write original poems celebrating everyday people, the poets in Praisesong for the People: Poems from the Heart and Soul of Texas are as diverse as the landscapes they inhabit, and reflect the intersecting identities of Texas’s population across age, gender, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disability, and immigrant communities. In these poems, their voices gather in a heartfelt chorus to praise the people in their communities who offer small kindnesses, asking nothing in return.Praise the bus driver who ferries us safely across town. Praise the abuela who dries our tears. Praise the librarian who protects young curiosity. Praise the therapist with an open door, the teacher fluent in the language of affirmation. With story, testimony, and song, these poets give our unsung community heroes their flowers.About the editor:Amanda Johnston is a writer, visual artist, the 61st Texas Poet Laureate, and founder of Torch Literary Arts. Johnston is the author of two chapbooks, GUAP and Lock & Key, and the full-length collection Another Way to Say Enter (Argus House Press, 2017). Her work has appeared in numerous online and print publications, including Furious Flower: Seeding the Future of African American Poetry (Northwestern University Press, 2019), edited by Lauren K. Alleyne. She is a former board president of the Cave Canem Foundation and the founder and executive director of Torch Literary Arts. In 2024, Johnston was appointed the poet laureate of Texas. In the same year, she received an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship.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 Torch Literary Arts, Amanda Johnston, and your local independent bookstore! - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/austin/bookpeople-and-torch-present-amanda-johnston-praisesong-for-the-people/100001925661508409 - **Event Categories**: art, literary-art - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Austin - **state**: TX - **country**: United States - **location**: BookPeople - **lat**: 30.271987 - **long**: -97.7530036 - **full address**: BookPeople, 603 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, United States ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: BookPeople and Torch Present: Amanda Johnston: Praisesong for the People - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/0ad63fa93a7b76d0495b4859e24628e0dd2f35cd923fbdf5608b2770e1d65a7c-rimg-w1200-h600-dc2d060f-gmir.jpg?v=1762852562 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is BookPeople and Torch Present: Amanda Johnston: Praisesong for the People being held? - **A:** BookPeople and Torch Present: Amanda Johnston: Praisesong for the People takes place on Sat, 29 Nov, 2025 at 02:00 pm to Sat, 29 Nov, 2025 at 03:00 pm at BookPeople, 603 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, United States. - **Q**: Who is organizing BookPeople and Torch Present: Amanda Johnston: Praisesong for the People? - **A:** BookPeople and Torch Present: Amanda Johnston: Praisesong for the People is organized by BookPeople. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** BookPeople and Torch Present: Amanda Johnston: Praisesong for the People is ideal for art lovers, collectors, creatives, and anyone inspired by visual arts, installations, and exhibitions. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Austin, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. If BookPeople and Torch Present: Amanda Johnston: Praisesong for the People sounds like your kind of event, don't wait - spots fill up fast. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "BookPeople and Torch Present: Amanda Johnston: Praisesong for the People", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/0ad63fa93a7b76d0495b4859e24628e0dd2f35cd923fbdf5608b2770e1d65a7c-rimg-w1200-h600-dc2d060f-gmir.jpg?v=1762852562", "startDate": "2025-11-29", "endDate": "2025-11-29", "url": "https://allevents.in/austin/bookpeople-and-torch-present-amanda-johnston-praisesong-for-the-people/100001925661508409", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "BookPeople", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "603 North Lamar Boulevard", "postalCode": "78703", "addressLocality": "Austin", "addressRegion": "TX", "addressCountry": "US" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "30.271987", "longitude": "-97.7530036" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "BookPeople and Torch Literary Arts welcome Amanda Johnston to celebrate the release of Praisesong for the People.", "offers": [ { "@type": "AggregateOffer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-10-10", "availabilityEnds": "2025-11-29", "validFrom": "2026-10-10", "lowPrice": "0.00", "highPrice": "0.00", "price": "0.00", "url": "https://allevents.in/austin/bookpeople-and-torch-present-amanda-johnston-praisesong-for-the-people/100001925661508409" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-10-10", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-10-10", "url": "https://allevents.in/austin/bookpeople-and-torch-present-amanda-johnston-praisesong-for-the-people/100001925661508409", "price": 0, "name": "General Admission" } ], "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "BookPeople", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/bookpeople/22530074", "description": "BookPeople is the largest independent bookstore in Texas. For more information, visit BookPeople.com." } ] } ] ```