(This article was written by Abigail Muniz-Garcia and was featured in the February 2025 issue of Explore Harlingen Magazine.)
Featuring 45 local authors and a celebrity illustrator, South Texas AuthorCon, is set to happen February 14 and 15 at Plaza San Benito in San Benito, Texas.
This free event is in its second year and co-founder David Norec says it’s a unique opportunity to feature local individuals.
“We want to showcase talent here in the Rio Grande Valley,” he said. “It’s to highlight the local talent, whether it’s authors or illustrators.”
This year Norec, who authored “The Adventures of Exo and Cy,” hopes to double the attendance of the event, which took place at the McAllen Creative Incubator last year. They had close to 1,000 attendees at the one-day event and featured 30 local authors.
The now two-day event will open to area schools on Friday, February 14. Students attending the event will get a free book and commemorative poster.
“Adding that day specifically for schools, we weren't able to do that last year,” Norec said. “Hopefully that will lead to other opportunities with local school districts.”
Co-founder David Leija, author of “TK’s First Lesson,” hopes the event will grow every year.
“We made a small splash last year,” Leija said. “It’s gonna pick up steam and it’ll turn into a premier event.”
Leija and Norec met and became friends a few years ago within the local author circuit. During conversations, Leija mentioned they spoke about the possibility of working together with the same goal in mind: to create a platform for local talent that would take place here in the Rio Grande Valley.
“The worst thing that’ll happen is no one shows up, right?” Leija said was a thought that crossed his mind when the event was initially discussed between the two.
Norec added his love for comic-con events also fueled the idea.
“I love going to comic-cons. When I became an author, I thought it would be cool to have an author event but in comic-con style,” Norec said.
On February 15, the general public is invited to visit. Attendees can expect to find food vendors outdoors and once inside, take part in panels and meet all the local authors. One of the celebrities in attendance will be illustrator Maddi Gonzalez, a Rio Grande Valley native who illustrated a Goosebumps graphic novel for R.L. Stine. The participants will also include two student authors, a nine-year-old who wrote a book and a high school student who won a writing contest.
For more information on the event visit the South Texas AuthorCon page on Facebook or their website, southtexasauthorcon.com. For more information on Leija and Norec’s books and initiatives, visit their websites: tkomovement.com and fitlitmovement.org.
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