atCentral

atCentral has featured Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award winners, MacArthur geniuses, and bestselling authors.

Our atCentral series offers year-round cultural programming at the Central Library that enhances the library experience by connecting the Austin community with acclaimed writers, artists, musicians and thinkers through readings, discussion, screenings, and performances.

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Previous atCentral Programs

  • Hanif Abdurraqib: ‘Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes on a Tribe Called Quest’
  • Mona Awad: ‘Rouge’
  • Sarah Bird: ‘Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen; Last Dance on the Starlight Pier’
  • Alexandra Bracken: ‘The Darkest Legacy’
  • Edward Carey: ‘Little’
  • Brian Catling: ‘The Cloven’
  • Dan Chaon: ‘Sleepwalk’
  • James Comey: ‘Central Park West: A Crime Novel’
  • Jack E. Davis: ‘The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea’
  • Hernan Diaz: ‘Trust’
  • Geoff Dyer: ‘The Last Days of Roger Federer’
  • Ben Fountain: ‘Beautiful Country Burn Again’
  • Vivien Goldman: ‘Revenge of the She-Punks’
  • Brendan Graeves: ‘Truckload of Art: The Life & Art of Terry Allen’
  • Andrew Sean Greer: ‘Less’
  • Stephen Harrigan: ‘Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas’
  • Terrance Hayes: ‘Watch Your Language: Visual and Literary Reflections on a Century of American Poetry’
  • Ty Hunter: ‘Makeover from Within’
  • Jason June: ‘Riley Weaver Needs a Date to the Gaybutante Ball’
  • Andrey Kurkov: ‘Diary of an Invasion’
  • Rachel Kushner: ‘The Mars Room’
  • Carmen Maria Machado: ‘In the Dream House’
  • Bethany McLean: ‘Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking & How It’s Changing the World’
  • Bryan Mealer: ‘The Kings of Big Spring: God, Oil & One Family’s Search for the American Dream’
  • Liane Moriarty: ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’
  • ZZ Packer and Danez Smith: ‘The 1619 Project’
  • Christopher Paolini: ‘The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm’
  • Ann Patchett: ‘The Dutch House’
  • Joe Nick Patoski: ‘Austin to ATX: The Hippies, Pickers, Slackers, and Geeks Who Transformed the Capital of Texas’
  • Asher Price: ‘Earl Campbell: Yards After Contact’
  • Roger Reeves: ‘Dark Days: Fugitive Essays’
  • Mary Beth Rogers: ‘Hope and Hard Truth: A Life in Texas Politics’
  • Steven Salvatore: ‘No Perfect Places’
  • Lynne Twist: ‘Living a Committed Life’
  • Lawrence Wright: ‘Mr. Texas’
  • Terry Allen
  • Bill Callahan
  • Tameca Jones
  • Mélat
  • Michael Fracasso
  • Christina Lane: Dinner Just for Two
  • Kate McDermott: Home Cooking
  • Alon Shaya: Shaya
  • Sarah Bork
  • Edward Carey
  • Lance Letscher
  • Reckonnoiter (a roving performance by paper chairs)
  • Mirror, Mirrored (contemporary collection inspired by fairytales)
  • Ex Libris
  • The Secret Life of Lance Letscher
  • Marshawn Lynch: A History
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About

Our Team
Our Mission and Vision

Our Programs

APL After Dark
At Central
Austin Youth Poet Laureate
Banned Books Week
Kids Block Party
Mayor’s Book Club
Stories
Teen Library Fellowship

Badgerdog Creative Writing Camps

Badgerdog Creative Writing Camps & Other Writing Workshops
Wade Martin Scholarship Fund
Become a Badgerdog Teaching Artist

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Our Team
Our Mission and Vision
APL After Dark
atCentral
Austin Youth Poet Laureate
Banned Books Week
Kids' Block Party
Mayor’s Book Club
Stories
Teen Library Fellowship
Badgerdog Creative Writing Camps & Other Writing Workshops
Wade Martin Scholarship Fund
Become a Badgerdog Teaching Artist

Jena Stude

Interim Treasurer

Jena Stude is Vice President of Development at Good + West Residential. Prior to joining Good + West in 2021, Jena was an Investment Manager at Blueprint Local, a real estate private equity firm, overseeing direct real estate investments in Texas. Before Blueprint Local, Jena was an Associate Director at the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO) from 2013-2019. Jena previously held similar positions at Ascension Health, a large non-profit hospital system based in St. Louis, Missouri and the University of Arizona Investment Office. Jena holds a B.S. in Business Administration and an M.S. in Finance from the University of Arizona.

Frank Livaudais

Board Vice President

Frank Livaudais is also Vice President of Enterprise Engineering for Cloudflare, an internet security company in downtown Austin. An avid runner and reader, he has run more than 250 marathons (including races in all 50 U.S. states, six countries, and four continents). Frank tries to read 100+ books a year. He lives in Austin with his wife Shelley, son Christopher and one fairly naughty vizsla.

Tom Oney

Board President

Tom Oney is Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President of External Affairs for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). He oversees LCRA’s Human Resources team and all of LCRA’s public-facing and advocacy functions, including Communications, Community Resources, Environmental Affairs, Public Affairs, and Regulatory Affairs. Tom also advocates before the Texas Legislature on behalf of LCRA and led LCRA’s public policy team during the 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 Texas legislative sessions.

Tom was born and raised in Waco, Texas, and received his Bachelor of Arts in political science from Baylor University in 1996. He received his Juris Doctor cum laude from Tulane University School of Law in 1999. Tom currently represents LCRA on the board of directors of the Association of Electric Companies of Texas and serves as president of the board of directors of both the Austin Library Foundation and Green Doors, an award-winning non-profit benefiting homeless people in Central Texas.