Plot Twist: Your Next Texas Road Trip Is a Literary One

If your “to-read” pile is as ambitious as your travel bucket list, Texas might just be your next chapter. This is a state that’s always had a way with words – from tall tales told on front porches to Pulitzer-winning prose. Whether you’re chasing a touch of literary nostalgia or just want a road trip that feels a little more intentional, you’ll find places that make you want to buy a paperback, find a shady bench, and stay awhile. So, pack your curiosity, dog-ear a few pages, and let these literary landmarks guide your next escape.

Pictured: A sculpture of Mr. Tiger from the children's book, "Mr. Tiger Goes Wild", is featured in the Storybook Sculpture Trail in downtown Abilene
Credit: Sarah Page
"I shall try to tell the truth, but the result will be fiction."
Katherine Anne Porter

Stacks and Stories: Texas Indie Book Stores

Every good journey begins with a bookstore. Texas’s indie shelves are packed with character; places where creaky floors, handwritten staff picks, and the smell of coffee remind you that discovery still lives offline.

Front Porches and First Drafts: See These Authors Homes

Step inside the quiet rooms and front parlors where Texas storytellers once shaped their words. These author homes invite visitors to linger, listen, and imagine the moments when fiction first took root.

“The true adventurer goes forth aimless and uncalculating to meet and greet unknown fate.”
O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)

Behind the Glass: Texas Literary Archives

For those who love to peek behind the curtain, Texas’s literary archives hold the raw material of genius - annotated manuscripts, personal letters, and the kind of marginal notes that reveal a writer’s mind at work. These are the places where stories are preserved before they’re ever published.

Stories on Stage: Texas' Legendary Book Fairs & Festivals

Once a year, Texas’s book festivals transform city blocks into open-air libraries. Between author talks, live readings, and food-truck conversations about favorite novels, the line between reader and writer blurs beautifully.

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.”
James A. Michener

Where Fiction Meets the Road: Literary Landmarks & Curiosities

Not every story lives between covers. Across Texas, literary landmarks and oddball attractions - from a cowboy poet’s hometown to a comic-book creator’s museum - remind travelers that imagination is part of the landscape.

Abilene:
National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature
“Storybook Capital of America”
Storybook Sculpture Garden

Archer City:
Larry McMurtry Literary Landmark (Archer Public Library)
Larry McMurtry Literary Center

Iraan:
Alley Oop Fantasy Land

Cross Plains:
Robert E. Howard Museum (creator of Conan the Barbarian); by appt and during Robert E. Howard Days (mid-June 2026)

Lubbock:
National Ranching Heritage Center's Cash Family Ranch Life Learning Center (Hank the Cowdog/John Erickson); Erickson is from and currently resides in Perryton

Oakville:
Dobie Dichos (November 7, 2025)

"There's a vastness here and I believe that the people who are born here breathe that vastness into their soul."
Larry McMurtry

Whether you find your next favorite book in a small town bookshop or on the shelf of a grand university archive, Texas has a way of turning readers into travelers. So pack your curiosity, take the scenic route, and let every stop add a new chapter to your own Texas story.

Author

Sarah Page

Heritage Tourism Program Coordinator