Four months after the sudden resignation of its executive director, the Tucson Festival of Books announced on Monday, July 8, that a successor had been hired.
Abra McAndrew, an associate vice president of the University of Arizona since 2016 who has held several leadership positions since 2005, will assume the role of executive director of TFOB on August 5.
She replaces Welz Kauffman, who held the job for less than two months when he resigned in March, just days after the 2024 event.
McAndrew, who has worked at the UA for 19 years, said the new role was an opportunity to “evolve in a new direction” while working in an area she is passionate about.
“I’ve always loved books and literature,” she said. “The Tucson Festival of Books is my favorite thing about Tucson, besides the University of Arizona. It’s a local treasure that brings the community together with a fantastic roster of authors. It promotes authors and literacy.”
About 130,000 people attended the 2024 Tucson Festival of Books at the University of Arizona Mall in March. The UA Bookstores had one of the largest tents selling books.
In a written press release, TFOB officials said McAndrew comes to the festival with “impressive accomplishments in project management, fundraising, collaboration, communication, and operational leadership.” She also actively promotes literacy and literature through her blog, The Booktender, on Substack.
“We are thrilled to welcome Abra to the Tucson Festival of Books,” said John M. Humenik, co-founder and board chair of TFOB, in a written statement. “Abra is a strategic thinker with a track record of developing exceptional programs and impactful outcomes. Her impressive collaborative leadership and professional accomplishments coupled with her passion for the written word are a powerful combination to take the festival and organization to even higher levels in the future.”
McAndrew’s leadership role at TFOB includes fundraising, strategic goals and the day-to-day operations of the nonprofit festival, which is largely run by volunteers. She will report to the board.
McAndrew moved to Tucson 21 years ago to attend UA, where she earned a master’s degree in English and linguistics and an MBA. The first college student in her family, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Smith College in Massachusetts.
She began working for the university in 2005 and led the development of UA’s online program and the first online bachelor’s degree. She also served as associate director of the Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing, where she managed student placement with corporate partners, and was project director for Tucson GEAR UP through UA Cooperative Extension.
McAndrew served on the boards of the Pima County Workforce Investment Board and the Women’s Foundation of the State of Arizona.
She is the fourth executive director of the festival.
According to the festival organizers, 130,000 people attended the event in 2024.
Since its inception in 2009, the Tucson festival has grown to become one of the largest in the country, although current attendance figures put it at just 20,000 more than the Los Angeles Times Book Festival.
The 2025 event will be held March 15-16 on the UA campus. Stay tuned to tucsonfestivalofbooks.org.
Bernie Sanders spoke about his new book at the Tucson Festival of Books on Sunday, March 5. Video by Pascal Albright / Arizona Daily Star
