Four months after its executive director abruptly resigned, the Tucson Festival of Books on Monday, July 8, announced it had hired a replacement.
Abra McAndrew, an assistant vice president at the University of Arizona since 2016 who has held several leadership roles since 2005, will assume the TFOB executive director role on Aug. 5.
She replaces Welz Kauffman, who was in the job less than two months when he resigned days after the 2024 event in March.
McAndrew, who has worked at the UA for 19 years, said the new role is an opportunity to “expand in a new direction” while working in an arena with which she is passionate.
“I have always loved books and literature,” she said. “The Tucson Festival of Books is my favorite thing about Tucson, aside from the University of Arizona. It’s a local treasure that brings the community together with a fantastic slate of authors. It uplifts authors and promotes literacy.”
Some 130,000 attended the 2024 Tucson Festival of Books in March on the University of Arizona mall. The UA Bookstores had one of the largest tents selling books.
TFOB officials, in a written release, said McAndrew comes to the festival with “impressive project management, fundraising, collaboration, communication and operational leadership success.” 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,” John M. Humenik, TFOB co-founder and chair of the board of directors, said in a written statement. “Abra is a strategic thinker with a track record for creating exceptional programs and impactful results. Her impressive collaborative leadership and career achievements coupled with her passion for the written word is a powerful combination for elevating the festival and the organization to even greater heights going forward.”
McAndrew’s leadership role at TFOB will include fundraising, strategic objectives and day-to-day operations with the nonprofit festival, which is largely run by volunteers. She will report to the board of directors.
McAndrew moved to Tucson 21 years ago to attend the UA, where she earned a master’s degree in English and linguistics and an MBA. A first generation college student, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Smith College in Massachusetts.
She started working for the university in 2005, leading the UA’s online program development and its first online bachelor’s degree. She also has served as assistant director of the Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing, working to connect students with corporate partners, and project director for Tucson GEAR UP through the UA Office of Early Academic Outreach.
McAndrew has served as a board member for the Pima County Workforce Investment Board and the Women’s Foundation for the State of Arizona.
She is the festival’s fourth executive director.
Festival organizers said 130,000 people attended the 2024 event.
Since launching in 2009, the Tucson festival has become one of the country’s largest, eclipsed by the Los Angeles Times Book Festival by just 20,000 visitors, according to recent attendance figures.
The 2025 event will be held March 15-16 on the UA campus. Stay up to date at tucsonfestivalofbooks.org.
Bernie Sanders spoke about his new book at the Tucson Festival of Books Sunday March 5. Video by Pascal Albright / Arizona Daily Star
