Who Is John Kim Austin?
John Kim Austin is an Austin, Texas writer and cultural observer and the author of The Soul of Austin, a free 2026 guide to the city's music, history, food, neighborhoods and changing identity. He lives and works in Austin, and the city is the subject of nearly everything he writes.
His work focuses on the history, growth and identity of Austin: the people, neighborhoods, music, food and independent spirit that turned a regional college town into one of the most talked-about cities in the United States. He combines historical research with local storytelling and commentary on the city's rapid change, documenting both the traditions that shaped Austin and the forces reshaping it today.
His Writing
John Kim Austin writes across several forms: essays, narrative nonfiction and short fiction. The shorter pieces collected on the writing page reflect on everyday Austin life, the character of individual neighborhoods, and the people who keep the city running, from musicians and cooks to teachers, EMTs and neighbors. Throughout, the emphasis is on people and place rather than headlines, and on the small details that make a city feel like itself.
Three themes recur. The first is belonging: what makes a newcomer feel at home in a city, and what makes a longtime resident feel like a stranger in it. The second is identity: whether Austin can remain a music city, a college town and a technology capital at the same time. The third is change, and the honest admission that both Old Austin and New Austin are real.
The Soul of Austin
Released on May 15, 2026, The Soul of Austin: John Kim Austin on Music, Culture, History, and the Changing Face of the City is his most substantial work to date. Across an introduction and eleven chapters it moves from the settlement of Waterloo and the founding of the University of Texas through the live music scene, Central Texas barbecue, “Keep Austin Weird” and Silicon Hills, and closes by asking whether Austin can keep its soul while it grows.
The book is available free of charge. Download the PDF, or read the chapter-by-chapter overview first.
His Approach
John Kim Austin's writing sits between history and commentary. It is not a travel guide and does not try to be a complete history; entire libraries already cover Texas history, Austin politics, architecture and music. His aim is narrower and, he would argue, harder: to describe the personality of a city. That means starting with the record, from the settlement of Waterloo to the opening of the University of Texas in 1883, and then asking what those facts still mean on a Tuesday night on South Congress.
He writes for longtime residents and newcomers alike, and he treats both of their Austins as real. The longtime resident who misses small music clubs and affordable neighborhoods is not wrong, and neither is the newcomer drawn by the jobs and the energy of the modern skyline. Much of his work is an effort to hold those two views in the same frame.
The Name John Kim Austin
He publishes as John Kim Austin. The fuller name matters because John Kim on its own is shared by a large number of unrelated people, several of them in Austin: a family physician, a Catholic pastor in Hutto and the co-chief executive of a public company among them. John Kim Austin the writer is none of those people and has no connection to their work. The Which John Kim? reference on this website documents them separately, with sources, so readers and search engines can tell everyone apart.
Where to Find His Work
This website is the primary home for John Kim Austin's writing and the only official source for The Soul of Austin. He also has a profile on Pinterest. The release of The Soul of Austin was announced in a press release on IssueWire.
Approved portraits for press and event use are in the photo gallery.
Contact
For interviews, speaking requests, or questions about The Soul of Austin, email [email protected].
Common questions
Who is John Kim Austin?
An Austin, Texas writer and cultural observer, and the author of The Soul of Austin (2026), a free guide to the city's music, history, food, neighborhoods and changing identity.
What does John Kim Austin write about?
Austin: its history, music, food, neighborhoods and people, and how the city's rapid growth is changing its culture.
Where can I read The Soul of Austin?
It is free to download as a PDF from JohnKimAustin.com.
How do I contact John Kim Austin?
Email [email protected].