The Library of Congress National Book Festival is an annual literary event that brings together best-selling authors and thousands of book fans for author talks, panel discussions, book signings and other activities. Over its long history, the National Book Festival has become one of the pre-eminent literary events in the United States.
Attendees can interact with representatives from their home states and learn about each state’s literary heritage from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the Parade of the States. The Institute of Museum and Library Services, with additional funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, makes it possible for an affiliate of the Library’s Center for the Book in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories to
participate in the festival. State-library representatives are also participating. The “Discover Great Places Through Reading” brochure offers a list of 52 great reads and a map for kids that encourages them to visit all 52 state tables to get a unique sticker or stamp. These books are for sale in the festival bookstore. Kids who collect all 52 stickers can pick up special prizes at the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Junior League of Washington tables.
Here are the books representing our region at the National Book Festival:
Alaska
How Raven Got His Crooked Nose by Barbara J. Atwater and Ethan J. Atwater
Idaho
Beauty and the Beak by Deborah Lee Rose and Jane Veltkamp
Montana
Evelyn Cameron: Photographer on the Western Prairie by Lorna Milne
Oregon
Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson
Washington
A Ticket to the Pennant: A Tale of Baseball in Seattle by Mark Holtzen and John Skewes
If you’re interested in watching presentations by authors at the festival, PBS Books will be broadcasting from the convention center on Facebook live on Saturday. The hosts are Rich Fahle, Executive Producer of PBS Books, and Jeffrey Brown, Chief Arts Correspondent for the PBS NewsHour.
Tentative Schedule:
11:00am –Dr. Carla Hayden, Library of Congress
11:10am – David Ignatius, The Quantum Spy
11:25am – Tara Westover, Educated: A Memoir
11:40am – Amy Tan, Where the Past Begins: A Writer’s Memoir
12:00pm – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor
12:20pm – James Fallows & Deborah Fallows, Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey to the Heart of America
1:00pm – Ron Chernow, Grant
1:20pm – Celeste Ng, Little Fires Everywhere
1:40pm – James McBride, Five-Carat Soul
2:00pm – Christopher Paul Curtis, The Journey of Little Charlie
2:20pm – Doris Kearns Goodwin, Leadership: In Turbulent Times
2:40pm – Lorrie Moore, See What Can Be Done: Essays, Criticism, and Commentary
3:00pm – Meg Wolitzer, The Female Persuasion
3:20pm – Brian Selznick, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Illustrator of the 20th Anniversary Editions
3:40pm – Madeleine Albright, Fascism: A Warning
4:00pm – Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows Duology; Shadow and Bone Trilogy
4:20pm – Jon Meacham, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels
4:45pm – Tracy K. Smith, Wade in the Water
You can check out PBS Books at the AWP Book Fair in 2018 here, visit their video archives, or watch the highlight reel for past PBS Books coverage.