Education

Annual Book Fest Kicks Off This Weekend

By Michael Hricik — September 17, 2013 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Huzzah, book fans! This weekend marks one of the biggest celebrations of literature in the country: the 2013 Library of Congress National Book Festival.

The 13th annual festival will be held on the National Mall between 9th and 14th streets this Saturday (Sept. 21), from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Sunday, from noon to 5:30 p.m., rain or shine. It is free and open to the public.

Teachers may be interested in stopping by the Library of Congress pavilion, which will offer an in-depth look at its resources, from a spotlight on special collections to conversations about veterans’ history. Also, a Pavilion of the States will highlight the literary traditions of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories with special exhibits.

And, a truly stacked lineup of more than 100 authors will give presentations at selected pavilions. Notable authors of books for children and teens include: Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles), D.J. MacHale (Pendragon: Journal of an Adventure Through Time and Space), Veronica Roth (the Divergent trilogy), Richard Peck, Katherine Applegate, Giada De Laurentiis, Fred Bowen, and others. Notable “adult” and genre authors include: Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner), Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale), Don DeLillo (White Noise), Christopher Buckley, Joyce Carol Oates, Nicholson Baker, David Finkel, James McBride, and many more. Authors are available to sign books after their presentations, which can please both school field trip groups and teachers-as-fans.

For those who cannot attend, festival organizers will record podcasts, as well as videos of author talks, interviews, and more. Here’s a map for those will be lucky to be in D.C. among their book-loving brothers and sisters.

A version of this news article first appeared in the BookMarks blog.