Question: The National Book Festival: What and When is it?
Answer: The National Book Festival is an annual event sponsored and organized by the Library of Congress and traditionally held in late September. The 2012 National Book Festival will be held on Saturday, September 22, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and on Sunday, September 23, from noon to 5:30 p.m. As it has in the past, the Festival will take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. between 9th and 14th Streets. The Festival, which is free and open to the public, will be held rain or shine.
According to the event's organizers, "This free event sparks readers’ imagination, creativity and passion for learning as they interact with the nation’s best-selling authors, illustrators and poets." Since the National Book Festival began in 2000, the President and First Lady of the United States have served as the Honorary Chairs.
Highlights of the 2011 National Book Festival
Highlights of the Festival are the presentations on the National Mall throughout the weekend by more than 100 authors, illustrators and poets. The pavilions include: Children, Teens, History & Biography, Fiction & Mystery, Contemporary Life, Poetry & Prose, Cutting Edge, State Poets Laureate, Graphic Novels and the Family Storytelling Stage. The Pavilion of the States represents reading and library promotion programs and literary events in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. trusts and territories. The Let’s Read America pavilion offers reading activities that are designed to be fun for the entire family. The Library of Congress Pavilion will showcase the cultural treasures to be found in the Library’s vast online collections and offer information about popular Library programs.If you attend, you and your kids and teens can buy books, get books signed by some of your favorite authors and illustrators, hear them discuss their works, and enjoy family-friendly reading activities. Throughout the event, storybook and television characters will be on the festival grounds to greet young visitors.
The 2011 National Book Festival Kids' and Teen Pavilions
While the authors and illustrators who will be at the 2012 National Book Festival won't be announced until summer, the following lists from 2011 will give you some idea of what to expect. The following authors and illustrators of books for kids and teens were among those at the 2011 National Book Festival:- Children's Pavilion - Harry Bliss, Calef Brown, Carmen Agra Deedy, John McCutcheon, Tomie dePaola (Author Profile), Joe Hayes, William Joyce, John Bemelmans Marciano, Dorie McCullough Lawson, Sam McBratney, Julianne Moore, Jon J Muth, and Chris Van Dusen
- Teens' Pavilion - Cassandra Clare (Author Profile), Susan Cooper, Sarah Dessen, Jack Gantos, Gordon Korman, Uma Krishnaswami, Patricia McKissack, Shelia P. Moses, Kadir Nelson, Katherine Paterson, Gary D. Schmidt, Brian Selznick (author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck), and Rita Williams-Garcia (author of One Crazy Summer).
What About Adults?
There were also a great many authors of books for adults at the National Book Festival. Contemporary Life Pavilion, Fiction & Mystery Pavilion, History & Biography Pavilion and Poetry & Prose Pavilion were some of the adult pavilions. Some of the authors who were there included: Amy Chua, Garrison Keillor, Toni Morrison, Dave Eggers, Jim Lehrer, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Sylvia Nasar, Sarah Vowell, Laura Lipmann, Gregory Maguire, Terry McMillan, Toni Morrison, Sara Paretsky, Esmeralda Santiago, Neal Stephenson, Eric Foner, Adam Goodheart, Maya Jasanoff, David McCullough, Candice Millard and Kristie Miller.The full line-up of 2012 participants will be avialable this summer on the National Book Festival Web site.
