WASHINGTON — Calling all bookworms: The Library of Congress National Book Festival is back, and the free, family-friendly event is taking over the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Saturday, Sept. 1.
Authors representing genres from history to poetry will discuss their works on nine different stages — including two for children and one for teens. There will also be book signings, a poetry slam and an on-site bookstore from Politics & Prose.
Here are a few highlights for this year’s festival:
- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will take the main stage at 11:25 a.m., where she will launch her first children’s book, “Turning Pages: My Life Story.”
- Annie Proulx, author of “The Shipping News” and “Brokeback Mountain,” is the 2018 recipient of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, and she will accept the award on the “fiction stage” at 10 a.m.
- Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will give a presentation on the main stage at 12:50 p.m.; Amy Tan, author of “The Joy Luck Club” and many others, will follow Albright at 2:15 p.m.
- Ron Chernow, whose biography on Alexander Hamilton inspired the hit musical, will discuss his new book on Ulysses S. Grant at 2 p.m., and young adult/fantasy author Leigh Bardugo takes the genre fiction stage at 4:55 p.m.
Doors open at 8:30 a.m.; presentations run through 7:30 p.m. Tickets and advanced registration are not required. More information is available on the event’s website.
