National Book Festival to be Held in Washington, D.C., Sept. 30

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Laura B. Weiss -- School Library Journal, 8/16/2006

If you're wild about books, Washington, D.C., will soon be the place to be.

The 2006 National Book Festival, sponsored by the Library of Congress and hosted by First Lady Laura Bush, is setting up shop on Saturday, September 30, at the National Mall, where more than 70 well-known writers, illustrators, and poets will discuss their works.

Just about every genre—including children's books, mysteries and thrillers, history, and biographies—will be represented at the crowd-pleasing event, which is now in its sixth year.

Festival-goers can have books signed by their favorite authors, and kids can meet popular storybook and TV characters, such as Arthur, Maya, and Clifford the Big Red Dog, who will appear on the festival grounds throughout the day.

"Each year, tens of thousands of book lovers attend this national event to meet their favorite authors and celebrate lifelong literacy, which we are also highlighting in a partnership with the Ad Council" says Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.

Participating children's book and YA authors will include Andrew Clements, Stephenie Meyer, Richard Peck, and Louis Sachar, and award-winning illustrators on hand will include Bryan Collier and Betsy Lewin.

New this year will be downloadable podcasts of interviews with popular authors. The Library of Congress will also present same-day Webcasts of selected authors' presentations from the "Teens & Children," "Mysteries & Thrillers," and "Fiction & Fantasy" pavilions. Both the Webcasts and podcasts will be available on the Library of Congress's Web site.

The festival, which is free and open to the public, will be held (rain or shine) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 30, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between 7th and 14th streets.

For more information about the festival, visit www.loc.gov/bookfest.