Library of Congress and Laura Bush Invite Book Lovers of All Ages to the
National Mall on Saturday, Sept. 30
WASHINGTON, July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2006 National Book Festival,
organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress and hosted by Mrs. Laura
Bush, will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30, on the
National Mall in Washington, D.C., between 7th and 14th streets (rain or
shine). The festival is free and open to the public.
"Each year, tens of thousands 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," said Librarian of
Congress James H. Billington. "Now in its sixth year, the National Book
Festival presents a wonderful opportunity to see firsthand how reading
changes lives and how our country, its citizens and its libraries promote
reading in imaginative and inspiring ways."
"The National Book Festival is a great way for families and friends to
share in the joys of reading and discover the works of some of America's
most- loved authors," Mrs. Bush said. "Readers of all ages can listen to
and meet their favorite writers and enjoy a day on the National Mall."
At the 2006 National Book Festival, more than 70 well-known authors,
illustrators and poets will discuss their work in various pavilions,
including "Children," "Teens & Children," "Fiction & Fantasy," "Mysteries &
Thrillers," "History & Biography," "Home & Family" and "Poetry." Festival
goers can have books signed by their favorite authors, and children can
meet ever-popular storybook and television characters, such as Arthur The
Aardvark, Maya and Clifford the Big Red Dog, who will appear on the
festival grounds throughout the day.
Participating authors include best-selling novelists Khaled Hosseini,
author of the "Kite Runner" and Geraldine Brooks, winner of the 2006
Pulitzer Prize for her book "March"; novelist and essayist Joan Didion;
historians John Hope Franklin and Doris Kearns Goodwin; biographer Taylor
Branch ("Martin Luther King"); Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin, winners of the
2006 Pulitzer Prize for their biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer; authors
of books for children and teens, including Andrew Clements, Stephenie
Meyer, Richard Peck, and Louis Sachar; award-winning illustrators Bryan
Collier, Betsy Lewin and Mark Teague; Donald Hall, the recently named 14th
Poet Laureate of the United States; and poet Dana Gioia, the director the
National Endowment for the Arts; best- selling mystery and thriller
authors, including Michael Connelly, Lisa Scottoline, Kathy Reichs and
Alexander McCall Smith; science fiction award- winner Spider Robinson; and
Elmer Kelton, author of more than 40 novels and voted "the best Western
author of all time" by the Western Writers of America.
Popular personalities in the "Home & Family" pavilion include
television celebrity chefs and authors G. Garvin and Marcus Samuelsson;
CNBC economics and investments commentator Jim Cramer and popular
linguistics expert Deborah Tannen, whose new best-seller is titled "You're
Wearing That? Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation."
Beyond meeting their favorite authors, festival visitors will have the
opportunity to learn about the reading programs and resources in libraries
across the country. The "Pavilion of the States" will highlight the book,
reading, literacy and library promotion activities of all 50 states, the
District of Columbia and several American trusts and territories.
Representatives from every state and territory will welcome families and
children interested in that state's writers and reading programs. In
addition, the "Let's Read America" pavilion will feature reading promotion
activities developed by select festival sponsors.
The Library of Congress Pavilion will feature a variety of interactive
family-centered activities about the importance of lifelong literacy,
cultural preservation, and preserving digital culture. Computers will be
available for children and adults to explore the Library's acclaimed Web
site at http://www.loc.gov . The Library's myriad online resources contain
examples of American creativity in all forms such as music, poetry, films,
photographs, maps, and sound recordings. The Library's new National
Audiovisual Conservation Center will introduce the latest technologies in
film and audio preservation. The Veterans History Project will also feature
a teacher and her students who use VHP material in the classroom. Two
students will interview Ezra Hill, a Tuskegee Airman. VHP historian Tom
Weiner will interview Darlene Iskra, the first woman to command a ship in
the U.S. Navy and serve during the Persian Gulf War.
In the "Teens and Children" pavilion, the national student winners of
the Letters About Literature contest will read their personal letters to
authors who inspired them. Sponsored by the Library's Center for the Book
with support from distinguished benefactor Target, Letters About Literature
invites young readers in grades 4-12 to write personal letters to authors,
past or present, who have changed their views of the world or of
themselves. Each year, winners are selected at the state and national
levels. As the project's corporate sponsor, Target awards the six national
winners and their parents with a trip to the National Book Festival in
Washington, to share their winning letters with a national audience.
"It is inspiring to see the number of young people whose lives have
been positively affected by a particular author or book," said Laysha Ward,
vice president, community relations, Target. "Through its comprehensive
support of early childhood reading, including the Letters About Literature
program and the National Book Festival, Target is helping to instill a love
of reading in kids as the foundation for lifelong learning."
In addition to planning a range of activities for this year's festival
on the National Mall, the Library is offering a variety of ways for people
around the country to participate in the event online. New this year will
be downloadable podcasts of interviews with popular participating authors.
The Library will also present same-day webcasts of selected authors'
presentations from the "Teens & Children," "Mysteries & Thrillers" and
"Fiction & Fantasy" pavilions. Both the webcasts and the podcasts will be
available on the Library's Web site at http://www.loc.gov/bookfest.
During the week leading up to the festival, washingtonpost.com will
host a series of online chats with authors appearing at the National Book
Festival. These text-based discussions can be viewed daily, starting on
Monday, Sept. 25, on the site at http://www.washingtonpost.com . The
schedule of chats and authors' names will be posted on the site and the
Library's site at http://www.loc.gov/bookfest . Participants can submit
questions in advance or during the live discussion. Authors' responses will
post while the program is airing or at a later date on washingtonpost.com's
online discussion archive.
In addition to live webcasts, the Library will again collaborate with
Book TV on C-SPAN2 to televise the National Book Festival "History &
Biography" pavilion events live on Sept. 30. The C-SPAN2 Book TV Bus, a
mobile Book TV studio with a multimedia demonstration center for the
public, will also be on the National Mall. Festival coverage will be
streamed live on C-SPAN's website http://www.booktv.org .
The artist for this year's festival is award-winning Russian
illustrator Gennady Spirin, whose lush contemporary technique brings a
rich, imaginative depiction to the 2006 National Book Festival poster.
Spirin combines a modern aesthetic with the great traditions of the
Renaissance. He has illustrated 30 storybooks for children and has won four
gold medals from the Society of Illustrators. Four of his books, including
"The Sea King's Daughter" (1997), were named the best illustrated book of
the year by The New York Times. Posters featuring the illustration painting
will be available free of charge at the festival.
The 2006 National Book Festival is made possible with generous support
from Distinguished Benefactor Target; Charter Sponsors AT&T, The Amend
Group and The Washington Post; Patrons AARP, the James Madison Council and
the National Endowment for the Arts; and a myriad of contributors. The
Junior League of Washington will again contribute hundreds of volunteers to
help with the National Book Festival.
A preliminary list of participating authors, illustrators and poets
follows. For more information about them and the festival, visit
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest .
PR 06-141
07/11/06
ISSN 0731-3527
2006 NATIONAL BOOK FEST SEPT. 30
2006 NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL AUTHORS BY PAVILION as of July 11, 2006
CHILDREN
Bryan Collier
Tony DiTerlizzi
Betsy Lewin
John McCutcheon
Sheila P. Moses
Kadir Nelson
Mark Teague
Judith Viorst
Mo Willems
NBA/WNBA
TEENS & CHILDREN
Andrew Clements
Judith Ortiz Cofer
Sharon Draper
Stephenie Meyer
Richard Peck
Sharon Robinson
Louis Sachar
Terry Trueman
Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
Letters About Literature
FICTION & FANTASY
Marie Arana
Geraldine Brooks
Christopher Buckley
Julia Glass
Khaled Hosseini
Elmer Kelton &
Lucia St. Clair Robson
Sharyn McCrumb
Alice McDermott
Spider Robinson & Jeanne Robinson
MYSTERIES & THRILLERS
Harlan Coben
Michael Connelly
Vince Flynn
Brad Meltzer
George Pelecanos
Kathy Reichs
Lisa Scottoline
Daniel Silva
Alexander McCall Smith
Scott Turow
HISTORY & BIOGRAPHY
Kai Bird & Martin Sherwin
Taylor Branch
Douglas Brinkley
Andrew Carroll
Joan Didion
Bruce Feiler
John Hope Franklin
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Nathaniel Philbrick
Robert Remini
HOME & FAMILY
William Alexander
Kevin Clash
Jim Cramer
G. Garvin
John Grogan
James Reston Jr.
Marcus Samuelsson
Alexandra Stoddard
Deborah Tannen
Rosalind Wiseman
POETRY
Dana Gioia
Donald Hall (Poet Laureate)
Poetry Out Loud
SOURCE Library of Congress
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Related links:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest
http://www.loc.gov http://www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.booktv.org
CONTACT:
Trish Shuman, +1-202-707-1940, pash@loc.gov ,
or Danny Maiello, +1-202-271-4347, or maiellod@fleishman.com ,
both for Library of Congress
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