The 23rd Annual National Book Festival is Back + Ready for You

This year’s festival hosts authors from around the world, and the Library of Congress makes it easy for you to take it all in. 

Attention book lovers: The annual National Book Festival is back and better than ever, and the line-up is overflowing with best-selling authors. For the fest’s 23rd year, the Library of Congress is packing the schedule with an abundance of events all day long. 

This free festival is open to the public and will blow your bookworm mind. Combining both online and in-person events before, on and after the big day, the fest unites readers of all ages with the authors and books they love.

“It’s a way for the Library of Congress to connect with the American people,” says Jarrod MacNeil, the director of signature programs at the Library of Congress and the director of the National Book Festival. “It’s a celebration of reading and books, and we as a library are the largest repository of books in the world. It’s a way for us to connect with both historical connections and timely connections.” 

After over a year of planning, the Library of Congress created an extensive schedule to help you get into the reading spirit. From lectures and panels to book signings and family-friendly activities, this fest has all you could dream of and more.

If you’re scared of missing your favorite authors or are faced with the impossible decision of choosing between two events, fear not: The Library of Congress has you covered through their website where you can set up your perfect schedule. Even after your ultimate book day, the Library of Congress will upload videos of events to make sure you see it all. 

“I get most excited when you see a young reader step away from the signing table, and they’re just glowing and they’re holding up their book and they can’t believe that they just got to talk to their favorite author,” MacNeil says. “Or you see an old couple who sits in the front row of a presentation and they just stay there all day, presentation after presentation after presentation, and then they get up and they’re smiling when they leave.”

Over 70 authors, poets and illustrators are counting down for the event to start. You will have the chance to talk to your favorite author or get advice as an aspiring writer this Saturday. The line-up includes featured authors like Elliot Page, Joy Harjo and R.K. Russell and D.C.-based authors like Erica S. Perl, James Kirchick and Mary Louise Kelly. Authors and attendees alike are coming from all over for this event, and some are even coming back to their roots.

Author of the historical fantasy young adult book “That Self-Same Metal,” Brittany N. Williams, will be returning to the District to celebrate her first book back where it all started. 

“It’s going to be so great to be back in D.C.,” she says. “It was the second place I lived after Baltimore and I remember it feeling so far away from home when I moved there for college. It’s really exciting to have this thing and go back and touch all these cities that helped make me, me. It’s like taking a new part of me and showing it off to an older part of me, like, ‘See? You helped me do this, D.C. Thanks.’” 

With the National Book Festival only gracing the nation once a year, take advantage of this opportunity before you have to wait for its return. Whether you’re a new reader, a finish-a-book-every-week reader or simply looking for a family-friendly event this weekend, this festival is calling your name and we recommend you answer. 

The National Book Festival takes place Saturday, August 12 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can plan your experience here. 

Walter E. Washington Convention Center: 801 Mount Vernon Pl. NW, DC; loc.gov // @librarycongress

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Katherine Mahoney