The National Book Festival is returning to Washington DC for its 17th year on Saturday 2 September.
It will be hosted by the Library Of Congress and held at the Washington Convention Centre.
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A plethora of literary titans will be on hand to encourage reading in the US!
Scroll down if you want to see the entire line-up of authors
If you’re in the Washington DC area, there’s really no excuse not to attend.
All the presentations and activities are absolutely free to the public.
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By GlobalDataPlus, you can even bring your own books from home for the authors to sign.
Of course, since it’s all free, you should donate while you’re there if you can afford to!
What is there to do?
If you like books, you should already feel the excitement bubbling.
The official website for the festival describes plenty of awesome activities for the whole family.
Trivia sessions, a hunt for Waldo, an interactive maze illustration by Joe Wos are perfect for families.
For grown-ups appearances by National Student Poets, and a special session with illustrator Roz Chast are all available.
There’s also going to be plenty of activities that have yet to be announced.
First and foremost, it’s about speeches and presentations.
Over 100 authors, illustrators, and poets will be giving speeches during the festival on the one of ten stages. There’s stages for children, teens, thrillers and fantasy, history, graphic novels, fiction, and plenty more.
We’ve also included the times they’ll all be speaking and signing books so you don’t miss anything.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a book fair if you couldn’t get your hands on some books to take home. Politics & Prose Bookstore of Washington, DC is the official bookseller for the festival this year.
All the books from the speakers will be on sale so you can get them signed. In addition, some pre-signed copies will be available too if you can’t make it to the presentations.
Who is speaking?
Lots of people. There are over 100 authors, illustrators, and poets spread across ten stages.
The main stage will play host to some of the biggest names in modern American literature. You can find a full rundown of who is speaking and when below.
Main stage
| Time | Author | Signing |
| 10:00 am-11:00 am | David McCullough | 11:30 am-12:30 pm |
| 11:25 am-12:25 pm | Diana Gabaldon | 1:00 pm-2:00 pm |
| 12:50 pm-1:50 pm | J.D. Vance | 2:30 pm-3:30 pm |
| 2:15 pm-3:15 pm | Thomas L. Friedman | 3:30 pm-4:30 pm |
| 3:40 pm-4:40 pm | Michael Lewis | 5:00 pm-6:00 pm |
| 5:05 pm-6:05 pm | Condoleezza Rice | 3:30 pm-4:30 pm |
| 6:30 pm-7:30 pm | David Baldacci | 4:30 pm-5:30 pm |
Contemporary Life
| Time | Author | Signing |
| 10:00 am-10:45 am | Danielle Allen | 11:00 am-noon |
| 11:00 am-11:45 am | Siddhartha Mukherjee | noon-1:00 pm |
| noon-12:45 pm | Matthew Desmond | 1:00 pm-2:00 pm |
| 1:00 pm-1:45 pm | Leland Melvin | 2:00 pm-3:00 pm |
| 2:00 pm-2:45 pm | Dava Sobel | 3:00 pm-4:00 pm |
| 3:00 pm-3:45 pm | Graham Allison | 4:00 pm-5:00 pm |
| 4:00 pm-4:45 pm | Roxane Gay | 5:00 pm-6:00 pm |
Fiction
| Time | Author | Signing |
| 10:20 am-11:05 am | Elizabeth Strout | 11:30 am-12:30 pm |
| 11:15 am-noon | Hari Kunzru | 12:30 pm-1:30 pm |
| 11:15 am-noon | Katie Kitamura | 12:30 pm-1:30 pm |
| 12:10 pm-12:55 pm | Alice McDermott | 1:30 pm-2:30 pm |
| 1:05 pm-1:50 pm | Colm Toíbín | 2:30 pm-3:30 pm |
| 2:00 pm-2:45 pm | Nathan Hill | 3:00 pm-4:00 pm |
| 3:00 pm-3:45 pm | Jesmyn Ward | 4:00 pm-5:00 pm |
Graphic Novels
| Time | Author | Signing |
| 5:30 pm-6:00 pm | Gene Luen Yang | 4:00 pm-5:00 pm |
| 5:55 pm-6:30 pm | Ann Telnaes | 4:30 pm-5:30 pm |
| 5:55 pm-6:30 pm | Mike Lester | 4:30 pm-5:30 pm |
| 6:25 pm-7:00 pm | Roz Chast | 4:30 pm-5:30 pm |
| 6:55 pm-7:30 pm | Lincoln Peirce | 5:00 pm-6:00 pm |
History & Biography
| Time | Author | Signing |
| 10:00 am-10:45 am | Kathy McKeon | 11:00 am-noon |
| 10:00 am-10:45 am | Steven Levingston | 11:00 am-noon |
| 10:00 am-10:45 am | Thomas Oliphant | 11:00 am-noon |
| 11:00 am-11:45 am | Sidney Blumenthal | noon-1:00 pm |
| noon-12:45 pm | Margot Lee Shetterly | 1:00 pm-2:00 pm |
| 1:00 pm-1:45 pm | Ronald C. White | 2:00 pm-3:00 pm |
| 2:00 pm-2:45 pm | Adm. James Stavridis | 3:00 pm-4:00 pm |
| 3:00 pm-3:45 pm | Helene Cooper | 4:00 pm-5:00 pm |
| 4:00 pm-4:45 pm | Peter Cozzens | 5:00 pm-6:00 pm |
| 4:55 pm-5:40 pm | A. Scott Berg | 6:00 pm-7:00 pm |
| 5:50 pm-6:35 pm | Ben Macintyre | 4:30 pm-5:30 pm |
| 6:45 pm-7:30 pm | John A. Farrell | 5:30 pm-6:30 pm |
Poetry & Prose
| Time | Author | Signing |
| 10:00 am-10:45 am | Poetry Out Loud | |
| 11:00 am-11:45 am | Ernest Gaines | noon-1:00 pm |
| noon-12:45 pm | Nicholas Reynolds | 1:00 pm-2:00 pm |
| noon-12:45 pm | Paul Hendrickson | 1:00 pm-2:00 pm |
| noon-12:45 pm | Mary Dearborn | 1:00 pm-2:00 pm |
| 1:00 pm-1:45 pm | Marie Howe | 2:00 pm-3:00 pm |
| 1:00 pm-1:45 pm | Adrian Matejka | 2:00 pm-3:00 pm |
| 2:00 pm-2:45 pm | Brad Watson | 3:00 pm-4:00 pm |
| 2:00 pm-2:45 pm | Bill Roorbach | 3:00 pm-4:00 pm |
| 3:00 pm-3:45 pm | Lisa Ko | 4:00 pm-5:00 pm |
| 3:00 pm-3:45 pm | Peter Ho Davies | 4:00 pm-5:00 pm |
| 4:00 pm-4:45 pm | Jennifer Haigh | 5:00 pm-6:00 pm |
| 4:00 pm-4:45 pm | Julia Glass | 5:00 pm-6:00 pm |
| 5:00 pm-5:45 pm | Juan Felipe Herrera | 3:30 pm-4:30 pm |
Thrillers & Fantasy
| Time | Author | Signing |
| 10:00 am-10:45 am | Don Winslow | 11:00 am-noon |
| 10:55 am-11:40 am | Jenny Rogneby | noon-1:00 pm |
| 11:50 am-12:35 pm | Chris Bohjalian | 1:00 pm-2:00 pm |
| 12:45 pm-1:30 pm | Karin Slaughter | 2:00 pm-3:00 pm |
| 1:40 pm-2:25 pm | Scott Turow | 3:00 pm-4:00 pm |
| 2:35 pm-3:20 pm | Megan Abbott | 4:00 pm-5:00 pm |
| 3:30 pm-4:15 pm | John Scalzi | 4:30 pm-5:30 pm |
| 4:25 pm-5:10 pm | Dan Chaon | 5:30 pm-6:30 pm |
Teens
| Time | Author | Signing |
| 10:00 am-10:40 am | Kwame Alexander | 12:30 pm-1:30 pm |
| 10:00 am-10:40 am | Mary Rand Hess | 12:30 pm-1:30 pm |
| 10:50 am-11:30 am | Sabaa Tahir | noon-1:00 pm |
| 11:40 am-12:20 pm | Marie Lu | 1:00 pm-2:00 pm |
| 12:30 pm-1:25 pm | Nicola Yoon | 2:00 pm-3:00 pm |
| 12:30 pm-1:25 pm | Melissa de la Cruz | 2:00 pm-3:00 pm |
| 12:30 pm-1:25 pm | Sandhya Menon | 2:00 pm-3:00 pm |
| 1:35 pm-2:15 pm | M.T. Anderson | 2:30 pm-3:30 pm |
| 2:25 pm-3:10 pm | Kathleen Glasgow | 3:30 pm-4:30 pm |
| 3:20 pm-4:00 pm | David Baldacci | 4:30 pm-5:30 pm |
| 4:10 pm-4:50 pm | Tanya Lee Stone | 5:30 pm-6:30 pm |
| 5:00 pm-5:40 pm | Angie Thomas | 3:30 pm-4:30 pm |
| 6:00 pm-7:30 pm | Poetry Slam |
Children’s Purple Stage
| Time | Author | Signing |
| 9:30 am-9:55 am | Javaka Steptoe | 10:30 am-11:30 am |
| 10:05 am-10:30 am | Madelyn Rosenberg | 11:00 am-noon |
| 10:05 am-10:30 am | Wendy Wan-Long Shang | 11:00 am-noon |
| 10:40 am-11:05 am | John Rocco | 11:30 am-12:30 pm |
| 10:40 am-11:05 am | Sherri Duskey Rinker | 11:30 am-12:30 pm |
| 11:15 am-11:40 am | Dav Pilkey | noon-1:00 pm |
| 11:50 am-12:15 pm | Mike Curato | 12:30 pm-1:30 pm |
| 12:25 pm-12:50 pm | Kadir Nelson | 1:30 pm-2:30 pm |
| 1:00 pm-1:25 pm | Nathaniel Philbrick | 2:00 pm-3:00 pm |
| 1:35 pm-2:00 pm | Rachel Renee Russell | 2:30 pm-3:30 pm |
| 1:35 pm-2:00 pm | Nikki Russell | 2:30 pm-3:30 pm |
| 2:10 pm-2:35 pm | Ronald L. Smith | 3:00 pm-4:00 pm |
| 2:45 pm-3:10 pm | Reshma Saujani | 3:30 pm-4:30 pm |
| 3:20 pm-3:45 pm | Shelia P. Moses | 4:00 pm-5:00 pm |
| 3:55 pm-4:20 pm | Emma Donoghue | 2:30 pm-3:30 pm |
| 4:30 pm-4:55 pm | Sanford Levinson | 5:30 pm-6:30 pm |
| 4:30 pm-4:55 pm | Cynthia Levinson | 5:30 pm-6:30 pm |
Children’s Green Stage
| Time | Author | Signing |
| 9:30 am-9:55 am | R. J. Palacio | 10:30 am-11:30 am |
| 10:05 am-10:30 am | Travis Foster | 11:00 am-noon |
| 10:05 am-10:30 am | Ethan Long | 11:00 am-noon |
| 10:40 am-11:05 am | Chris Van Dusen | 11:30 am-12:30 pm |
| 11:15 am-11:40 am | Kate DiCamillo | noon-1:00 pm |
| 11:50 am-12:20 pm | A Book That Shaped Me Contest | |
| 12:30 pm-12:55 pm | Carmen Agra Deedy | 1:30 pm-2:30 pm |
| 1:05 pm-1:30 pm | Cokie Roberts | 2:00 pm-3:00 pm |
| 1:40 pm-2:05 pm | Amy Sarig King | 2:30 pm-3:30 pm |
| 2:15 pm-2:40 pm | Verónica Murguía | 3:00 pm-4:00 pm |
| 2:50 pm-3:35 pm | Ellen Oh | 12:30 pm-1:30 pm |
| 2:50 pm-3:35 pm | Meg Medina | 12:30 pm-1:30 pm |
| 2:50 pm-3:35 pm | Kwame Alexander | 12:30 pm-1:30 pm |
| 3:45 pm-4:10 pm | Jack Gantos | 4:30 pm-5:30 pm |
| 4:20 pm-4:45 pm | Kelly Barnhill | 5:00 pm-6:00 pm |
| 4:55 pm-5:20 pm | Michael Buckley | 6:00 pm-7:00 pm |
You can find more information by visiting the National Book Festival website.
