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.

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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Plus, 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.