Book festival scheduled for September 27

The 2008 U.S. National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress and hosted by First Lady Laura Bush, will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 27, rain or shine, on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The festival is free and open to the public.

Among some 70 authors and illustrators participating this year are Tiki Barber, Marc Brown, Warren Brown, Kimberly Dozier, Arthur Frommer and Pauline Frommer, Philippa Gregory, Steven Kellogg, Brad Meltzer, Salman Rushdie, Bob Schieffer, Daniel Schorr, Alexander McCall Smith, Paul Theroux, and Dionne Warwick. Jon Scieszka, a children’s book author recently named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Librarian of Congress, will be among the authors presenting in the Teens & Children’s Pavilion.

The festival authors, illustrators, and poets will discuss their work in pavilions dedicated to Children, Teens & Children, Fiction & Mystery, History & Biography, Home & Family, and Poetry. PBS characters and NBA/WNBA players will appear at the festival, including NBA Hall of Famer Bob Lanier.

The Pavilion of the States, sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, will highlight reading, literacy, and library promotion activities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several American trusts and territories.

For more information about the festival, visit the National Book Festival website.