National Book Festival celebrates 15th anniversary

The 15th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival will take place Saturday, September 5, 2015, (over Labor Day weekend) at the Washington Convention Center. This year will be the 15th anniversary of the founding of the festival. To mark this anniversary, as well as the the 200th anniversary of the Library’s acquisition of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library, the festival will have as its theme Jefferson’s quote, “I Cannot Live Without Books.”  It will feature more than 100 authors across many genres, including historian Annette Gordon-Reed. The festival will also feature contemporary writers including: Daniel Alarcon, Kwame Alexander, David McCullough, Walter Isaacson, Marilynne Robinson and Jane Smiley, among others. Moving the festival indoors last year after a decade at the National Mall lessened the enthusiasm of some loyal attendees. Past festivals have drawn crowds of more than 200,000 visitors. With the move inside, tens of thousands of people still attended last year and filled many of the rooms to capacity. The festival was also expanded to include evening programs, which will involve a “Graphic Novels and Movie Night” this year.