2009 National Book Festival

The Library of Congress announced yesterday the list of authors who will be attending this year’s National Book Festival on September 26, 2009.

Bestselling authors David Baldacci, John Grisham, John Irving, Lois Lowry, Jodi Picoult, Judy Blume, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, Julia Alvarez, Ken Burns, Gwen Ifill – and even celebrity chef Paula Deen – will be among scores of authors presenting at the 2009 National Book Festival, which is organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress. A complete listing of the authors by pavilion below.

Now in its ninth year, this popular event celebrating the joys of reading and lifelong literacy will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between 7th and 14th Streets from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (rain or shine). The event, for which the Honorary Chairs are President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, is free and open to the public.

What: 2009 National Book Festival: www.loc.gov/bookfest

Where: National Mall (between 7th and 14th Streets), Washington, DC

When: Saturday, September 26, 2009 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. (rain or shine)


Authors slated to make presentations at the 2009 National Book Festival include:

Children’s authors

Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, Kate DiCamillo, Shannon Hale, Craig Hatkoff, Lois Lowry, Megan McDonald, Sharon Robinson and Kadir Nelson, Charles Santore, Jon Scieszka, David Shannon and Mo Willems

Teens & Children authors

Judy Blume, Pat Carman, Paula Deen, Carmen Agra Deedy, Liz Kessler, Jeff Kinney, Rick Riordan, James L. Swanson and Jacqueline Woodson

History & Biography authors

Douglas Brinkley and David A. Taylor, Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan, Kirstin Downey, Haynes Johnson and Dan Balz, Gwen Ifill, Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Taylor Kidd, Mark Kurlansky, Jon Meacham, Rickey Minor, Asar Nafisi, Annette Gordon-Reed, Simon Schama and Patricia Sullivan

Fiction & Fantasy authors

Sabiha Al Khemir, Julia Alvarez, Junot Diaz, John Grisham, John Irving, Katherine Neville, Jodi Picoult, Nicholas Sparks, Jeannette Walls, Colson Whitehead and David Wroblewski

Mysteries & Thrillers authors

David Baldacci, Lee Child, Mary Jane Clark, Michael Connelly, Craig Johnson and Walter Mosley

Poetry & Prose authors

Edward Hirsch, Jane Hirshfield, student winners in the Poetry Out Loud competition and Kay Ryan, Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress