Charter Sponsors
AT&T
For more than 125 years, AT&T has been known for unparalleled quality and reliability in communications.  Backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T Labs, the company is a global leader in local, long distance, Internet and transaction-based voice and data service.  With a deeply embedded and corporate-wide tradition for public service and social responsibility, the AT&T Foundation invests in projects that serve the needs of people in communities throughout the nation.  Initiatives which leverage technology in innovative ways, as well as those in which AT&T employees are actively involved, are of particular interest to the corporation.  For more information on the AT&T Foundation and its activities, please visit the Web site.
Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an independent federal agency that fosters leadership, innovation and a lifetime of learning.  IMLS supports all types of museums, from art and history to science and zoos, and all types of libraries and archives, from public and academic to research and school.  IMLS expands the educational benefit of these institutions by encouraging partnerships. 
Target Stores
Minneapolis-based Target Stores serves guests at 1,107 stores in 47 states nationwide by delivering today's best retail trends at affordable prices.  Whether visiting a Target store or shopping online at target.com, guests enjoy a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to thousands of unique and highly differentiated items.  Target Stores, along with its parent company Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), gives back more than $2 million a week to its local communities through grants and special programs.  Since opening its first store in 1962, Target has partnered with nonprofit organizations, guests and team members to help meet community needs.
The Washington Post
Each year, The Washington Post, through its community outreach programs, demonstrates its commitment to the Washington metropolitan area. As an active involved corporate citizen, The Post partners with a host of organizations that strive to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods. These partnerships help to educate area children, provide basic health and human service needs, uplift spirits and spur creativity and imagination. The Post’s community outreach efforts focus on many segments of the region; however, supporting literacy and education is the cornerstone of our community relations initiatives. That is why we are proud to be a Charter Sponsor of the Fourth Annual National Book Festival, celebrating America’s storytellers.
Patrons
AARP
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to making life better for people 50 and over. AARP provides information and resources; engages in legislative, regulatory and legal advocacy; assists members in serving their communities; and offers a wide range of unique benefits, special products, and services for our members. These include AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, its monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda Juventud, its quarterly newspaper in Spanish; NRTA Live & Learn, its quarterly newsletter for 50+ educators; and its Web site, www.aarp.org. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The James Madison Council
The James Madison Council is a private-sector group created to serve as the Library of Congress’s primary link to the business community. The first private-sector advisory body in the Library’s history, the Council consists of public-spirited citizens determined to help the nation receive the full benefits of the Library’s incomparable educational, scientific, technological, and cultural resources.
Jones International Unversity
Jones International University is an institution of higher education that offers courses and degrees of high quality at undergraduate and graduate levels through sound curricula, innovative delivery of instruction through technology, and a commitment to relevant, readily available, and student-centered service for a geographically dispersed adult student body. Learn more by visiting the Let's Read America Pavilion.
National Endowment for the Arts
Sponsor of this year's Poetry Pavilion, the National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts—both new and established—bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world's largest retailer and sponsor of the Home & Family Pavilion. The company employs more than 1.3 million associates worldwide through more than 3,200 facilities in the United States and more than 1,100 units in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, China, Korea, Germany and the United Kingdom. More than 100 million customers per week visit Wal-Mart stores worldwide. Be sure to learn about Wal-Mart and SAMS CLUB "Words Are Wheels" reading program by stopping by the "Words Are Wheels" information tent where you can participate in racing cars down a 20 foot long racetrack.
Contributors
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, the nation's largest bookseller employing 40,000 booksellers in approximately 800 stores in 49 states under the Barnes & Noble and B. Dalton names, is a 2004 National Book Festival Contributor Sponsor. Thanks to the support of Barnes & Noble, this year's Festival will house two book sales tents loaded with the most recent works for each festival author. Be sure to stop by before heading over to the book signing area.
NBA/WNBA
The NBA's "Read to Achieve" program is a year-round campaign to help young people develop a life-long love for reading and encourage adults to read regularly to children. Reaching an estimated 50 million children a year, "Read to Achieve" is the most extensive educational outreach initiative in the history of professional sports. In addition to being supported by all 29 NBA teams, 16 WNBA teams, the eight teams that make up the NBA's new minor league, the National Basketball Development League (NBDL), "Read to Achieve" is supported by the NBA's officials, parents and wives of players organizations, and the NBA Players Association and Retired Players Association.
PBS
PBS is a private, nonprofit media enterprise that serves the nation's 349 public noncommercial television stations, reaching nearly 90 million people each week.  Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions.  PBS is the leading provider of educational materials for K-12 teachers, and offers a broad array of educational services for adult learners, PBS' premier kids' TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online, continues to be parents' and teachers' most trusted learning environments for children.  More information about PBS is available at pbs.org, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet.  PBS is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.
Scholastic Inc.
Scholastic’s commitment to social responsibility and educational outreach is demonstrated by its far-reaching partnerships that address the most critical issues facing children, parents and teachers, with a particular emphasis on reading and literacy. Since 1999, the Scholastic Book Grants Program has donated more than 10 million children’s books to non-profit organizations that serve children and families in need. Scholastic works with the National Urban League (NUL), on the Read and RiseTM campaign to help build the reading skills of African American children. To date, over a million homes have been reached through the Read and Rise: Parent Circles workshop series, the Read and Rise: Preparing Our Children For a Lifetime of Success literacy guide and the Read and Rise magazine. Scholastic developed Words Travel™, the first national literacy and family-strengthening program for incarcerated parents and their children, through a unique partnership with Volunteers of America. The mission of the program is to connect incarcerated parents with their children through reading books. Words Travel is currently being piloted at 5 prison facilities nationwide with plans for expansion in 2004.
Friends
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency created in 1965. It is the largest funder of humanities programs in the United States. NEH is a 2004 sponsor of the National
Book Festival.
Marshall Payne