Schedule

The 2021 Library of Congress National Book Festival is Sept. 17-26, with live author conversations every day. On Sept. 17 at 10 a.m. ET, 35 video-on-demand programs will become available to watch anytime. This year’s Festival also features interactive presentations with Library of Congress experts, a national television special and related events on PBS, NPR podcasts, and author interviews on Washington Post Live. Check out Festival Near You to discover related events from local organizations.

Welcome to the 2021 National Book Festival! News4 Today journalist Eun Yang talks with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden about this year’s Festival.

Download a printable version of the complete live event schedule (PDF 895KB)

NOTE: Using the “Add to Calendar” tool places individual events in your personal calendar. It does not constitute a reservation or ticket to the event.

Monday September 13, 2021

Thursday September 16, 2021

Friday September 17, 2021

  • Event | lectures and symposia

    Washington Post Live: Michael J. Fox

    Friday
    September 17, 2021
    11:00 am - 11:25 am EDT
    Online Only
    Washington Post Live, in partnership with the Library of Congress National Book Festival, will host Michael J. Fox, author of “No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality” (Flatiron), in conversation with Washington Post opinions writer Jonathan Capehart.
    More information at wapo.st External.
    Genre: History & Biography

Saturday September 18, 2021

  • Event | lectures and symposia

    Live Conversation with Catherine Belton and Joshua Yaffa

    Saturday
    September 18, 2021
    1:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDT
    Online Only
    Catherine Belton, author of “Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), and Joshua Yaffa, author of “Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition and Compromise in Putin's Russia” (Tim Duggan), discuss their new books with Jeff Pegues, chief justice and homeland security correspondent for CBS News. Genre: History & Biography
  • Event | lectures and symposia

    Live Conversation with Heather McGhee

    Saturday
    September 18, 2021
    6:00 pm - 6:30 pm EDT
    Online Only
    Heather McGhee discusses her new book, “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together” (One World), with Errin Haines, editor-at-large of The 19th and a contributor at MSNBC. Genre: History & Biography

Sunday September 19, 2021

Tuesday September 21, 2021

Wednesday September 22, 2021

  • Event | lectures and symposia

    Live Conversation with Kai Bird, James Oakes and David O. Stewart

    Wednesday
    September 22, 2021
    6:00 pm - 6:30 pm EDT
    Online Only
    Kai Bird, author of “The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter” (Crown); James Oakes, author of “The Crooked Path to Abolition: Abraham Lincoln and the Antislavery Constitution” (Norton); and David O. Stewart, author of “George Washington: The Political Rise of America's Founding Father” (Dutton), discuss their presidential biographies with Nancy Cordes, chief White House correspondent for CBS News. Genre: History & Biography

Friday September 24, 2021

  • Event | lectures and symposia

    Live Conversation with Julia Sweig and Karen Tumulty

    Friday
    September 24, 2021
    4:00 pm - 4:30 pm EDT
    Online Only
    Julia Sweig, author of “Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight” (Random House), and Karen Tumulty, author of “The Triumph of Nancy Reagan” (Simon & Schuster), discuss their new books with Colleen Shogan, a senior vice president and the director of the David Rubenstein Center for White House History at the White House Historical Association. Genre: History & Biography

Sunday September 26, 2021

  • Event | lectures and symposia

    NPR Podcast: Isabel Allende on Alt.Latino

    Sunday
    September 26, 2021
    12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EDT
    Online Only
    As part of a special collaboration between NPR and the 2021 Library of Congress National Book Festival, the Alt.Latino podcast will feature Isabel Allende, author of “The Soul of a Woman” (Ballantine), in conversation with Felix Contreras.
    More information at npr.org External.
    Genre: History & Biography