Schedule
The 2022 Library of Congress National Book Festival will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Sept. 3, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (doors open at 8:30 a.m.). A selection of programs will be livestreamed online and videos of all programs will be available shortly after the Festival. View and download the Festival program; note that any last-minute schedule adjustments will only be updated on the website and will not be reflected in the Festival program PDF.
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Tuesday August 30, 2022
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Event | lectures and symposia Library of Congress National Book Festival Author Talk: Katie Gutierrez- Tuesday, August 30, 2022 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm EDT
- Online Only
PBS Books, in collaboration with GBH in Boston, is hosting a conversation celebrating the Library of Congress National Book Festival with Katie Gutierrez, author of “More Than You'll Ever Know: A Novel,” to discuss her work and involvement in the Festival.- Stage: Pop Lit
- Interests: Debut, Family, Fiction, Hispanic Interest, Mystery, Partner Events, Romance, Thriller
Saturday September 3, 2022
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Event | lectures and symposia Truer Than True Crime: Novels About Swindlers and Murderers with Kirstin Chen, Katie Gutierrez and Amanda Eyre Ward
- Saturday, September 03, 2022 9:45 am - 10:45 am EDT
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Ballroom A (Level 3, South Building)
What’s with America’s fascination with true crime? These novelists have a few thoughts. Kirstin Chen’s “Counterfeit,” Katie Gutierrez’s “More Than You’ll Ever Know” and Amanda Eyre Ward’s “The Lifeguards” are novels that are thrilling and suspenseful but also reflect on what our intrigue with true crime says about us. Moderated by Marion Winik.- Stage: Pop Lit
- Interests: Asian and Pacific Islander Interest, BIPOC Authors, Debut, Family, Fiction, Hispanic Interest, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
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Event | lectures and symposia Lying Runs in the Family: E. Lockhart Talks About Her New Novel
- Saturday, September 03, 2022 10:00 am - 10:45 am EDT
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Room 202 (Level 2, South Building)
When your family’s life is nothing but a tangle of secrets, all you might ask is: How did I get here? In this talk, E. Lockhart will trace the roots of the mysterious Sinclair family in her book “Family of Liars,“ prequel to the massively bestselling “We Were Liars” and dive into the decades-long secrets that endlessly haunt them. Moderated by Kahîn Mohammad.- Stage: Young Adult
- Interests: Book Series, Family, Fiction, Mystery, Nature, Romance, Thriller, Young Adult
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Event | lectures and symposia Jumping for Joy! with Brittany J. Thurman
- Saturday, September 03, 2022 10:10 am - 10:35 am EDT
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Hall A (Lower Level)
Come take flight with us in this program with Brittney J. Thurman as she discusses her latest book, “Fly,” which follows Africa, a young Black girl, as she tries to follow in her grandmother's footsteps and become a double Dutch champion. With perseverance, confidence and the support of her friends, Africa just might succeed! Moderated by Monica Valentine.- Stage: Please Read Me a Story
- Interests: BIPOC Authors, Black and African American Interest, Debut, Family, Fiction, Inspiring and Educational, Sports
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Event | lectures and symposia Let's Celebrate the Small and Mighty Marisol with Erin Entrada Kelly!
- Saturday, September 03, 2022 10:50 am - 11:15 am EDT
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Hall B (Lower Level)
Being a kid is harder than it looks. Erin Entrada Kelly presents her new standalone novel “Surely Surely Marisol Rainey,” a companion to the well-loved “Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey.” This novel celebrates the small but mighty Marisol as she learns how to be brave when facing a dilemma she and her bestie Jada can’t avoid: learning to play kickball. Moderated by Eun Yang.- Stage: KidLit
- Interests: BIPOC Authors, Family, Fiction, Fun and Funny, Inspiring and Educational, Sports
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Event | lectures and symposia Past Pain, Future Hope: Perseverance in Literature with Tomás Q. Morín and Morgan Talty
- Saturday, September 03, 2022 10:50 am - 11:50 am EDT
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center, East Salon ABC (Street Level, South Building)
Tomás Q. Morín and Morgan Talty’s new books feature characters who contend with life’s challenges—sometimes well, sometimes not so well. Morgan Talty’s “Night of the Living Rez” is a collection of stories set in a Native community in Maine, while Morín’s “Let Me Count the Ways” is a memoir about his OCD as a mechanism to survive childhood. Moderated by Tope Folarin.- Stage: Writers Studio
- Interests: BIPOC Authors, Debut, Family, Fiction, Hispanic Interest, Literary Collections, Memoir, Native American Interest, Nonfiction
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Event | lectures and symposia Tía Fortuna's New Home: A Jewish Cuban Journey with Ruth Behar
- Saturday, September 03, 2022 10:50 am - 11:15 am EDT
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Hall A (Lower Level)
How do you leave the place you call home? With the support of your family, of course! Ruth Behar captures the struggle of saying goodbye in “Tía Fortuna's New Home,” which follows Estrella, a young girl, as she learns about her culture while she helps her Tía Fortuna pack up her apartment to move to an assisted living community. Moderated by Cecilia Cackley.- Stage: Please Read Me a Story
- Interests: BIPOC Authors, Family, Fiction, Hispanic Interest
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Event | lectures and symposia Families Are the Best, Families Are the Worst with Eleanor Brown and Jennifer Close
- Saturday, September 03, 2022 12:10 pm - 12:55 pm EDT
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Ballroom A (Level 3, South Building)
Family is always, um, well, kind of…complicated. Eleanor Brown and Jennifer Close capture the nuances of family emotions in their new novels. Brown’s “Any Other Family” tells the story of three sets of parents who are bound together after adopting four biological siblings. Close’s “Marrying the Ketchups” follows three generations of one family as they navigate their ever-changing lives. Moderated by Shari Werb.- Stage: Pop Lit
- Interests: Family, Fiction, Fun and Funny
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Event | lectures and symposia Jason Reynolds Presents with Candice Iloh and Ebony LaDelle
- Saturday, September 03, 2022 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EDT
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Hall D (Level 2, North Building)
At the Library of Congress, we know that in addition to being a beloved writer, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Jason Reynolds is also an excellent mentor to other writers, so we asked him to moderate this program to spotlight two talented writers he’d like you to know more about: Candice Iloh’s new novel is “Break This House;” Ebony LaDelle’s is “Love Radio.”- Stage: Main Stage
- Interests: BIPOC Authors, Black and African American Interest, Debut, Family, Fiction, LGBTQ+, Romance, Young Adult
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Event | lectures and symposia You're Such a Nightmare: Horror Novels with Tiffany D. Jackson and Ryan La Sala
- Saturday, September 03, 2022 1:15 pm - 2:15 pm EDT
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Room 202 (Level 2, South Building)
Move over, Carrie and Heathers: We’ve ramped it up with Maddie Washington and The Honeys. In “The Weight of Blood,” Tiffany D. Jackson exposes racism and bullying in a Georgia high school, culminating in a hair-raising prom night, and in “The Honeys,” Ryan La Sala exposes the rot behind the glittering group of popular girls in a dark academia setting. Moderated by Sasha Dowdy.- Stage: Young Adult
- Interests: BIPOC Authors, Black and African American Interest, Book Launch, Family, Fiction, LGBTQ+, Mystery, Thriller, Understanding Racism, Young Adult
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Event | lectures and symposia Let's Find Out Where Wonder Grows! with Xelena González
- Saturday, September 03, 2022 1:30 pm - 1:55 pm EDT
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Hall A (Lower Level)
Wonder grows in Grandma’s garden! Or at least it does in Xelena González’s book, “Where Wonder Grows,” which follows several young girls as their Grandma invites them to explore her special garden and all the treasures that live there. The girls find that the treasures hold stories and wonder alike. Moderated by Lauren Roszak.- Stage: Please Read Me a Story
- Interests: BIPOC Authors, Family, Fiction, Hispanic Interest, Nature
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Event | lectures and symposia Rage Against the System: Teens Who Don't Back Down with Samira Ahmed and Sabaa Tahir
- Saturday, September 03, 2022 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm EDT
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Room 202 (Level 2, South Building)
Many teens face racism, financial challenges, and family dysfunction–but all of them fight for truth, hope, and control of their lives. Samira Ahmed, author of “Hollow Fires” and Sabaa Tahir, author of “All My Rage” discuss these conflicts and the resilience possessed by the characters in their stories with moderators Sasa Aakil and Nandini Kotamurthy.- Stage: Young Adult
- Interests: Asian and Pacific Islander Interest, BIPOC Authors, Family, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, Understanding Racism, Young Adult
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Event | lectures and symposia Is Anything Funnier Than Politics? with Susan Coll, Grant Ginder and Xochitl Gonzalez
- Saturday, September 03, 2022 3:25 pm - 4:25 pm EDT
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Ballroom A (Level 3, South Building)
Politics are hilarious–when they’re fiction, of course! No one knows better than these three novelists. Susan Coll's "Bookish People," Grant Ginder's "Let's Not Do That Again" and Xochitl Gonzalez's "Olga Dies Dreaming" are comedies centered around the chaos that happens when politics and families collide. Join us for a laugh in this program moderated by Roswell Encina.- Stage: Pop Lit
- Interests: BIPOC Authors, Debut, Family, Fiction, Fun and Funny, Hispanic Interest, Nature, Romance
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Event | lectures and symposia Get Into the School for Good and Evil with Soman Chainani!
- Saturday, September 03, 2022 3:50 pm - 4:15 pm EDT
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Hall B (Lower Level)
Join Soman Chainani for a behind-the-curtain look into his fantasy series The School for Good & Evil and the film inspired by these books coming to Netflix this October. Hear about the making of the series, the movie, and his new book, “Rise of the School for Good & Evil,” initiating a new era at the fairy tale school. Moderated by Natalie Miller.- Stage: KidLit
- Interests: Adventure, Asian and Pacific Islander Interest, BIPOC Authors, Book Series, Family, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult
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Event | concerts and performances Literature to Life Presents a Performance from Junot Díaz's "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao"
- Saturday, September 03, 2022 4:50 pm - 5:35 pm EDT
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Hall A (Lower Level)
Join us for a performance of Junot Díaz’s “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” presented by Literature to Life. Actor Kelvin Grullon brings the book to life before your eyes: one person telling the story, performing all of the characters, and transforming an important work of American literature into a live theatrical experience. This production was adapted and directed by Elise Thoron.- Stage: Please Read Me a Story
- Interests: Family, Fiction, Hispanic Interest, Performances and Special Programs