Schedule

The 2024 Library of Congress National Book Festival will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., in late summer of 2024. A selection of programs will be livestreamed online and videos of all programs will be available shortly after the Festival.

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11:30 AM

Event | lectures and symposia

"A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart" by Zetta Elliott
Saturday
August 24, 2024
11:30 am - 12:00 pm EDT Hall DE (Level 2, North Building) A Black boy explores his shifting emotions in this story about a community wounded after a police shooting. Author Zetta Elliott, whose featured book at this year’s National Book Festival is “The War of the Witches,” shifts gears from her fantasy novels to read aloud from her picture book “A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart.” Stage: Story District Event Type(s): For Children, Story Readings Genres: Black and African American, Inspiring and Educational, Picture Book, Poetry, Social Justice

2:30 PM

Event | lectures and symposia

Food, Family, Community: Annabelle Tometich and Crystal Wilkinson
Saturday
August 24, 2024
2:50 pm - 3:50 pm EDT West Salon GHI (Street Level, South Building) The foods we love can be an entrée into who we are, according to these nonfiction books. Annabelle Tometich examines her Filipino mother in “The Mango Tree” and Crystal Wilkinson’s “Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts” collects the memories and recipes of her Black Appalachian forebears. Moderated by Anna Spiegel.
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Stage: West Salon GHI Event Type(s): Author Presentations, For Adults, Panels Genres: Asian and Pacific Islander, Black and African American, Debut, Family, Food, Inspiring and Educational, Memoir, Nonfiction, Poetry
Event | lectures and symposia

Poetry Unlocks Us: YA Novels in Verse with Safia Elhillo and Tony Keith Jr.
Saturday
August 24, 2024
2:50 pm - 3:50 pm EDT Room 204 (Level 2, South Building) What can poetry unlock within yourself? Samira in Safia Elhillo’s “Bright Red Fruit” encounters a threat to her reputation, but her discovery of slam poetry helps her navigate identity, authenticity and community. In his YA memoir “How the Boogeyman Became a Poet,” Tony Keith Jr. explores the pitfalls and freedom of accepting his identity, his self-exploration made possible by poetry. Moderated by Untia Bigelow.
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Stage: Room 204 Event Type(s): Author Presentations, For Teens, Panels Genres: Black and African American, Debut, LGBTQ+, Memoir, Middle Eastern or North African, Poetry, Social Justice, Young Adult

3:30 PM

Event | lectures and symposia

Readings by the 2024 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellows
Event has been rescheduled
Saturday
August 24, 2024
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm EDT L Street Bridge (Level 2) Join the 2024 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellows as they share their poems. These individuals poets of literary merit and serve as poets laureate of states, counties and cities across the nation. Selected as fellows by the Academy, they will be leading public poetry programs in their respective communities through 2025. Stage: L Street Bridge Event Type(s): For Adults, Special Programs Genres: Poetry

4:00 PM

Event | lectures and symposia

Ancient Wisdom, New Translations: Emily Wilson’s “The Iliad” and M.A.R. Habib’s Qur’an
Saturday
August 24, 2024
4:10 pm - 5:10 pm EDT West Salon GHI (Street Level, South Building) Despite advancements in tech and medicine, we keep confronting the same old problems — such as war and xenophobia — around the globe. What can the ancients teach us? Join M.A.R. Habib and Emily Wilson as they talk about how they approached translating old texts into English versions of “The Iliad” and the Qur’an, for readers to appreciate anew. Moderated by Clay Smith.
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Stage: West Salon GHI Event Type(s): Author Presentations, For Adults, Panels Genres: Inspiring and Educational, Poetry
Event | special events

Annabelle Tometich and Crystal Wilkinson Book Signing
Saturday
August 24, 2024
4:15 pm - 5:15 pm EDT Hall DE (Level 2, North Building) Annabelle Tometich signs "The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida and Felony" and Crystal Wilkinson signs "Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks" in book signing line 8. Stage: Book Signing Event Type(s): Book Signings, For Adults Genres: Asian and Pacific Islander, Black and African American, Debut, Family, Food, Inspiring and Educational, Memoir, Nonfiction, Poetry
Event | special events

Forrest Gander and Ruben Quesada Book Signing
Saturday
August 24, 2024
4:15 pm - 5:15 pm EDT Hall DE (Level 2, North Building) Forrest Gander and Ruben Quesada sign "Leaning Toward Light: Poems for Gardens & the Hands That Tend Them" in book signing line 6. Stage: Book Signing Event Type(s): Book Signings, For Adults Genres: Anthology, Hispanic, Nature, Poetry
Event | special events

Safia Elhillo and Tony Keith Jr. Book Signing
Saturday
August 24, 2024
4:15 pm - 5:15 pm EDT Hall DE (Level 2, North Building) Safia Elhillo signs "Bright Red Fruit" and Tony Keith Jr. signs "How the Boogeyman Became a Poet" in book signing line 9. Stage: Book Signing Event Type(s): Book Signings, For Teens Genres: Black and African American, Debut, LGBTQ+, Memoir, Middle Eastern or North African, Poetry, Social Justice, Young Adult
Event | special events

Tess Taylor Book Signing
Saturday
August 24, 2024
4:15 pm - 5:15 pm EDT Hall DE (Level 2, North Building) Tess Taylor signs "Leaning Toward Light: Poems for Gardens & the Hands That Tend Them" in book signing line 5. Stage: Book Signing Event Type(s): Book Signings, For Adults Genres: Anthology, Nature, Poetry

5:30 PM

Event | special events

M.A.R. Habib and Emily Wilson Book Signing
Saturday
August 24, 2024
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm EDT Hall DE (Level 2, North Building) M.A.R. Habib signs "The Qur'an: A Verse Translation" and Emily Wilson signs "The Iliad" in book signing line 13. Stage: Book Signing Event Type(s): Book Signings, For Adults Genres: Inspiring and Educational, Poetry

6:30 PM

Event | lectures and symposia

Poems of the Earth: Tess Taylor, Forrest Gander and Ruben Quesada
Event has been updated
Saturday
August 24, 2024
6:50 pm - 7:50 pm EDT Room 204 (Level 2, South Building) “Leaning Toward Light,” edited by Tess Taylor, is an anthology featuring today’s most notable nature poets, some of whom are joining us at the Festival. Tess Taylor, Forrest Gander and Ruben Quesada discuss poetry that takes stock of the natural world and contributes to it. Moderated by Rob Casper. Note: Book signing before event.
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Stage: Room 204 Event Type(s): Author Presentations, For Adults, Panels Genres: Anthology, Hispanic, Nature, Poetry

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Hispanic
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LGBTQ+
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Middle Eastern or North African
Middle Grade
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11:30 AM

2:30 PM

3:30 PM

Readings by the 2024 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellows Event has been rescheduled

4:00 PM

5:30 PM

6:30 PM

Poems of the Earth: Tess Taylor, Forrest Gander and Ruben Quesada Event has been updated

Readings by the 2024 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellows
Event has been rescheduled

Poems of the Earth: Tess Taylor, Forrest Gander and Ruben Quesada
Event has been updated