Library of Congress National Book Festival Announces Full Author Lineup
Main Stage to Feature Sandra Cisneros, James S.A. Corey, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Max Greenfield, Tamron Hall, Abby Jimenez, Casey McQuiston, James McBride, James Patterson, Lish Steiling and Rebecca Yarros
The festival’s theme this year, “Books Build Us Up,” explores how reading can help connect us and inform our lives. It’s through books that readers can develop strong bonds with writers and their ideas — relationships that open the entire world, real or imagined, to us all.
Throughout the day, attendees will hear conversations from authors of various genres across the festival’s many stages. Award-winning author James Patterson will chat about his recent nonfiction book, “The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: Their Stories Are Better Than the Bestsellers,” and James McBride will discuss his latest novel “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.”
Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin will take readers on an emotional journey in her latest book, “An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s,” an account dedicated to the last years of her husband’s life after serving as an aide and speechwriter to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Erik Larson, author of “The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War,” will bring to life the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War.
Sandra Cisneros will celebrate the 40th Anniversary of “The House on Mango Street.” Abby Jimenez, author of “Just for the Summer,” and Casey McQuiston, author of “The Pairing,” will join forces to chat about their romance novels. Rebecca Yarros will talk about her bestselling “Empyrean” fantasy series including “Iron Flame,” sequel to her bestselling “Fourth Wing.”
On some timely topics, Annalee Newitz, author of “Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind,” and Peter Pomerantsev, author of “How to Win an Information War: The Propagandist Who Outwitted Hitler,” will discuss the impact, now and historically, of political propaganda and misinformation. Also, Joy Buolamwini, author of “Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines,” and Kyle Chayka, author of “Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture,” dive deep into the impact of technology.
Explore how cooking can inspire with Tamron Hall and Lish Steiling’s “A Confident Cook: Recipes for Joyous, No-Pressure Fun in the Kitchen.”
Grammy Award-winning vocalist Renée Fleming will explore the healing power of music in her latest book, “Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness,” on stage with renowned psychologist and neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin, author of “I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine.”
Young adult readers will enjoy a conversation between Candace Fleming, author of “The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets and Helped Win World War II,” and Monica Hesse, author of “The Brightwood Code.”
For children, featured authors will include actor and author Max Greenfield debuting his new children’s book, “Good Night Thoughts.” National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Meg Medina will share her latest children’s book, “No More Señora Mimí,” a salute to the caregivers who enter a child’s tender world.
The full lineup of more than 90 authors by genre is listed below.
Attend the Festival
The National Book Festival will take place on Saturday, Aug. 24 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Doors will open at 8:30 a.m. The festival is free and open to everyone.
Interested attendees not able to join the festival in person can watch conversations throughout the day. Events on the Main Stage will be livestreamed on loc.gov/bookfest. Videos of all presentations will be made available at loc.gov and on the Library’s YouTube channel shortly after the festival.
Visit loc.gov/bookfest to learn more about attending the festival. A comprehensive schedule will be available on the website and announced on the Library’s Bookmarked blog in the coming weeks. Subscribe to the blog for updates on festival plans and more. The National Book Festival celebrates creators and invites the public to be curious about the Library and its collections in their own creative or scholarly pursuits.
Full Lineup of Featured Authors by Genre
Fiction
Sandra Cisneros celebrates the 40th anniversary of “The House on Mango Street,” her national bestselling novel following the life of a 12-year-old Chicana girl growing up in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago.
Donna Hemans, author of “The House of Plain Truth,” Rachel Khong, author of “Real Americans,” and Claire Messud, author of “This Strange Eventful History,” join forces on a panel to discuss how family secrets reverberate across generations.
Edan Lepucki, author of “Time’s Mouth,” and Peng Shepherd, author of “All This and More,” talk all things time travel in their latest novels.
Elizabeth Gonzalez James, author of “The Bullet Swallower,” and Alexander Sammartino, author of “Last Acts,” explore masculinity and the ways we inherit violence in America in their new novels set in the West.
James McBride talks about his bestselling novel, “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.”
Genre Fiction
David Baldacci’s newest courtroom novel, “A Calamity of Souls,” takes a deep dive into the nature of racism during one of America’s most tumultuous times.
James S.A. Corey, the pen name for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, the bestselling creators of “The Expanse” book and TV series, debut their new sci-fi series with “The Mercy of Gods.”
Abby Jimenez, author of “Just for the Summer,” and Casey McQuiston, author of “The Pairing,” discuss their inspirations behind writing romance novels.
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s newest thriller, “Angel of Vengeance,” follows FBI Special Agent Pendergast and Constance Greene taking a final stand against New York’s deadliest serial killer.
Rebecca Yarros, author of “Iron Flame,” the second book in the “Empyrean” series, talks about her love of writing fantasy romance novels.
Biography, History and Memoir
Marie Arana, author of “LatinoLand: A Portrait of America’s Largest and Least Understood Minority,” discusses her new book that serves as an overview of Hispanic America based on personal interviews, deep research and Arana’s life experience as a Latina.
Amanda Bellows, author of “The Explorers: A New History of America in Ten Expeditions,” talks with Hampton Sides, author of “The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook.”
Ned Blackhawk, author of “The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History,” and Kathleen DuVal, author of “Native Nations: A Millennium in North America,” discuss Native American history and culture.
Max Boot, author of the forthcoming biography “Reagan: His Life and Legend,” discusses the life and societal influence of President Ronald Reagan.
Stuart E. Eizenstat, author of “The Art of Diplomacy: How American Negotiators Reached Historic Agreements That Changed the World,” discusses his book that touches on some of the greatest diplomatic negotiations of the past 50 years.
Camonghne Felix, author of “Dyscalculia: A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation,”and Safiya Sinclair, author of “How to Say Babylon: A Memoir,” talk about their evocative memoirs that reckon with heartbreak and cultural tradition.
Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of “An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s,” takes you along on the emotional journey she and her husband, Richard (Dick) Goodwin, embarked upon in the last years of his life.
Alexis Pauline Gumbs, author of “Survival Is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde,” and Tiya Miles, author of “Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of a Free People,” discuss the intertwined histories of America and Black women.
Erik Larson, author of “The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War,” talks about his latest book, a political horror story that captures the events that led America to the brink of war during Abraham Lincoln’s election.
Ayana Mathis, author of “The Unsettled,” and Viet Thanh Nguyen, “A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial,” celebrate the life and work of American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin.
David M. Rubenstein discusses his newest book, “The Highest Calling: Conversations on the American Presidency.” He’ll talk with historian Douglas Brinkley.
General Nonfiction
Arash Azizi is the author of “What Iranians Want: Women, Life, Freedom” and a Liberties Journal of Culture and Politics writer who will talk about the ways that young critics are influencing wide cultural conversations.
Joy Buolamwini, author of “Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines,” and Kyle Chayka, author of “Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture,” dive deep into how technology flattens culture and affects our interactions with one another in the 21st century.
Nathalie A. Cabrol, author of “The Secret Life of the Universe: An Astrobiologist’s Search for the Origins and Frontiers of Life,” and Dante S. Lauretta, author of “The Asteroid Hunter: A Scientist’s Journey to the Dawn of Our Solar System,” discuss groundbreaking research in finding evidence of life in our solar system.
Renée Fleming, Grammy Award-winning soprano and author talks about the connection between music and health in her newest book, “Music and Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness,” with neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin, author of “I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine.”
Dynamic duo Tamron Hall and Lish Steiling talk about their new cookbook for aspiring chefs, “A Confident Cook: Recipes for Joyous, No-Pressure Fun in the Kitchen.”
Carlos Lozada, author of “The Washington Book: How to Read Politics and Politicians,” and Jeffrey Rosen, author of “The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America,” explore how politicians may reveal more about themselves than they mean to when they write.
Annalee Newitz, author of “Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind,” and Peter Pomerantsev, author of “How to Win an Information War: The Propagandist Who Outwitted Hitler,” discuss the impact, now and historically, of political propaganda and misinformation.
Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of “Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees,” Annabelle Tometich, author of “The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida and Felony,” and Crystal Wilkinson, author “Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks,” explore the intersection of food, memory and culture.
Award-winning author James Patterson will discuss his latest library-themed book that celebrates the world of librarians and their stories in “The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: Their Stories Are Better Than the Bestsellers.”
Poetry and Translation
M.A.R. Habib, translator of “The Qur’an: A Verse Translation,” and Emily Wilson, translator of Homer’s “The Iliad,” discuss what we could learn from the ancients in their new translations.
Tess Taylor, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Forrest Gander and Ruben Quesada talk about their new poetry anthology, “Leaning Toward Light: Poems for Gardens & the Hands That Tend Them.”
Young Adults
Tomi Adeyemi, author of “Children of Anguish and Anarchy,” and Vanessa Le, author “The Last Bloodcarver,” discuss fantasy and heritage within their storytelling.
Terry J. Benton-Walker, editor of “The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power,” and Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell, editors of “The Black Girl Survives in This One: Horror Stories,” discuss their anthologies that focus on overturning stereotypes within horror stories.
K.A. Cobell, author of “Looking for Smoke,” and Andrew Joseph White, author of “Compound Fracture,” talk about social issues through young adult thrillers.
Hayley Dennings, author of “This Ravenous Fate,” and Marie Lu, author of “Icon and Inferno,” chat about their love of writing heart-pounding stories of action-packed romance.
Safia Elhillo, author of “Bright Red Fruit,” and Tony Keith Jr., author of “How the Boogeyman Became a Poet,” discuss self-discovery through writing poetry.
Candace Fleming, author of “The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets and Helped Win World War II,” and Monica Hesse, author of “The Brightwood Code,” discuss how their stories bring focus to women and young people in STEM through stories of wartime coding and code-breaking.
Christopher Paolini, international bestselling author of the “The Inheritance Cycle,” explores his latest book, “Murtagh,” the direct sequel to “Inheritance.”
Gene Luen Yang, former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, and illustrator LeUyen Pham talk about their new romantic comedy graphic novel, “Lunar New Year Love Story,” a story about a couple trying to break a love curse.
Middle Grade
James Bird, author of “No Place Like Home,” and graphic novelist Jonathan Todd, author and illustrator of “Timid,” discuss how they adapted their personal stories into fiction.
Graphic novelists Vera Brosgol, creator of “Plain Jane and the Mermaid,” and Kazu Kibuishi, creator of “Waverider,” the final novel in the Amulet series, discuss their fantasy adventure graphic novels.
Peter Brown, bestselling author of “The Wild Robot Protects,” the third title in the “Wild Robot” series, chats about how he creates a world where a lovable robot protects her home and animal friends from environmental disaster.
Pablo Cartaya, author of “Curveball,” and Hena Khan, author of “We Are Big Time,” talk about writing graphic novels focused on girls who discover their resilience through their love of sports.
J.C. Cervantes, author of “The Daggers of Ire,” and Zetta Elliott, author of “The War of the Witches,” chat about the journey of writing fantasy novels focused on the strength and power kids can discover when working together.
Ernest Cline, best known for his award-winning science fiction novel, “Ready Player One,” chats about his latest tale, “Bridge to Bat City,” a mostly true story about a young girl and a music-loving colony of bats in Austin, Texas.
Barbara Dee, author of “Unstuck,” and Susan Haas and Lexi Haas, mother-daughter author duo writers of “The Year of the Buttered Cat: A Mostly True Story,” discuss the importance of various styles of communication and connection in real life and within stories.
Anna Lapera, author of “Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzal Voice,” and Sherri Winston, author of “Shark Teeth,” talk in depth about how their characters find their voice to advocate for themselves during treacherous times.
Picture Books
Steve Asbell, author of “Flap Your Hands: A Celebration of Stimming,” and Stephanie Seales, author of “My Daddy Is a Cowboy,” discuss their love of illustrating and writing nonfiction books for children that help them find positive role models.
Max Greenfield, beloved actor and author, talks about the release of his new children’s book, “Good Night Thoughts,” a sweetly funny bedtime book about anxiety and being present.
Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston talk about their new book together, “The Dictionary Story,” a lyrical picture book that aims to inspire readers of all ages to create their own art.
Meg Medina, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, talks about her new children’s book, “No More Señora Mimí,” a story about the caregivers who enter a child’s tender world.
Author Adam Rubin and illustrator Liniers discuss their new laugh-out-loud picture book,“The Truth About the Couch.”
About the National Book Festival
The Library’s National Book Festival was co-founded in 2001 by first lady Laura Bush.
Authors will participate in book signings at the festival. Festivalgoers will be able to purchase books by the featured authors from Politics and Prose, the official bookseller of the 2024 National Book Festival onsite at the Festival.
The National Book Festival is made possible by the generous support of private- and public-sector sponsors who share the Library’s commitment to reading and literacy, led by National Book Festival Co-Chair David M. Rubenstein. Sponsors include: General Motors, James Madison Council, Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, CoStar Group, the John W. Kluge Center, AARP, Friends of the Library of Congress, Diane and Tim Naughton, the Library of Congress Federal Credit Union, and the Junior League of Washington.
C-SPAN’s Book TV will return to the National Book Festival as a media partner to livestream select events and interview featured authors. Media partners also include The Washington Post and NPR.
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
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