Record Numbers at National Book Festival (photos)
By • September 4, 2018 0 1650
More than 200,000 book lovers jammed the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Saturday, Sept. 1, for the 2018 Library of Congress National Book Festival. It was, by all accounts, the largest attendance in the event’s 18-year history. The book festival moved from the National Mall to the convention center in 2014.
They came to listen to Doris Kearns Goodwin, Amy Tan, David Ignatius, Madeleine Albright, Jon Meacham and over 100 other prominent authors and illustrators. Presentations were delivered simultaneously on 10 stages, with separate programs aimed at children, teens and fans of history and biography, fiction, graphic novels and poetry. The one-day event went on for more than 10 hours.
Packed rooms and long lines were the order of the day. Thousands were turned away as Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor discussed her new books for children on the main stage, the 2,500-seat ballroom having quickly filled to capacity.
Annie Proulx, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Shipping News” and the short story “Brokeback Mountain,” accepted the 2018 Prize for American Fiction. One of the most prestigious awards presented by the Library of Congress, the prize honors an American literary writer whose body of work is distinguished for its mastery of the art, originality and imagination. Reading Is Fundamental of Washington, D.C., won the $150,000 David M. Rubenstein Prize and East Side Community School in New York City won the $50,000 American Prize.
Current U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith read from her most recent work, “American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time.” On the children’s stage, Potterheads were treated to a presentation by illustrator Brian Selznick, who created 20th-anniversary covers for the seven Harry Potter books. “Mutts” cartoonist Patrick McDonnell headlined a special section devoted to graphic novels.
Politics and Prose, the official bookseller of the festival, sold more than 17,000 books, a record for the event. Authors and illustrators signed books at scheduled times.
The event was also broadcast live on C-SPAN2 Book TV. Most of the presentations will be made available at the loc.gov website and hundreds of videos going back to 2001 can be accessed in the C-SPAN Video Library.
Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress, announced the date for next year’s event: August 31, 2019, as usual on Labor Day Weekend. Thanks in large part to contributions from private donors, the event will again be free and open to the public, no tickets required.
“The National Book Festival is a thrilling, immersive experience that gives so many readers a unique opportunity to reflect on great books all day long,” said Hayden.
View Jeff Malet’s photos from the National Book Festival by clicking on the photo icons below.
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- Jon Meacham, a Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian. His new book is “The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels.” (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- David Ignatius’ new novel, “The Quantum Spy” is about the race between America and China to build a quantum computer. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- 2,500 pack the Main Stage ballroom to listen to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor Another 3,000 could not get in. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor displays her new book “Turning Pages: My Life Story.” Photo by Jeff Malet.
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- Following her presentation, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor embraces Maria Tarzia Gordon, age 9, or Arlington Va. who asked her advice on becoming president. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Patrick McDonnell, creator of the comic strip ‘Mutts’ (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Madeleine Albright is the author of several books, including her newest: “Fascism: A Warning” (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Annie Proulx is the 2018 recipient of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. Her novel “The Shipping News” won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and was adapted into a major motion picture. Her recent novel is “Barkskins”. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Brad Meltzer is a political thriller novelist, non-fiction writer, TV show creator and comic book author. Brad Meltzer is the No. 1 New York Times best-selling author of “The Inner Circle,” “The Book of Fate” and nine other best-selling thrillers. His newest book is “The Escape Artist” (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- The National Book Festival featured over 100 authors and ten simultaneous presentations (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Amy Tan – her new publication is “Where the Past Begins: A Writer’s Memoir.” (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Children’s author David Ezra Stein is the creator of many award-winning picture books. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- David Ignatius’ new novel, “The Quantum Spy” is about the race between America and China to build a quantum computer. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Author Doris Kearns Goodwin is interviewed for Book TV on C-SPAN about new book is “Leadership: In Turbulent Times”, in which she examines the four presidents she has studied most closely: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson to show how they first recognized leadership qualities within themselves and were recognized by others as leaders. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Visitors line up early for the 18th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Artist Lulu Delacre illustrated the pages of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s new book “Turning Pages: My Life Story”, (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Tayari Jones holds her book “An American Marriage” (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Cartoonist and illustrator Tillie Walden is the author of the graphic novels “Spinning” and “On a Sunbeam.” “Spinning” is about Walden’s years as a competitive figure skater. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Cartoonist and illustrator Tillie Walden is the author of the graphic novels “Spinning” and “On a Sunbeam.” “Spinning” is about Walden’s years as a competitive figure skater. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Rachel Renee Russell, author of the “Dork Diaries” series autographs a book for River (age 8) of Ellicott City, Md. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Fox and Friends TV host Brian Kilmeade holds a copy of his book “Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans: The Battle That Shaped America’s Destiny” (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Current U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith and Robert Hass, the U.S. poet laureate from 1995 to 1997. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Alfredo Corchado – His new book is “Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries, and the Fate of the Great Mexican-American Migration.” (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Madeleine Albright discusses her life and work with philanthropist David M. Rubinstein (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Author Dave Eggers. “The Monk of Mokha”, is the true story of a young Yemeni American man, raised in San Francisco, who dreams of resurrecting the ancient art of Yemeni coffee but finds himself trapped in Sana’a by civil war (photo by Jeff Malet).
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- Children’s author Brendan Wenzel (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Best-selling graphic novel author,Penelope Bagieu. Her latest work, “Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World.” (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Childrens author Trudi Trueit speaks at National Georgraphic pavilion, the author of more than 100 fiction and nonfiction books for kids, including the EXPLORER ACADEMY series. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Artist Joe Wos draws a butterfly for Sophie (age 4) (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Harry Potter artist Brian Selznick (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Members of the VanRaepenbusch family of Aurora Ohio camp out at the Children’s Green Stage (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Lawrence Wright’s new book is “God Save Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State.”
