The Walter E. Washington Convention Center located in downtown D.C. was alive with excited chatter and rustling pages on Saturday, Sept. 7 as over 100,000 readers gathered for the 25th National Book Festival.
All four floors of the convention center were bustling with activity. Families clustered in the children’s area as they watched interactive storytellers, while eager readers camped out for hours before best-selling authors like John Green, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Ron Chernow held book signings and panels.
Colleen Shogan, previous Archivist of the United States and moderator of the festival for the last decade, described it as “one of the best days of the year in D.C.”
“You get to come and interact with authors,” Shogan said. “It’s just a great day for celebrating learning, reading, and also engaging with authors, which is really important.”
Shogan said the festival runs on volunteers.
Approximately 1000 volunteers assisted from the Junior League of Washington, Library of Congress, and the general D.C. public. Lining every corner with hand-held signs stating “Ask Me,” the brightly dressed volunteers invited questions about event locations and timings.
Though carefully planned and thoroughly staffed, the festival was not without its hiccups. “That Boy is Cute (but Let Me Save the World First),” a panel interviewing international best-selling author Tahereh Mafi and New York Times best-selling author Susan Dennard about balancing plot with romance in their young adult novels, had a large audience eagerly lined up to attend. Then, an unforeseen leaking roof on the second floor meant the festival had to change the event’s location at the last minute.
Hundreds who did not know about the unexpected venue change early enough to snag a spot in line were unable to fit into the smaller room. One such festivalgoer was fellow Georgetown student Lucy Bruns (CAS ’29).
“It’s just a shame, because I know that if the room didn’t change, I would have gotten into the Tahereh Mafi talk since I came so early and got close to the front of the queue for the new room,” Bruns said.
This was not the only frustration Lucy encountered at the festival.
“Part of why I wanted to come to the festival today was to see one of my favourite authors, V.E. Schwab, and go to her book signing at 11:00 [a.m.]. We got there closer to 11:15 [a.m.], but they had already cut off the line,” Bruns said.
Bruns highlighted her annoyance with the festival’s website, mentioning a lack of clarity regarding book signing timings. She said she felt disappointed after rushing to see V.E. Schwab only for the line to cut off unexpectedly.
Nevertheless, Bruns said that the festival was still “an amazing opportunity.”
“The festival has made me feel really grateful about going to school in D.C. now,” Bruns said. “Where else can you say you have something like this basically in your backyard?”
This year, sponsors included General Motors, the James Madison Council, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, with support from the Friends of the Library of Congress and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
Stephanie, who the Voice refers to by first name only by request for privacy purposes, makes the trip from New Jersey for the event every year. This year, she appreciated the presence of sponsorship supporting the event.
“I had not really noticed corporate sponsorship in the past. But, it’s nice to see GM as involved as one of the sponsors this year,” Stephanie said. “Especially in light of the current [political] climate, it’s reassuring to see a company like General Motors would put their name on this kind of event.”
Moreover, Stephanie underscored the involvement of libraries in the National Book Festival, mentioning their crucial impacts on children’s reading.
“Libraries have always been very important to me, so the representation, the respect given to librarians, the influence they have on children, and the emphasis on children reading in general is terrific.”
The festival’s line up comprised a wide array of genres and authors from a diverse range of backgrounds, providing opportunities for all readers. For enjoyers of thrillers, authors Ron Currie and Scott Turow held their “Justice on Trial” panel, inviting the audience to ponder the role of the legal system in literary thrillers. Alternatively, for lovers of historical fiction, writer Fiona Davis presented her new novel The Stolen Queen in the same room just two hours later.
There was even a busy STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) district, showcasing opportunities for those interested in more than written word. These included learning activities like “Sawdust, Flowers, Rocks, and Bugs: How Science Got Its Color,” where attendees could explore how early artisans turned the natural world into color. For families, activities like “Rocket Science Meets Storytelling”, were designed with both parents and children in mind, engaging the audience through space narratives to teach data literacy.
With authors, librarians, and literary representatives from across the country, the National Book Festival stands out amongst reading festivals, making it a nationally-renowned celebration of literature along with a local one. But what inspires many of the festivalgoers to travel to D.C. for this event?
It is the national inclusion found in exhibits like “Roadmap to Reading” for Sara, a visitor from Pennsylvania who requested for privacy purposes that the Voice refer to her only by first name. This interactive expanse of stalls bordering the Story District drew in travelers from all 50 states and all U.S. territories by highlighting different books, authors, and literary pursuits across the United States.
“Each state has a table with a children’s book and an adult book. So you can see, like with Massachusetts, who are all the residents presenting, some of the famous writers, and how to get involved with libraries there,” Sara said. “It focuses on us as a nation.”
As they visited each stand, attendees experienced the growing diversity of literature in America—especially in comparison to the past, as stated by 24th U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, at the “Celebrating the U.S. Poets Laureate” panel featuring Joy Harjo, Tracy K. Smith, and herself. In her youth, Limón explained that she believed a poet was “an old white man in a trench coat writing poetry.”
In the theme of diversity, the festival sought to ensure accessibility for everyone. The Accessibility and Information Station provided access to ASL interpreting, CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) services, braille programs, tactile maps, and a sensory-friendly quiet room. At each presentation, an ASL interpreter was on-stage, signing, and assistive listening devices could be borrowed from the entrance of each event for attendees who were hard of hearing.
It was exciting to see a selection of diverse literature represented at an event with such a national reach, said first-time festivalgoer Mia Rutherford.
“I think it’s important for these sorts of events to reflect societal values, so it’s been really great to see such diverse books,” Rutherford said. “I went to Imani Perry’s “Transcendent Takes on Black Cultural History” talk, and if I hadn’t come today, I probably wouldn’t have been introduced to African American writing through such an interesting discussion.”
Sara was excited to see the estimated tens of thousands of attendees this year.
“There’s more people every year, and definitely social media has really bolstered it. It’s really word of mouth with attendance now,” Sara said.
First-time festival attendees also showed a high prospect of returning.
“If next year’s festival is anything like this, and has as good an author line-up as this one, then I’m definitely coming back,” Rutherford said.
