National Book Festival

August 13, 2023

National Book Festival

Since the first National Book Festival was held back on September 8, 2001, the event has grown into one of the largest and best literary events in the country and it is one that I have always wanted to attend. Organized by the Library of Congress, the massive event invites many of the leading writers in America to Washington DC each year for author talks, book signings and other family friendly activities which are attended by thousands.

Held at the Walter E. Washington convention center in Washington DC, the event has a massive hall filled with vendors and non-profit booths, a number of rooms where multiple author presentations happen at the same time and a huge book signing area, where the authors sign books at assigned times.

The event most closely reminds me of the Miami Book Fair based on its scale, but it has the advantage of having everything happen inside without the threat of weather interruptions. When I first arrived, I was staggered by the sheer scale of the event, the convention center is massive and it seemed very daunting at first, but once you get the feel for where and when things are happening, it wasn’t too bad.

There were a number of authors on hand that I knew from my association with the Key West Literary Seminar and it was nice to see Jericho Brown, George Saunders, Tiphanie Yanique, S.A. Cosby and Victor LaValle. The event was so massive and there was such a demand for their time, I really didn’t get much of a chance to say more than a quick hello, but it was obvious that their experiences in Key West made a lasting impression and they to a person asked when they could be invited back, which made me feel really good.

It was awesome to see and meet so many amazing people, writers included. I had the good fortune to have a pretty good discussion with Jesmyn Ward. She is a two-time winner of the National Book Award and someone that I consider to be one of the greatest living American writers. She has never been to the Key West Literary seminar, having had to decline an invite last year due to the birth of her child, but expressed interest in attending in the future which would be awesome.

I also met Carla Hayden who is the Librarian of Congress, which was cool. She was out stopping by the vendor booths for every state in the US. That was another cool part of the event as each state and territory of the US had its own booth that highlighted the literary achievements of that state as well as two authors from each state, many of whom were on hand in addition to the stellar line-up of writers on the main schedule.

It was a really long day, as the festival is only the single day, but well worth the travel to DC. I loved it. The next morning began the tourist portion of my trip to DC. There is so much to see and do in the Nation’s capital that I could never see as much as I wanted to, so I started out with an old favorite by visiting Ford’s Theatre, the site where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in April, 1865. I have been there many times, but my love of history, especially Lincoln related draws me back again and again.

The museum in the basement is small but exceedingly well-done and has a number of significant artifacts from Lincoln’s murder, including the murder weapon itself. The theater is still in use as an active playhouse but they have left the Presidential box intact as it was that evening and the National Park Service interpreter was one of the best that I have ever seen. The tour includes admission to the Petersen House, across the street from Ford’s Theatre where the stricken President was taken after he was shot and where he passed away the next morning.

The house has retained the ground level as it was and the upper floors are now part of the museum experience and again, it is an amazing glimpse into history.  I know that I learn knew things every time I visit and my fascination with Lincoln and the Civil War era is never fully satisfied,

https://www.loc.gov/events/2023-national-book-festival/about-this-event/