Los Angeles Times Announces Lineup for 21st Annual Festival of Books
Carrie Brownstein and Arianna Huffington to Headline Ideas Exchange
Events During Nation’s Largest Literary and Cultural Festival
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Los
Angeles Times today announced the slate of esteemed authors and
cultural luminaries participating in the 21st annual Festival
of Books, its signature civic event and the largest literary
festival in America. The weekend-long celebration of ideas, creativity
and the written word will be held Saturday, April 9 and Sunday, April 10
at the University of Southern California. Over 500 authors, celebrities,
musicians, artists and chefs will lead conversations, live performances
and demonstrations throughout the weekend.
Thought leaders, personalities and experts scheduled to appear include: Buzz
Aldrin, Kwame Alexander, Reza Aslan, Lidia Bastianich, Zac Brewer, T.C.
Boyle, Alexander Chee, Nate Corddry, Taye Diggs, Duff Goldman, Juan
Felipe Herrera, Laila Lalami, Padma Lakshmi, Jonathan Lethem, Diana
Nyad, Joyce Carol Oates, Susan Orlean, James Patterson, Anna Quindlen,
Holly Robinson Peete, Luis J. Rodriguez, Jonathan & Drew
Scott, Tavis Smiley, Somini Sengupta, Shaka Sengor, Sabaa Tahir, David
L. Ulin, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Henry Winkler, Rainn Wilson and
Nicola Yoon, with more to be announced in the coming weeks.
The Festival will also feature two installments of the Ideas Exchange
speaker series, which debuted last year with Malcolm Gladwell. On the
morning of April 10, author, actress and musician Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia,
Transparent) will discuss her recent memoir Hunger Makes Me a
Modern Girl; that afternoon, Arianna Huffington (The Sleep
Revolution, The Huffington Post) appears in conversation with Times
columnist Robin Abcarian. Tickets to each of these events also include a
signed copy of the author’s latest book; VIP ticketholders have the
opportunity to attend a meet-and-greet.
Additional Festival highlights include:
-
Performances, demonstrations and Q&As on 9 outdoor stages including
the LA Times Main Stage, Reading by 9 Children’s Stage, Acura Cooking
Stage, Hoy Stage, YA Stage, Travel Smart Stage, USC Stage, Poetry
Stage and LA Times Central -
Over 100 ticketed Conversations on topics ranging from the
presidential election to social justice to the art of the short story -
Live recording sessions of hit podcasts and radio shows, including
Jonesy’s Jukebox, presented by KLOS, and Nate Corddry’s Reading Aloud,
presented by Wolfpop - Large-scale street-art-style installations curated by Branded Arts
-
Hundreds of exhibitors with books and merchandise for sale, give-aways
and activities
On Saturday evening, the Festival will present the LA Times Book Prizes,
a ticketed event featuring James Patterson, winner of this year’s
Innovator’s Award, and U.S. poet laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, receiving
the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement, alongside honorees in
10 literary categories.
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is presented in association with
USC and major sponsors Southern California Acura Dealers, McDonald’s and
C-SPAN. The Festival is free, open to the public, and centrally located
in the Downtown Arts and Education Corridor adjacent to Exposition Park.
Beginning at 10 a.m. today Los
Angeles Times subscribers will receive early access to purchase
Festival Passes (which provide advance reservations for up to eight
Conversations) as well as tickets to Ideas Exchange events and the Book
Prizes ceremony. Sales will open to the general public on March 11
at 10 a.m. PT. Schedule, location, ticket and transportation information
can be found on the Festival website,
Facebook
page and Twitter
feed (#bookfest).
FOR EDITORS:
Visit latimes.com/festivalofbooks
and refer to the Contacts tab for relevant press releases and the media
accreditation application.
Contacts
JS2 PR
Diana Hossfeld / Lauren Newhouse
323-866-0880
dhossfeld@js2pr.com
lnewhouse@js2pr.com
or
Los
Angeles Times
Spencer Alcorn, 213-237-5058
spencer.alcorn@latimes.com
