Authors and Book Lovers Gather on Mall for National Book Festival 2012 (photos)
More than 100 top authors and thousands of visitors gathered on the National Mall for the two-day 12th National Book Festival, Sept. 22 to 23. The festival included readings and author discussions, book signings, entertainment and storybook characters to interact with children. The theme of this year's event was “Books That Shaped America” in conjunction with a recent Library of Congress survey of 88 fiction and nonfiction works that helped shape the nation. Separate pavilions ran programs simultaniously for the following major categories: Children, Teens, Fiction & Mystery, History & Biography, Contemporary Life, Poetry & Prose, SciFi Fantasy & Graphic Novels, and Special Programs. A separate Family Storytelling Stage featured authors and musical acts popular with young children. As always, the event was free and open to the public. The Distinguished Benefactor of the festival was David Rubenstein, who co-chaired the National Book Festival Board with James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress. Corporate sponsors included Target, the Washington Post, Wells Fargo, AT&T, Scholastic, and Lego Systems, Inc. Returning to the festival was the Digital Bookmobile, a high-tech exhibit powered by OverDrive, which supports reading and literacy with ebooks from libraries. Notable authors in attendance included Bob Woodward, Julie and David Eisenhower, Walter Isaacson, Tom Friedman, Robert Caro, singer-songwriter Jewel Kilcher and Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa.
View photos of the event by clicking on the photo icons below.
