July 18, 2014 (REVISED July 24, 2014) Stellar Graphic Novelists to Appear, Both Day and Night, at 2014 Library of Congress National Book Festival

Graphic Novels “Super-Session” a Highlight of Evening Choices

Contact: Jennifer Gavin (202) 707-1940

A stellar lineup of graphic novelists, including U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Gene Luen Yang, Liza Donnelly, Jeff Smith, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Raina Telgemeier, Vivek Tiwary and Kyle Baker will light up the stages both day and evening at the 2014 Library of Congress National Book Festival, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Rep. Lewis, author of "March" —who will appear with his co-author Andrew Aydin; Yang, whose latest book is "Boxers & Saints," and Jeffrey Brown ("Star Wars Jedi Academy, No. 2") will appear during the festival’s daytime hours in the Contemporary Life, Teens and Children’s pavilions, respectively. Illustrator Brian Biggs, whose work over several years includes graphic novels, will also appear in the Children’s pavilion. Most recently, he illustrated "Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor."

Donnelly ("Women on Men"), Smith ("Bone"), O’Malley ("Seconds: A Graphic Novel" and the "Scott Pilgrim" stories), Telgemeier ("Sisters"), and Tiwary and Baker ("The Fifth Beatle") will speak and sign their books for fans at an evening Graphic Novels Super-Session, with Michael Cavna, author of The Washington Post’s Comic Riffs blog, as master of ceremonies¬—part of the first-ever nighttime activities in the 14-year history of the National Book Festival. This year’s festival theme is "Stay Up With a Good Book." The Washington Post is a charter sponsor of the festival.

The event, free and open to the public, will feature more than 100 authors of all genres for readers of all ages. The Walter E. Washington Convention Center is accessible via Metro on the Red Line (Gallery Place) and the Green and Yellow Lines (Mount Vernon Square/7th Street/Convention Center).

In addition to the Graphic Novels Super-Session—presented with the assistance of the Small Press Expo—other festival events between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. will include a poetry slam in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts and Split This Rock and a session featuring "Great Books to Great Movies" moderated by Ann Hornaday, film critic for The Washington Post.

The festival’s new location also facilitates an expanded selection of genre pavilions. In addition to the longtime pavilions History & Biography, Fiction & Mystery, Poetry & Prose, Children’s, Contemporary Life, Teens and Special Programs, this year’s festival also will offer new pavilions focused on Science, the Culinary Arts, and for young readers, Picture Books.

Other authors who have accepted the Library’s invitation to speak and sign books at the 2014 Library of Congress National Book Festival include novelist E.L. Doctorow, who will be awarded the 2014 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, photographer Bob Adelman, Jonathan Allen, Derek Anderson, chef Cathal Armstrong, Paul Auster, Andrew Aydin, Patrik Henry Bass, Peter Baker, Ishmael Beah, Andrea Beaty, Kai Bird, Eula Biss, Kendare Blake, Paul Bogard, Peter Brown, U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, Eric H. Cline, Bryan Collier, Billy Collins, Raúl Colón, James Conaway, Ilene Cooper, Jerry Craft, H. Alan Day, Kate DiCamillo, Margaret Engel, Jules Feiffer, Jack Gantos, David Theodore George, Francisco Goldman, chef Carla Hall, Tanuja Desai Hidier, Anne Hillerman, Henry Hodges, Sara Sue Hoklotubbe, Siri Hustvedt, Molly Idle, Peniel E. Joseph, Cynthia Kadohata, Michio Kaku, chef Sheila Kaufman, Nina Khrushcheva, Nick Kotz, Brian Lies, Louisa Lim, Eric Litwin and Adrienne Mayor.

Also, Francesco Marciuliano, Elizabeth McCracken, Alice McDermott, Meg Medina, Claire Messud, Valerie Miles, Adrian Miller, Anchee Min, Elizabeth Mitchell, Richard Moe, chef John Moeller, Ian Morris, Sandra Day O’Connor, Alicia Ostriker, Laura Overdeck, Amie Parnes, Dav Pilkey, Paisley Rekdal, chef Amy Riolo, Alberto Rios, Amanda Ripley, Clay Risen, Cokie Roberts, Richard Rodriguez, Sally Satel, Lisa See, Ilyasah Shabazz, Lynn Sherr, David Sibley, Mona Simpson, Brando Skyhorse, Lynn Wiese Sneyd, Susan Stockdale, Theodore Taylor, chef Daniel W. Thomas, Tim Tingle, David Treuer, Ann Ursu, Maria Venegas, Judith Viorst, Rita Williams-Garcia, Natasha Wimmer, Jacqueline Woodson, Tiphanie Yanique and chefs Laura and Peter Zeranski.

Details about the Library of Congress National Book Festival can be found on its website at www.loc.gov/bookfest/. This year’s festival poster, by popular artist and illustrator Bob Staake—who will appear at the festival—can be downloaded from the website.

The festival’s new setting will offer many familiar and popular activities. Representatives from across the United States and its territories will celebrate their unique literary offerings in the Pavilion of the States. The Let’s Read America area will offer reading-related activities that are fun for the whole family. The Library of Congress Pavilion will showcase treasures in the Library’s vast online collections and offer information about Library programs.

The 2014 National Book Festival is made possible through the generous support of National Book Festival Board Co-Chairman David M. Rubenstein; Charter Sponsors the Institute of Museum and Library Services, The Washington Post and Wells Fargo; Patron the National Endowment for the Arts; Contributors The Inner Circle of Advocates, Scholastic Inc. and WAMU 88.5 FM and—in the Friends category—the Marshall B. Coyne Foundation, Inc., the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, The Hay-Adams, the National Endowment for the Humanities, PBS KIDS and the Small Press Expo. Thanks to C-SPAN2’s Book TV, The Junior League of Washington, the Mensa Education and Research Foundation and Split This Rock.

The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution, is the world’s preeminent reservoir of knowledge. Many of the Library’s rich resources and treasures may be accessed through its website, www.loc.gov.

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PR 14-121
2014-07-18
ISSN 0731-3527