National Book Festival

The National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, is held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., late in September each year.  The festival, which is free and open to the public draws an estimated crowd of 200,000 people.

Nationally recognized authors, illustrators and poets make presentations on the National Mall throughout the weekend in the Children, Teens, Fiction & Mystery, History & Biography, Contemporary Life, Poetry & Prose, Cutting Edge, State Poets Laureate, and Graphic Novels pavilions and the Family Storytelling Stage.

Each year the Missouri Center for the Book chooses a Missouri book for inclusion in the "Discover Great Places Through Reading" literary map and participates in the Pavilion of the States, one of the most popular venues at the festival. In 2011, the Center chose Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as the state book choice for inclusion in the list. The Pavilion of the States (sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services) salutes the literary traditions of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories. The brochure available in this pavilion, called “Discover Great Places Through Reading,” offers a list of 52 great reads along with the map for stamping. Many of these books will be for sale in the Book Sales Pavilion. Each state's affiliated Center for the Book stamps thousands of the 52 great reads maps printed on the brochure at every festival. Getting all of the state stamps is a festival must for many of the thousands of festival goers.

 To view a list of participating authors or learn more about the festival visit the National Book Festival website.