Here’s what you book fiends have been waiting for – the author lineup for the 2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival, Sept. 22 and 23 on the National Mall. Authors will include towering American novelist Philip Roth and Nobel Prize-winner Mario Vargas Llosa; the irrepressible T.C. Boyle (some of you know him as T. …
On Tuesday, the Library hosted the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Foundation for its annual event “We Write the Songs,” a night of songwriters performing their own tunes and telling the stories behind their creations. And, some of the performers were a throwback to my fondest memories growing up in the 1980s. …
Take 550 grade- and middle-school kids; put ‘em in a room with an amazing author they know and love; add a barrage of questions about the creative process and a dash of humor. One hour later, open the doors and stand back as a large flock of reading would-be writers burst out upon the world! …
The Library of Congress rolled out the red carpet on Tuesday to honor Burt Bacharach and Hal David with the 2012 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The prize commemorates George and Ira Gershwin, the legendary American songwriting team whose extensive collection resides in the Library of Congress. The all-star tribute concert featured …
Something about his fan mail disturbs Walter Dean Myers. Myers, the author of critically acclaimed books for young people such as “Monster,” “Fallen Angel” and “Lockdown,” appreciates the gesture. But in too many of the letters, evidence of a serious decline in the reading and writing skills among the youth of America is painfully obvious. …
(This post comes to us from Taru Spiegel, reference specialist in the European Division, which is cosponsoring the event along with the Poetry and Literature Center.) What does a serious, award-winning author do when he is chosen “sexiest man of the year” by a leading women’s magazine? (He received the accolades from ELLE Norway in …
Today marked a rather monumental occasion as the space shuttle Discovery made its final flight – not to the stars but to its permanent home at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum annex near Dulles, Va. Library of Congress staff members were able to capture its final spin, as it took a few turns …
On May 5, the Library will close its popular exhibition “Creating the United States.” The exhibition has been on view for four years and seen approximately 2 million visitors passing through its space. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough once called it the one exhibition every American should see on a visit to Washington, D.C. Notable …
Heads up, all you fans of the Library of Congress National Book Festival – it’s going to be two days again this year, with more than 100 authors, following last year’s successful launch of the full-weekend approach. The festival will be held on the National Mall between 9th and 14th Streets on Saturday, Sept. 22, …