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2023 National Book Festival

Save the Date! Join Us at the 2023 National Book Festival on August 12

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Mark your calendars! The National Book Festival returns this summer to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in downtown Washington, DC, on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023. Spend the day with bestselling authors and book fans for author talks, panel conversations, book signings and more.

The 2023 National Book Festival website is live. With the launch of this year’s site, you can explore past National Book Festivals, prep for the Festival with helpful information and more.

Subscribe to this blog for the latest updates on this year’s festival, including the full author lineup.

Comments (30)

  1. The festival is my favorite day of the year. However, it works much better on Labor Day weekend for those of us who travel. (My wife and I travel from Texas.)

  2. Please bring back the poetry and prose stage this year! Love this festival and DC is such a great city for poets! There are three MFA programs in this area and this was an irreplaceable event for those students.

  3. Want to volunteer! My favorite festival

    • Thank you for your support of the National Book Festival! If you would like to volunteer, please contact [email protected].

  4. Hello, I am very interested to have my books at the Book Festival. How can I proceed further, please?
    Two of my five children’s books are at the Library of Congress.
    Would love to receive a response.
    Thank you so much,
    Cheers, Anita Adhikary

    • Thanks for your interest in the National Book Festival. The Festival accepts nominations of authors with new books via the author nomination form (submissions accepted from publishing professionals only): https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-book-festival/contact-us/author-nomination-form/. We encourage you to take our survey during the Festival to provide input on what you want to see in future years.

  5. I am so glad the festival is NOT on labor day this year. this gives us a chance to take advantage of the long holiday weekend for a final getaway before the school year!!

  6. I love the National Book Festival!

  7. I would like to become a speaker in the book discussions

  8. When will you announce the authors?

    • Thank you for your interest in the Library of Congress National Book Festival. The full author lineup will be announced in the coming weeks.

  9. Devastated to learn that you’ve moved the date to mid-August. I’ve never missed a Book Festival in the last 15 years, but I am out of town for the entire month of August now. Streaming/video just isn’t the same as being in person.

    Heartbroken.

  10. I am thrilled the National Book Festival will take place the day after my 60th
    Birthday!!! I can celebrate all day with books and writers, my two most favorite things!

  11. I hope you have a dedicated program for Sci-fi and Fantasy authors to speak. That is my absolute favorite part every year. Also I wish you would stage the author ‘s talks and then later have them sign, not just right after they’re done speaking. I get so torn between if I want to get a book signed or listen to the next person speak.

  12. Do you know when the author list will be published?

    • Thanks for your interest! The full author lineup will be announced here in the coming weeks.

  13. I am a new author, do you have to be invited, or can we register to have our book be a part of this experience?

    Thank you,
    Cindy DeFuria

  14. I have six books with LOC do I qualify?

  15. Gracias por darme el don de tus pensamientos e ideas a través de este blog.
    Me han inspirado e iluminado.

  16. I volunteered at NBF from 2016-2018 and loved it. I was then out of state for the next few years. I would like to volunteer again this year. I have tried different methods of contact. How to I get a Volunteer application form sent to me?
    Thank you.
    Howard Fine

    • Thank you very much for your support of the National Book Festival! If you would like to volunteer at the 2023 festival, please contact [email protected].

  17. I agree with William Kerr. Please consider having the 2024 book festival over the Labor Day weekend. Is there a reason it was moved this year to early August?

    • Thank you for your comment! We always appreciate feedback and encourage you to complete the survey following this year’s festival.

  18. When will the author list and schedule post?

    • Yes! Stay tuned for the full author lineup in the very near future. Scheduling details will be shared in the weeks to come.

  19. Where can I find the list of attending Authors for 2023 festival?

    • The full author lineup for the 2023 National Book Festival will be shared here in the very near future. Stay tuned!

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