This is a guest post by Literary Initiatives intern Anhai Roantree.
The Library of Congress National Book Festival will celebrate its 25th year on September 6, 2025. For this year’s festival information, visit the 2025 National Book Festival website.
To honor the occasion, we are taking the 24 weeks leading up to this year’s festival at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to highlight two videos each week from past National Book Festivals, from the festival’s first year in 2001 to 2024. Each week, we’ll highlight a past festival year with a video from an adult writer and one from a children’s writer. We hope you enjoy scrolling through the past with us! Check out videos from the first 2001 festival here.
George R. R. Martin is best known for his “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, which has sold more than 90 million copies worldwide. The series was developed into the award-winning TV series on HBO, for which Martin served as writer and producer.
Beyond these projects, Martin has worked as a screenwriter and has written various other books and short stories. Martin has received many accolades, with awards such as the Locus, Hugo and Nebula Awards. Watch as he speaks of his beginnings as a fiction writer, and his love for the science fiction and fantasy genres.
George R. R. Martin begins speaking at 1:25, and the video proceeds as follows:
- 1:40: Last visit to Washington D.C. and his time in a political programming internship
- 3:46: How real life and the real world have influenced his fiction
- 7:50: Work in journalism and finding time to write fiction; how doors were opened for him
- 10:20: Advice to aspiring writers
- 12:34: Discussing the short story “The Exit to San Breta” and how he has always been a fantasy reader and writer; the intersection of fantasy and science fiction
- 16:48: Discussing “A Song of Ice and Fire”
- 20:35: Q&A begins
Meg Cabot is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of over 100 books of adult and young adult fiction, best known for “The Princess Diaries” series, which has been made into several movies. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first book in the series.
Cabot’s books have sold over 25 million copies all over the world in 38 different countries. Still, she is most proud of her work encouraging women’s empowerment, and of the letters she’s received from fans crediting her books with helping them overcome various struggles. Watch as she discusses the inspiration behind her stories.
Meg Cabot begins speaking at 0:54, and the video proceeds as follows:
- 3:29: How embellishment of her real-life experiences have influenced Cabot’s fiction
- 5:39: Discussing “The Princess Diaries”; the first book’s writing and publication process
- 7:30: Discussing the inspiration behind “All American Girl”
- 9:05: Discussing the “1-800-Where-R-You” series
- 9:23: Q&A begins
Come back next week for highlights from 2006!