This post was written in collaboration with Brett Zongker, chief of media relations at the Library of Congress.
Save the date: the Library of Congress will host the 2026 National Book Festival on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Washington E. Washington Convention Center!
The 2026 Library of Congress National Book Festival is part of the Library’s celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial, America 250: It’s Your Story. At this year’s festival, the Library will feature an expansion of programming to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary and to showcase the Library’s offerings beyond books to include film, music, veterans’ history and American folklife. Updates on plans for the National Book Festival will be shared at loc.gov/bookfest.
“The Library of Congress National Book Festival has become one of the nation’s favorite literary traditions, and we are proud to continue hosting this popular festival in August 2026,” said Acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen. “Every year, book lovers of all ages converge to celebrate reading in the nation’s capital.”
The festival is free for everyone and provides a full day of conversations with dozens of authors, poets and illustrators from a variety of genres about their latest books and book signings with each writer. The festival offers readings, giveaways, and activities for children and young adults, as well as the opportunity to purchase books from the festival’s official bookseller. For updates, make sure you are subscribed to this blog.
The Library is now recruiting nonprofit partners to provide learning activities for young people in the festival’s STEM and Story Districts. Do you know of a great nonprofit that provides literacy or STEM services? Your favorite organization may be eligible to exhibit at no cost at the National Book Festival!
The two Districts feature scheduled programming activities that help festival attendees learn about the work of these organizations and their impact on the community.
More information and an application is available here.
Benefits to Participating Organizations
- No fee for exhibiting.
- Opportunity to engage with thousands of attendees from Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and beyond.
- Space in exhibit hall alongside exhibiting sponsors and other family-friendly activities.
- Names of participating organizations featured on the festival website and other communications.
- And more!
For the 2026 National Book Festival, six organizations will be selected for each of the two districts, for a total of 12 featured organizations. The application is open until March 30th. For more information, please review this website and explore all requirements before applying.
In addition to the STEM and Story Districts, the National Book Festival provides a variety of opportunities for exhibitors. More information is available here for organizations interested in exhibiting at the festival.
We’re looking forward to seeing you book-lovers soon!
Comments (2)
Please make even more sessions available online. It’s been a treat to spend a day watching as many as possible from home in Central NY. Thank you for these wonderful opportunities to hear and see authors, familiar and unfamiliar!
Thank you✅