Top of page

Archive: 2024 (90 Posts)

James McBride, seated onstage, with an open notebook on his lap, looks over his glasses while in conversation.

James McBride at the NBF: “Love is the greatest … novel ever written.”

Posted by: Neely Tucker

James McBride, winner of the Library's 2024 Prize for American Fiction, took the main stage at the National Book Festival last weekend, delighting a rapturous crowd with anecdotes and observations about his best-selling books and his remarkable writing career. "Love is the greatest novel ever written," he said. "That's it."

Studio potrait of a man seated at side of camera frame, leaning forward with elbows on his knees, turned to smile at the camera.

Riding a Wave with Kazu Kibuishi

Posted by: April Slayton

This weekend at the Library’s National Book Festival, fans of Kazu Kibuishi’s epic Amulet series will have a chance to hear him read from his ninth and final book in the series, “Waverider” and talk about how he created the immersive world where his graphic novels are set. Here, he answers a few questions about his creative process.

Half length photo of a smiling man with arms crossed, wearing a V-neck shirt.

Catching a “Curveball” with Pablo Cartaya

Posted by: April Slayton

Pablo Cartaya’s novels touch on themes of family, culture and community, so it was no surprise when my 11-year-old daughter connected with the young characters of his latest book, “Curveball.” This weekend at the National Book Festival, Cartaya will be talking about "Curveball" and reading from an earlier book, "Tina Cocolina: Queen of the Cupcakes." In this piece, he answered a few of our most pressing questions.

Head and shoulders photo of Greg Lukow speaking at a microphone, wearing a suit and tie, looking directly at the camera

Gregory Lukow, Library’s Film Preservation Leader, Retires

Posted by: Neely Tucker

Gregory Lukow, chief of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, led the Library's efforts to construct the Center, teaming with the Packard Humanities Institute to make it one of the world's best film preservation facilities. He recently brought his 24-year career to a close. Here, he reflects on some major highlights.

A brownish map with a faint outline of the eastern and Gulf Coasts of what is now the United States.

The (Newly Revealed) Wonders of a 16th Century Portolan Chart of the North American Coast

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

New details about early European explorations along the North American east coast have been gleaned from a 16th-century portolan chart by the Library's Preservation and Research Testing Division. Using multispectral imaging and other techniques, Library staff has discovered multiple place names on the chart that could not be seen by the naked eye.

Kwame Anthony Appiah Awarded Kluge Prize

Posted by: Neely Tucker

Kwame Anthony Appiah, the internationally recognized philosopher, author and professor, will be awarded the 2024 John W. Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced today. The $500,000 prize, awarded every two years, recognizes individuals whose outstanding scholarship in the humanities and social sciences has shaped public affairs and civil society. Since the 1990s, Appiah’s work has been widely regarded as having deepened the understanding of ideas around identity and belonging, concepts that remain deeply consequential. The Library is developing programming on the theme of “Thinking Together” that will showcase Appiah’s work for a public audience.

A two-page spread of the opening pages of the Bible, with "Genesis" in English as a chapter heading, and the rest in another language.

Eliot’s Bible

Posted by: Neely Tucker

Printed in Cambridge between 1660 and 1663, the Eliot Indian Bible today represents a landmark in printing history: It was translated into the Wampanoag language of the region’s Algonquin tribes and was the first Bible printed in North America in any language. In recent decades, the Wampanoag nation has used the Eliot Bible as a tool to help resurrect its ancestral language. The Library preserves a 1685 copy.