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Prize for American Fiction to Be Awarded Posthumously to Denis Johnson

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced today that Denis Johnson, author of the critically acclaimed collection of short stories “Jesus’ Son” and the novel “Tree of Smoke,” will posthumously receive the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction during the 2017 Library of Congress National Book Festival, Sept. 2. The National Book Festival and the …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

2017 Main Stage Authors Announced!

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

(The following is a repost from the National Book Festival blog. The author is Lola Pyne of the Library’s Office of Communications.) Earlier this week, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden made an exciting video announcement detailing the stellar authors who will headline this year’s Library of Congress National Book Festival. She was joined in front of a …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Inquiring Minds: Researching Jewish Cuisine at the Library of Congress

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

Joan Nathan is the author of 11 cookbooks, including “King Solomon’s Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World,” published in April. Her previous cookbook, “Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France” was named one of the 10 best cookbooks of 2010 by National Public Radio and Food …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

World War I: The Library of Congress Memorial Tree

Posted by: Erin Allen

This is a guest post by Cheryl Fox, Library of Congress archives specialist in the Manuscript Division. The Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building is bordered by a number of impressive trees. One of them, a Japanese elm at the southwest corner of the building, was planted on Dec. 7, 1920, in memory of four Library of …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Pic of the Week: Reading Without Walls

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

Gene Luen Yang, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, launched his Reading Without Walls program during a Library of Congress event on April 10. It challenges young people to explore, through books, worlds outside their comfort zone. “Reading is a fantastic way to open your minds and hearts to new people, places and ideas,” said …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

National Book Festival: 2017 Poster Depicts Delightful World of Books

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

(The following is a repost from the National Book Festival blog. The author is Lola Pyne of the Library’s Office of Communications.) Spring is in the air and with it begins anticipation for our summer celebration of books and reading—the Library of Congress National Book Festival—which this year will take place on Sept. 2. Two weeks ago, …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

New Book: Card Catalog’s History

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

A new book exploring the history of the card catalog—that venerated chest of small drawers that contained the known universe—has been published by the Library of Congress in association with Chronicle Books. The lavishly illustrated volume tells the story of libraries’ organizing approaches from the layout of papyrus scrolls at the Library of Alexandria, to …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

New Book: “Picturing America: The Golden Age of Pictorial Maps”

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

Designed to educate, amuse or advertise, pictorial maps were a clever and colorful component of print culture in the mid-20th century, often overlooked in studies of cartography. A new book published by the Library of Congress in association with the University of Chicago Press, “Picturing America: The Golden Age of Pictorial Maps,” by Stephen J. …