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Posted by: Neely Tucker
Leslie Jordan died of an apparent medical emergency this morning while driving in Los Angeles. His beloved BMW crashed into the wall of a building. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was hurt. He was 67. Adorable, generous and hilarious to the very end, one of his last public appearances was …
Posted in: COVID-19, National Book Festival, News, Performing Arts, Writers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
“Blackout,” the hit YA romance novel of interlinked stories written by six Black authors, is coming to the National Book Festival’s main stage. It’s sure to be one of the festival’s highlights, as the event will put five of those authors on one stage: Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk and Nicola …
Posted in: National Book Festival
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Author Xochitl Gonzalez will be at the National Book Festival on Sept. 3, talking about her celebrated debut novel, "Olga Dies Dreaming." A smart romantic comedy about an upscale wedding planner and her congressman brother, New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent, who
Posted in: Hispanic and Latino, National Book Festival, Writers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Leslie Jordan, the Emmy Award winning comic actor turned Instagram star turned author, brings his "How Y'all Doing?" to the National Book Festival. His short video riffs on being short, Southern and gay have charmed millions of viewers since he started posting them during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 67-year-old has more than 100 film and television credits, including turns on hit series such as "Will and Grace" and "American Horror Story." He's currently starring in "Call Me Kat" with Mayim Bialik.
Posted in: LGBTQ, National Book Festival, Writers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Mitch Albom, the sportswriter and novelist, sits down at the National Book Festival to talk about the 25th anniversary of "Tuesdays with Morrie," his 1997 memoir that has sold more than 17 million copies, been turned into a movie and a stage play and been published in more than 45 countries. Albom has gone on to write a string of No. 1 bestselling novels, each drawing on religious faith and inspiration. His latest, "The Stranger in the Lifeboat," was published late last year.
Posted in: National Book Festival
Posted by: Neely Tucker
David McCullough, one of the nation's most decorated historians and authors, died today at the age of 89. A writer who valued deep research and lively narratives, he was a good friend of American readers and a good friend of the Library and its patrons.
Posted in: History, National Book Festival, U.S. Presidents, Writers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced today that the 2022 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction will be awarded to Jesmyn Ward. The 45-year-old Mississippian is the two-time winner of the National Book Award for the novels "Salvage the Bones" and "Sing, Unburied, Sing" among other major literary awards.
Posted in: African American History, Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, National Book Festival, Women's History, Writers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Madeleine Albright, the first female U.S. Secretary of State, died today in Washington at the age of 84. The cause was cancer, her family said.. Albright, who donated her papers to the Library in 2014, was a key figure in the administration of Bill Clinton, serving both as ambassador to the United Nations and then as Secretary of State during his second term. Outspoken to the end, she wrote an essay for the New York Times in late February warning about the effects of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. She included her notes from her first meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, more than two decades ago: "Putin is small and pale...so cold as to be almost reptilian."
Posted in: Manuscripts, National Book Festival, News, Women's History, World War II, Writers