What’s in a Name? Our National Book Festival Stage Names Tell the Story

“What’s in a name?” asks Juliet of Romeo, making the point that the names of their feuding families are irrelevant when love’s at stake.

But, for the National Book Festival, the names of our stages are quite important and, in some ways, they tell the story of the event’s history.

When the festival began, in 2001, what we now call “stages” were “pavilions,” in reference to the enormous tents on the grounds of the Library that featured authors talking about their books in genres such as History & Current Events, Children & Young Adults and Fiction. As the festival grew and expanded to the National Mall so did the size of the tents, with the largest ones seating more than 600 booklovers.

Even when we relocated to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in 2014, we were still referring to the rooms in which events were held as “pavilions.” (Old habits die hard.) Finally, in 2016, we realized that “pavilions” was hardly the correct name and that “stages” was more fitting. And they have been “stages” ever since, even this year, when all our “stages” are virtual.

The number of stages has varied over the years as well. This year there are nine stages. A record number of stages (16) and authors (more than 170!) were on tap in 2015 — the largest event in festival history.

Some stages have appeared, disappeared and reappeared over the years with new names. The History & Current Events pavilion of 2001 became History & Biography the following year, and it has held that name ever since — a testimonial to the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Except in 2015, when the largest occurrence of the festival necessitated splitting off Biography & Memoir from just plain History. The History & Biography stage is so popular that many of its fans take a seat for the first presentation and never leave until the last author exits the stage. An advantage of this year’s virtual festival is that you needn’t worry about grabbing a seat, and you can watch all the History & Biography presentations at any time from the comfort of your home.

The current Understanding Our World stage grew tired of its name in 2018 and shrugged off the Contemporary Life moniker (debuting in 2011) for a more appropriate description of the types of books featured on this stage.

The Home & Family “cotillion” was in 2003, but it made a second debut in 2016 with Food & Home. Still not satisfied, this fickle stage presenter of all things domestic once again renamed itself as Food, Family & Field — at least for this year.

“Fiction” has been with us from the start, but it is surely the most “indecisive” of all stages! Fiction became Fiction & Imagination in 2002, to reflect the representation of fantasy and science fiction. In 2004, we had stages for Fiction and Mysteries & Thrillers. The next year, we were on to Fiction & Fantasy and Mysteries & Thrillers. In 2008, the stages were combined for Fiction & Mystery. The following year it was Fiction & Fantasy and Mysteries & Thrillers.

Want more?

Fiction & Mystery was the 2010 offering and that lasted until 2015, when Mysteries, Thrillers & Science Fiction joined the Fiction stage. (It should be noted that the emergent genre of Graphic Novels was recognized with a stage of its own in 2011. The pervasiveness and popularity of this genre is recognized by the stage’s “disappearance” this year, with graphic novels made a part of other stages where appropriate.)

Fiction I and Fiction II in 2016 reflected the surfeit of authors we featured in the genre that year, followed by Fiction and Thrillers & Fantasy in 2017; Fiction and Genre Fiction in 2018; and the same in 2018 and 2019. Exhausted by all the changes, the stage has opted for stability over change — at least for this year!

If you find the history of stages intriguing, you can explore further at the National Book Festival history page. From there choose “Past Festivals” in the left navigation. Then, click on a year of your choosing and “Authors” below the year to view the stage names and which authors graced them. Of course, feel free to watch any festival videos along the way. Many authors have appeared in several festivals over the years, and it’s a great way to see their evolution as writers.

Information on this year’s grand event, which begins just a week and a day from today, Friday, Sept. 25, through Sunday, Sept. 27, is at loc.gov/bookfest. This all-virtual event culminates in a PBS television special with many of the festival’s most popular authors (and a Special VIP) on Sept. 27 at 6-8 p.m. ET (check local listings). Hoda Kotb of the “Today” show is the host.

So the next time you hear the question “What’s in a name,” say “A lot!”

The 2020 Library of Congress National Book Festival will celebrate its 20th birthday this year. You can get up-to-the-minute news, schedule updates and other important festival information by subscribing to this blog. The festival is made possible by the generosity of sponsors. You can support the festival, too, by making a gift now.