Authors appearing in live Festival presentations on Friday, Sept. 24 include (L-R, from top) Julia Sweig, Karen Tumulty, David Nasaw, Sonia Shah, Alice McDermott, George Saunders, francine j. harris and Patrick Rosal.

It’s Day Eight of the Library of Congress National Book Festival! Thanks for sticking with us — as you know, every morning, we’ll run down the schedule for the day’s live presentations and preview the following day’s schedule, so you won’t miss a thing. (You can always review the full Festival schedule here.) You can get this notice sent to your inbox each morning by subscribing to the National Book Festival blog. Here’s today’s rundown:

TODAY: Friday, Sept. 24 Live

3 p.m. ET: Family Secrets: Navigating Unexpected Genealogical Finds. Almost everyone who engages in genealogical research eventually comes across unexpected facts and details. The staff at the Library of Congress have collected resources to help researchers adjust to their new reality, decide whom to share their discoveries with and figure out the next step in their research. Join us in exploring the discoveries made possible by both traditional research and DNA.

4 p.m. ET: Live Conversation with Julia Sweig and Karen Tumulty. Julia Sweig, author of “Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight” (Random House), and Karen Tumulty, author of “The Triumph of Nancy Reagan” (Simon & Schuster), discuss their new books with Colleen Shogan, a senior vice president and the director of the David Rubenstein Center for White House History at the White House Historical Association.

5 p.m. ET: Live Conversation with David Nasaw and Sonia Shah. David Nasaw, author of “The Last Million: Europe’s Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War” (Penguin), and Sonia Shah, author of “The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move” (Bloomsbury), discuss their new books with CBS News’ “60 Minutes+” correspondent Enrique Acevedo.

6 p.m. ET: Live Conversation with Alice McDermott and George Saunders. Alice McDermott, author of “What About the Baby?: Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), and George Saunders, author of “A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading and Life” (Random House), discuss their new books with Washington Post book critic Ron Charles.

7 p.m. ET: Live Conversation with francine j. harris and Patrick Rosal. francine j. harris, author of “Here Is the Sweet Hand” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), and Patrick Rosal, author of “The Last Thing: New & Selected Poems” (Persea), discuss their new works with Ydalmi Noriega, director of programs and community engagement at the Poetry Foundation.

Videos On-Demand: Watch Anytime

View conversations with authors that you can stream and watch anytime! Here’s the full list.

Katie Zhao discusses “How We Fall Apart” (Bloomsbury), a thriller in which students at an elite prep school are forced to confront their secrets when their ex-best friend turns up dead, with teen interviewer Brandon Marshall.
Newbery winner Kate DiCamillo and Caldecott winner Sophie Blackall discuss “The Beatryce Prophecy” (Candlewick), which centers on Beatryce, a mysterious girl with a head full of stories, as she ventures into a dark wood in search of the castle of one who wishes her dead.
Kacen Callender discusses “King and the Dragonflies” (Scholastic). In this book, 12-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid, who recently passed away, has turned into a dragonfly.

More Author Talks & Festival Events Near You

Our media partners have joined us to broaden the National Book Festival celebration this year to include conversations with many of our Festival authors. Check out the full list here. Listen to NPR podcasts:

Kacen Callender on Code Switch (from Sept. 22)
Brandon Taylor on It’s Been A Minute (from Sept. 21)
Eric Garcia on Life Kit (from Sept. 20)
Jason Reynolds on TED Radio Hour (from Sept. 17)
Ambreen Tariq on Short Wave (from Sept. 17)

In addition, local organization and affiliate Centers for the Book have found ways to bring the National Book Festival closer to you. Find watch parties, community conversations, story walks, poetry slams, book club meetings and more.

You can also explore these events by state and discover Great Reads from Great Places through the Festival Near You interactive map.

Tomorrow: Saturday, Sept. 25 Live

Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25-26 feature special all Q&A sessions with five children authors and five teen authors in the afternoon sessions of the Festival. Here’s more details on the Children and Teens author lineup, and here’s the full schedule for Saturday:

1 p.m. ET: Live Q&A with Kekla Magoon. Kekla Magoon, author of “Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People” (Candlewick), answers your questions. Don’t forget to check out Kekla Magoon’s video where she discusses her book.

2 p.m. ET: Live Q&A with Trung Le Nguyen. Trung Le Nguyen, author of “The Magic Fish” (Random House), answers your questions. Don’t forget to check out Trung Le Nguyen’s video where he discusses his book.

3 p.m. ET: Live Q&A with Tahereh Mafi. Tahereh Mafi, author of “An Emotion of Great Delight” (HarperCollins), answers your questions. Don’t forget to check out Tahereh Mafi’s video where she discusses her book.

4 p.m. ET: Live Q&A with Traci Chee. Traci Chee, author of “We Are Not Free” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), answers your questions. Don’t forget to check out Traci Chee’s video where she discusses her book.

5 p.m. ET: Live Conversation with Margot Livesey and Sue Miller. Margot Livesey, author of “The Boy in the Field” (Harper), and Sue Miller, author of “Monogamy” (Harper), discuss their new books with New York Times Book Review editor Elisabeth Egan.

6 p.m. ET: Live Conversation with P. Djèlí Clark. P. Djèlí Clark discusses “A Master of Djinn” (Tor) and “Ring Shout” (Tor) with Amal El-Mohtar, science fiction and fantasy columnist for The New York Times.

7 p.m. ET: Live Conversation with Nikki Giovanni. Nikki Giovanni discusses her new collection, “Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose” (William Morrow), with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. Program note: This event is no longer onsite at the Library and will be exclusively virtual.

Authors appearing in live Festival presentations on Saturday, Sept. 25 include (L-R, from top) Kekla Magoon, Trung Le Nguyen, Tahereh Mafi, Traci Chee, Margot Livesey, Sue Miller, P. Djèlí Clark and Nikki Giovanni.

Follow the Conversation

Join in the National Book Festival conversation on social media by using the hashtag #NatBookFest and follow the Library on these social media channels:

How Are We Doing? Let Us Know

Since we’re coming down to the wire for this year’s event, we’re looking for feedback! Let us know about your Festival experience: please take a brief survey, and help us improve the Library of Congress National Book Festival for everyone. Thank you!

Join us for the 2021 National Book Festival, Sept. 17-26. Audiences are invited to create their own festival experience this year, with programs in a range of formats. Subscribe to this blog for future updates on the festival, and visit the Festival website.