Book lovers across the nation can join the 2023 Library of Congress National Book Festival on PBS Books, which will host a series of virtual interviews with some of the festival’s featured authors beginning July 20 in partnership with PBS stations across the country.
This marks the eighth collaboration between the Library of Congress National Book Festival and PBS Books, a national programming initiative produced by Detroit Public Television. The 2023 series features interviews with authors including Claribel A. Ortega, Shelby Van Pelt, Tananarive Due, S.A. Cosby, Luis Alberto Urrea, Beverly Gage, TJ Klune, Matthew Desmond, Héctor Tobar, Angeline Boulley and Trang Thanh Tran.
Interviews with each of the 11 authors featured by PBS Books will be streamed between July 20 and the end of August on PBS Books. They will also be available on-demand on PBS Books and the National Book Festival website at loc.gov/bookfest.
The 2023 National Book Festival will take place on Aug. 12, from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. and the festival is free and open to everyone. Attendees will hear conversations that reflect their lived experiences and stories, with presentations for every type of reader. The festival’s theme, “Everyone Has a Story,” celebrates the storyteller in us all. The complete author lineup for the for the festival can be found at loc.gov/bookfest.
Claribel A. Ortega
Thursday, July 20 at 8 PM
PBS Books, in collaboration with WNET in New York, hosts Claribel A. Ortega, a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author who writes middle grade and young adult fantasy novels inspired by her Dominican heritage.
Shelby Van Pelt
Thursday, July 27 at 8 PM
PBS Books, in collaboration with WGBH in Boston, presents new author Shelby Van Pelt. “Remarkably Bright Creatures” is her first novel and will be featured at the 2023 National Book Festival.
Tananarive Due
Wednesday, Aug. 2 at 8 PM
PBS Books, in collaboration with GPB in Atlanta, hosts Tananarive Due, an award-winning author who teaches Black horror and Afrofuturism at the University of California.
SA Cosby
Thursday, Aug. 3 at 8 PM
PBS Books, in collaboration with WHRO in Virginia, presents S.A. Cosby, an Anthony, Barry, and Macavity Award-winning writer from southeastern Virginia.
Luis Alberto Urrea
Wednesday, Aug. 9 at 8 PM
PBS Books, in collaboration with MPT in Maryland, hosts Luis Alberto Urrea, bestselling author of works of nonfiction, poetry and fiction, including “The Hummingbird’s Daughter” and “The House of Broken Angels.”
Beverly Gage
Thursday, Aug. 10 at 8 PM
PBS Books, in collaboration with WETA in Washington D.C., interviews Beverly Gage, a professor of 20th-century American history at Yale University and author of “The Day Wall Street Exploded.”
Matthew Desmond
Thursday, Aug. 24 at 8 PM
PBS Books, in collaboration with WTTW in Chicago, hosts Matthew Desmond, a professor of sociology at Princeton University to discuss his latest release “Poverty, by America.”
Héctor Tobar
Wednesday, Aug. 30 at 8 PM
PBS Books, in collaboration with PBS SoCal, interviews Héctor Tobar, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and novelist. Tobar is the author of the critically-acclaimed bestseller “Deep Down Dark” as well as “The Barbarian Nurseries,” “Translation Nation” and “The Tattooed Soldier.”
Angeline Boulley and Trang Thanh Tran
Thursday, Aug. 31 at 8 PM
PBS Books, in collaboration with Kansas City PBS and KERA in Dallas, Texas, interviews Angeline Boulley followed by Trang Thanh Tran.
For a complete lineup of authors interviewed virtually on PBS Books, visit: PBSBooks.org/LOCBookfest23.
Read the full press release here.
About the National Book Festival
The National Book Festival was co-founded in 2001 by first lady Laura Bush with the Library of Congress. The festival celebrates creators and draws thousands of readers together each year to engage with writers and the national library.
Most authors will participate in book signings following their events. Festivalgoers will be able to purchase books by the featured authors from Politics and Prose, the official bookseller of the 2023 National Book Festival, in advance at politics-prose.com/ and onsite at the festival.
A selection of programs will be livestreamed online, and videos of all programs will be available shortly after the festival at loc.gov/bookfest.
The National Book Festival is made possible by the generous support of private- and public-sector sponsors who share the Library’s commitment to reading and literacy, led by National Book Festival Co-Chair David M. Rubenstein. Sponsors include: Institute of Museum and Library Services, General Motors, James Madison Council, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the John W. Kluge Center; additional support provided by the CoStar Group, For The People Fund, with seed funding provided by the Ford Foundation, Sharjah Book Authority, Friends of the Library of Congress, Library of Congress Federal Credit Union and The Hay-Adams.
About Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
