The National Book Festival 2008
The 2008 National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress and hosted by Mrs. Laura Bush, was held on Saturday, September 27, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The festival encourages Americans to develop a lifelong love of reading. Now in its eighth year, the National Book Festival delighted audiences with events such as storytelling by children’s book authors and book signings.
The 2008 National Book Festival attracted a crowd of more than 120,000 to the National Mall. The National Book Festival Gala and an opening author's breakfast ceremony helped kick off the 8th annual festival. This year's festival featured about 70 well known authors, illustrators and poets, who discussed their work in various pavilions dedicated to Children, Teens & Children, Fiction & Mystery, History & Biography, Home & Family, and Poetry.
Participating authors included: Tiki Barber, Mary Brigid Barrett, Jan Brett, Geraldine Brooks, Sandra Brown, Dan Chiasson, Eleanor Clift, Philippa Gregory, Steven Kellogg, Katherine Paterson, Salman Rushdie, Bob Schieffer, Jon Scieszka, Alexander McCall Smith, R. L. Stine, and Gordon S. Wood.
The Library of Congress launched the National Book Festival Young Readers' Online Toolkit to bring the festival into libraries, schools, and homes across the country. The Toolkit features information about National Book Festival authors who write for children and teens, podcasts of their readings, and teaching tools and activities for kids. This interactive resource also shows educators, parents, and children how they can host their own book festivals.
