The 2008 National Book Festival was held on September 27, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. This year marks the festival's 8th annual celebration, which is sponsored by the Library of Congress and hosted by First Lady Laura Bush.
Dr. James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, called the festival, "a joyous celebration of reading and inspiration for new generations of creativity." This year's event attracted over 120,000 visitors to partake in the festivities, and marks Mrs. Bush's last year as event hostess.
Authors That Participated in the 2008 National Book Festival
This year's event featured readings and appearances by several noted authors and speakers. Some of the participants included:
- Tiki Barber. Barber is a famed ex-NFL player turned sports analyst, news correspondent and author of three picture books including Be My Brother's Side, and two middle-grade novels, Kickoff! and Go Long!
- Sandra Brown. Brown is the author of over 55 New York Times best sellers including her latest, Smoke Screen.
- Phillippa Gregory. Gregory is the author of period dramas, often centering on the Tudor period and the 18th Century, including The Other Boleyn Girl,
- Francine Prose. Prose is the author of non-fiction books and novels, including the best-selling Reading Like a Writer and her latest novel Goldengrove.
- Kay Ryan. Ryan is The Library of Congress's 16th Poet Laureate (2008-09) and award-winning author of several collections of poetry.
- R.L. Stine. Stine is the best selling children/teen author of over 100 books including the Goosebumps series.
Other participants included NBA/WNBA celebrities Bob Lanier, Chris Duhon and Ivory Latta.
Events That Took Place at the 2008 National Book Festival
Many activities were provided to keep children entertained while learning about the value of reading. Some of the children's activities this year included:
- Photo opportunities with their favorite book characters such as Curious George, Clifford, Maya and Miguel, Sid the Science Kid and WordGirl. Other photo ops included Bulls Eye the target dog and the Big Read Chair.
- Sing-along with PBS' Steve Songs, read-aloud with characters from "Martha Speaks" and an opportunity to explore the Magic School sponsored by Scholastic.
- NBA stars read to children as part of the Read to Achieve Program.
- Students in grades K-12 were awarded and recognized for contributing their works of international environmental art and poetry to The River of Words contest.
Children were not the only festival attendants who had plenty of thought-provoking entertainment. Activities organized for adults and featured at this year's event included:
- Talks, presentations and book signings with over 70 best-selling authors of all genres.
- The Library of Congress offered a preview of the multi-lingual World Digital Library, showing viewers how rare documents get digitized.
- A back-to-the-future experience, where the Library of Congress hypothetically traveled back to 1940 and had participants add historical descriptions for the Library to use in the future. Librarians also spoke about preserving and conserving old books for the benefit of future readers.
This event is held annually and is free of cost to anyone who wishes to attend.
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