SEE US AT EASTERN MARKET ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
This year, the BookFest is moving to the fall. Come join us from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 17th, as we celebrate the vibrant literary culture of Capitol Hill at our “home” in D.C.’s historic Eastern Market! Meet some of your favorite authors of fiction, history, memoir, poetry, children’s literature, politics, mystery and more.
BookFest Countdown
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Activities for Children
Visit the Children’s Corner for read alouds with some of our children’s authors and activities inspired by their books. Write letters as Lily does in Grandpa’s Scroll by Frances and Ginger Park, explore the wild world of insects with Buzzkill author Brenna Maloney, and color portraits of beloved dogs, Fozzie and Milton, of Fozzie’s Great Adoption Day Adventure and Milton and Vivi. Activities and events will take place in the Children’s Corner as visitors pass through, so visit us on your own schedule!
Author Talks
Our panel discussions and presentations will help you get to know our award-winning authors. Details and timing subject to change.
11:10 – Diversity in Children's Literature: Progress, Not Perfection
11:55 – Claiming Identity
Four authors discuss the process of creating or recreating identity in an increasingly fractured society. Louis Bayard (Jackie and Me) will moderate a conversation with Cheryl A. Head (Time’s Undoing), James Kirchick (Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington), Jon Ward (Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation), and Preeti Roy (Adventures in Datingland)
12:45 – Secrets, Spies and Lies: Intrigue and Deception in Fiction, Memoir and More
Moderated by Christopher Chambers (Dickie Cornish mysteries). Panelists include I.S. Berry (The Peacock and the Sparrow), Elizabeth Winthrop Alsop (Daughter of Spies: Wartime Secrets, Family Lies), Tom Dunkel (White Knights in the Black Orchestra: The Extraordinary Story of the Germans Who Resisted Hitler), and Tom Guglielmo (Divisions: A New History of Racism and Resistance in America’s World War II Military)
1:35 – A Story for Every Reader: Fiction Authors on Their Process and Inspirations
Featuring novelists Jeffrey Dale Lofton (Red Clay Suzie), Jenna Voris (Made of Stars), and Louis Bayard (Jackie and Me). Moderated by Destinee Hodge from East City Bookshop.
2:20 – Tour de Force: Uncovering Our Hidden Histories
Tim Krepp (Capitol Hill Haunts) moderates. Panelists include JoAnn Hill (Secret Washington DC: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure), Kaitlin Calogera (111 Places in Women’s History in Washington, DC, That You Must Not Miss), Alexandra Petri (Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents (I Made Up)), and Canden Arciniega (Wild Women of Washington, D.C.: A History of Disorderly Conduct from the Ladies of the District)
2023 Participating Authors
Click on the photos to see their bios.
Watch our special Instagram Live Interviews with BookFest Authors JoAnn Hill (Secret Washington DC), Louis Bayard (Jackie and Me), and Varu Chilakamarri (Indian Cuisine for the Busy Vegetarian)
Canden Arciniega
Nonfiction
Cheryl Head
Mystery
Christine Vineyard
Humor
Robert S. Pohl
Nonfiction
Christopher J. Datta
Fiction/Memoir
Kaitlin Calogera
Travel
Lewis M. Simons
Memoir
Brad Kading
Children's
2023 Vendors
Publishers, booksellers, and organizations that support the Capitol Hill literary community