August 7, 2020

L.A. Times 25^th Festival of Books is Going Virtual!

Join the Los Angeles Times, in partnership with USC, in celebrating 25 years of the Festival of Books, Stories & Ideas with 25 individual virtual events. Originally scheduled for April, the festival was postponed to October 3-4 due to public health concerns related to the coronavirus. The Times has continued to monitor the situation and, given ongoing guidance related to COVID-19, reimagined the festival as a communitywide gathering to be held online. 

Beginning on Sunday, October 18, and continuing over the course of four weeks, The Times will celebrate storytelling with author panels, readings, and other events. Over the years, festivalgoers have listened to Eric Carle read about a ravenous caterpillar; the late Congressman John Lewis discuss his lifelong work for racial equality; Julie Andrews reminisce about the Swiss Alps; Luis J. Rodriguez wax poetic about life in Los Angeles; Viet Thanh Nguyen expound reclaiming historical narratives; Padma Lakshmi dish on food and life; and gone home inspired. This year, the festival will make that kind of inspiration accessible from home.

The programming schedule will be announced in mid-September. For details, go to latimes.com/FestivalofBooks and follow the festival on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (#bookfest).

The Times will continue to monitor public health and safety protocols, but at this time, plans to hold next year’s Festival of Books on the USC campus, April 17-18, 2021.