WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Book Festival is opening with more than 100 authors and thousands of visitors on the National Mall in Washington.
Children’s fiction writer R.L. Stine has joined the lineup, along with David and Julie Nixon Eisenhower, mystery writer Patricia Cornwell and singer Jewel.
The festival runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5:30 p.m. It includes readings and author discussions, book signings, entertainment and storybook characters to interact with children.
The festival’s theme is “Books that Shaped America.” It coincides with a Library of Congress survey of 88 fiction and nonfiction works that helped shape the nation.
Steve Inskeep of NPR’s “Morning Edition” is joining the festival, along with Jill Abramson of The New York Times, historian Douglas Brinkley and MSNBC’s Chris Matthews.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
