2026 National Book Festival
The National Book Festival will take place on Saturday, Aug. 22, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The festival is free and open to everyone. For the first time this year, free tickets will be required for festival entry, but not for individual programs within the festival. Tickets can be reserved at loc.gov/bookfest.
The Library of Congress National Book Festival will return on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Part of the Library’s celebration of America 250: It’s Your Story, this year’s festival is an invitation to further appreciate the country’s history.
This year’s festival will provide a multifaceted storytelling experience with expanded programming. Throughout the day, attendees will hear conversations with more than 80 authors from a myriad of literary genres. Additionally, there will be programming spotlighting music, film, recorded sound, veterans’ history, American folklife, and more, providing a window into the vast scope of the Library’s collections and year-round programs.
In addition to the variety of author conversations, the festival offers a wide range of family-friendly activities, workshops and interactive programs for attendees of all ages. These include storytelling at the Story District; hands-on activities that connect science and storytelling at the STEM District; learning opportunities in the Workshop Space; presentations from Library experts about innovative work happening at the nation’s Library; and a literary trip around the country in the Roadmap to Reading area.
For book lovers unable to join the festival in person, the events on the Main Stage will be livestreamed on loc.gov/bookfest. Videos of all presentations will be made available at loc.gov and on the Library’s YouTube channel shortly after the festival.
