The Library of Congress is turning its annual book festival into a broader one-day culture program this month, bringing more than 80 authors to Washington while adding film, music, recorded sound, veterans’ history and American folklife to the usual author conversations.
The 26th National Book Festival is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., with doors opening at 8:30. Admission remains free, but the Library says a free entry ticket will be required for the first time; individual sessions do not require separate tickets.
That ticket change is the practical detail most likely to surprise returning visitors. The Library’s July lineup announcement directs attendees to reserve entry through the festival site rather than simply arriving at the building.
The headliners stretch beyond books
The announced lineup includes actor and memoirist Cynthia Erivo, director Martin Scorsese, comedian and middle-grade author Kate McKinnon, novelist Ann Patchett and U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze. The point is not merely celebrity: the program uses their appearances to connect new books with the Library’s holdings in film, sound and literature.
Scorsese is scheduled to discuss filmmaking and preservation while showing selected clips. Patchett, the 2026 recipient of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, is due to discuss her novel “Whistler.” Sze’s program is tied to both his signature poet-laureate project and a guide to poetry in translation.
Those are only the top-line names. The Library’s release lists fiction, nonfiction, biography, history, memoir, poetry, translation, young-adult, middle-grade and picture-book authors. It describes the figure as more than 80 authors rather than a final attendance count, and published lineups can change before an event.
A long day, with only part of it live online
The festival site says a selection of programs will be livestreamed. The July announcement is more specific: Main Stage events are due to stream through loc.gov/bookfest. Videos of presentations are expected to appear on the Library’s site and YouTube channel after the festival.
That distinction matters for remote viewers. “Livestreamed” does not mean every room will be available in real time. The Library promises on-demand video later, but it does not provide a release time for each recording.
The floor plan is part of the programming
Beyond stages and signing lines, the Library says the festival will include a Story District, a STEM District, a Workshop Space and the Roadmap to Reading area. The design turns the convention floor into a set of different ways to encounter books: listening, making, experimenting and browsing work tied to states and territories.
The event is also part of the Library’s America 250 programming. That framing expands the festival into the institution’s film, music, veterans’ history and folklife collections, but it does not make the day a single historical program. The published roster still ranges across contemporary fiction, memoir, poetry and books for younger readers.
What is fixed—and what can still move
The date, venue, public hours, door time, free admission and ticket requirement are all stated in current Library records. The lineup announcement identifies more than 80 authors and says the Main Stage will be livestreamed.
Session times, room assignments and participant availability remain operational details. Anyone building a personal schedule should use the live festival page close to Aug. 22 rather than rely on a saved program or an early announcement.
The durable story is the scale and shape of the event: one free, ticketed day in downtown Washington, more than 80 authors, and a Library of Congress program that now treats books as an entry point to film, recorded sound, music, history and hands-on learning.