Los Angeles Times Announces Lineup for the 30th Annual Festival of Books

The Los Angeles Times today revealed the lineup for the 30th annual Festival of Books, taking place April 26-27 at the University of Southern California. The weekend festival will bring together more than 550 writers, experts and storytellers, and hundreds of exhibitors on the university campus.

Participants scheduled to appear include Stacey Abrams, Hannah Berner, Big Sean, Blippi, Matt Bomer, Hannah Brown, Roy Choi, Jon M. Chu, Marcia Clark, Tom Colicchio, Robert Crais, Jason De León, Paige DeSorbo, Maureen Dowd, Griffin Dunne, Percival Everett, Josh Gad, Amanda Gorman, Max Greenfield, Jasmine Guillory, Chelsea Handler, E.A. Hanks, Mamrie Hart, Robyn Hitchcock, Mellody Hobson, Ibram X. Kendi, Rachel Khong, Kristen Kish, TJ Klune, Amanda Knox, Rachel Kushner, Jonathan Lethem, Joanna “JoJo” Levesque, Jon Lovett, Ivan McCombs, Jim O’Heir, Patrick Renna, Raegan Revord, Krysten Ritter, Veronica Roth, Paul Scheer, Amy L. Schneider, V.E. Schwab, Harry Shum Jr., Jenny Slate, Tika Sumpter, Christina Tosi, Amor Towles, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Wilmer Valderrama, Bruce Vilanch, Gretchen Whitmer, Brooke Williamson, Rebecca Yarros and many more.

The weekend festival will feature:

• A special installment of the Ideas Exchange speaker series on Saturday, April 26 with Amanda Gorman discussing her latest picture book, “Girls on the Rise.” (Individual ticket required.)
• Bestselling romantasy author Rebecca Yarros will discuss her latest novel in the Empyrean series, “Onyx Storm.” (Individual ticket required.)
• A screening of episode one of Masterpiece PBS’ “Miss Austen,” a four-part miniseries based on the novel by Gill Hornby, followed by a Q&A with Hornby and executive producer Christine Langan.
• A sneak peek of Peacock and Sony Pictures Television’s “Long Bright River,” adapted from the novel by Liz Moore, followed by a discussion with Moore, showrunner Nikki Toscano and Andrew Plotkin, EVP of Drama Development at Sony Pictures Television.
• Seven outdoor stages and activity areas: L.A. Times Main Stage, De Los Stage in association with L.A. Times en Español, Children’s Stage, Poetry Stage, USC Stage, YA Stage and the Cooking Stage which will feature demos by chefs Roy Choi, Christina Tosi, Brooke Williamson and TikTok sensation Ivan McCombs, among others.
• A panel with Pico Iyer, Lisa See, Héctor Tobar, David L. Ulin and other contributors to the commemorative book, “Los Angeles Times Festival of Books: The Whole Story,” reflecting on three decades of gathering the community in the name of storytelling.
• Celebrity authors, family-friendly entertainment, Spanish-language programming, interactive games and exhibits.
• L.A. Times’ “Ask a Reporter” discussions will feature Times newsroom staff sharing insights from their reporting on a variety of topics. The Times’ Food, Plants, Image and design teams will also be onsite to talk to festival-goers and showcase merchandise and limited-run art prints.
• Expert panels on a variety of topics ranging from politics to pop culture.
• More than 350 exhibitors with book signings, merchandise for sale, activities and giveaways.
• Live music, food trucks and more.

To kick off the literary weekend, on the evening of Friday, April 25, The Times will host the 45th annual Book Prizes at USC’s Bovard Auditorium. The ceremony will honor award-winning author Pico Iyer with the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement, Amanda Gorman with the Innovator’s Award and Emily Witt with the Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose. The Book Prizes recognize 61 exceptional works in 13 categories, including achievement in audiobook production, presented by Audible. The complete list of finalists and further information, including ticket packages, is available at latimes.com/BookPrizes.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is presented in association with USC. General admission to the festival is free. Friend of the Festival packages (advance ticket packages), which include reservations for indoor conversations, weekend parking and festival merchandise, are available for purchase now. Tickets for the Ideas Exchange with Amanda Gorman are on sale now; tickets for the conversation with Rebecca Yarros will go on sale Friday, March 14. Individual conversation tickets will be available April 20. Festival news and updates are available on the event website and Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok profiles (#bookfest).