Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC This Weekend
Eighth year on the USC campus expected to draw more than 150,000 attendees
Contact: For USC, Eddie North-Hager at (213) 220-1806 or edwardnh@usc.edu. For Los Angeles Times, Vanessa Curwen at (213) 237-5024 or Vanessa.Curwen@latimes.com.
WHAT: The 23rd annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the largest literary and cultural festival in the country. Visit http://events.latimes.com/
WHEN: Saturday, April 21, 10 a.m. — 6 p.m. and Sunday, April 22, 10 a.m. — 5 p.m.
Numerous appearances, hundreds of panels and nine outdoor stages and activity areas, including a USC Stage filled with music, featuring:
Saturday
11:40 a.m. — LA Opera — Fight On Figaro
12:50 p.m. — Loren Cole
2 p.m. — Celeste Butler
3:10 p.m. — Haleigh Bowers
4:20 p.m. — Kinglil
5:30 p.m. — LAMI
Sunday
10:15 a.m. — USC Trojan Marching Band
11:40 a.m. — Kinetic Winds
12:50 p.m. — Mason Summit
2 p.m. — The Blue Agave
3:10 p.m. — Tina Gina
4:20 p.m. — ALAJE
USC, home of the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, is planning a number of activities that draw from its strengths in academics, literature, performing arts, health and civic engagement.
USC panels in Wallis Annenberg Hall include “The California Exception,” “Resilience and Survival in the Face of Disaster,” “From the Women’s March to #MeToo,” “The Power of Comics,” “The Politics of L.A. Spaces: From Architectural Icons to Homelessness and Gentrification.”
Highlights from the USC Communities Tent include book giveaways, activities and prizes and readings by Univision’s Gabriela Tessier, USC Department of Public Safety Chief John Thomas and NBC4 News’ Alysha Del Valle.
Highlights from the Keck Medicine of USC Health Pavilion include free health screenings for blood pressure, glucose, vision, and oral health; interactive health activities by the Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy; vision screenings by the USC Roski Eye Institute; health screenings by the USC School of Pharmacy; and dental screenings by the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC.
WHO: Thought leaders, personalities and experts scheduled to appear include Laila Ali, Reza Aslan, Ed Asner, Roshani Chokshi, Junot DÃaz, Kate DiCamillo, Dave Eggers, Jenna Fischer, Vivica A. Fox, Diana Gabaldon, Juan Felipe Herrera, Tayari Jones, Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Dennis Lehane, Moby, Natalie Morales, Walter Mosley, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Joyce Carol Oates, Leslie Odom Jr., Patton Oswalt, Jorge Ramos, Rick Riordan, Maria Shriver, Jake, Jazz, Jurnee and Jussie Smollett, Nic Stone, Gabrielle Union, Beatie Wolfe and Lawrence Wright.
A complete list can be found on the festival website.
WHERE: USC University Park Campus, just south of the 10 (Santa Monica) Freeway and west of the 110 (Harbor) Freeway. The USC campus is accessible via the L.A. Metro Expo line at the Expo Park/USC Station.
PARKING: $12 per day in various USC-area parking lots. In addition, there are several public transit options available. Parking details and parking map.
OTHER: The 23rd Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is the nation’s largest literary festival. More than 500 participating writers, musicians, artists and chefs, hundreds of exhibitors and an expected 150,000 attendees. The event will transform the 226-acre campus into a vibrant cultural festival in the heart of the Downtown Arts and Education Corridor.
Also of note this year:
- Performances, demonstrations and Q&As on nine outdoor stages and activity areas: L.A. Times Central Stage, L.A. Times en Español Mommy & Me Time / Mama y Yo Pavilion, L.A. Times Main Stage, Newstory Stage, Pacific Sales Cooking Stage, Poetry Stage, Reading by 9 Children’s Stage, USC Stage and the YA Stage presented by HS Insider
- Newstory zone: virtual reality and 360 experiences, variety shows, live improvisation, television and film screenings, conversations and other creative forms of expression
- Spanish-language programming and English to Spanish translation services available in select festival venues
- Art installations: a series of original murals curated by Branded Arts and the community Crenshaw District Hieroglyph Project from artist Lauren Halsey
- More than 200 exhibitors with books and merchandise for sale, activities and giveaways
Seating for all Conversations is limited and requires tickets. For more information,http://events.latimes.com/
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is presented in association with USC and Pacific Sales Kitchen & Home is the festival’s presenting sponsor.
Programming updates will be available at the Festival website, Facebook page and @latimesfob Twitter feed.
#bookfest