Hispanic authors at National Book Festival this Saturday
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2014 National Book Festival, Saturday, August 30. At the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m
A Fair is always a celebration, a party, a public invitation for people to come together, hang out, have fun, and be part of the program. A book fair celebrates literature, books, writers, and especially language. Frankfurt, London, Paris, Miami, Bogota and Guadalajara are among the cities that have renown international book fairs. among others. In fact, any city worthy of respect must have a book fair.
The 14th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival takes place this Saturday at the Washington Convention Center from 10 a.m to 10 p.m. It will bring together writers, publishers, libraries, publishers, sponsors, literary agents, translators, collectors, scholars, as well as readers and fans–the people at the end of the chain that gives life to “The supreme expression of intelligence and imagination.”
Here the list of Hispanic writers participating this year. Do not miss this event. For a complete list of participants, visit the Library of Congress site.
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Raúl Colón, Presentation: Picture Books
10:00 am – 10:30 am
Highly acclaimed children’s book illustrator Raúl Colón studied art in Puerto Rico and later resettled to his first home in New York City, where he began his freelance career. He has since illustrated more than books for children, including the New York Times best-seller “Angela and the Baby Jesus” by Frank McCourt, Susanna Reich’s “José! Born to Dance” and Jill Biden’s “Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops.” Colón has been recognized with a Golden Kite Award and a Pura Belpré Award, as well as a Silver Medal and a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators. Written by Louise Borden and illustrated by Raúl Colón, “Baseball Is…” (Simon & Schuster) captures the joy and history of one of America’s most revered pastimes. Borden and Colón work together to honor the sounds, smells and emotions of baseball in this picture book.
Anthology of Spanish Writers, Presentation: Special Programs
10:00 am – 10:45 am
Valerie Miles is the founding co-editor of Granta en español and the author of “Mil bosques en una bellota.” She is a writer, editor and translator who was born in New York but has been living in Spain for more than 20 years. “A Thousand Forests in One Acorn” (Open Letter) originally published in Spanish in 2011 and now available in English, is an anthology of 28 literary heavyweights such as Mario vargas Llosa, Manuel Roig and Carlos Fuentes. During this presentation, Miles will share some of the anecdotes and stories that led to the publication of her unprecedented book, composed over many years of conversations and literary adventures throughout the Spanish-speaking world. The book captures the voices of leading writers as they reflect on the particular work they consider closest to their heart, or that best expresses their driving creative obsession, in answer to the question, What do you consider your best pages?
Rita Williams-Garcia, Presentation: Teens
Noon – 12:30 pm
Queens, N.Y., native Rita Williams-Garcia says, “Writing stories for young people is my passion and my mission.” Recipient of the PEN/Norma Klein Award, Williams-Garcia is known for her works’ realistic portrayal of teens of color. For her New York Times best-seller “One Crazy Summer,” she won the 2011 Newbery Honor Award, the Coretta Scott King Award and the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction. In her latest Coretta Scott King Award-winning novel “P.S. Be Eleven” (HarperCollins), the sequel to “One Crazy Summer,” character Delphine Gaither returns to Brooklyn with her family and tries to “be 11” while she can despite the changing circumstances and responsibilities around her. This historical fiction tells the story of three sisters growing up amid the backdrop of the Black Panthers, Vietnam War and the overall radical change of the 1960s. Williams-Garcia teaches at the Vermont College of Fine Arts in the Writing for Children & Young Adults Program.
Meg Medina, Presentation: Teens
12:40 pm – 1:10 pm
Award-winning Cuban-American author Meg Medina is a writer of books for kids of all ages. She prides herself on being about “strong girls, tough circumstances and the connecting power of culture.” In March 2014 she was recognized as one of the CNN 10 Visionary Women in America. Her newest book is “Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass” (Candlewick). It is a young-adult novel that tells the story of a Latina teen who is forced to experience a journey of self-discovery when she is targeted by a bully at her new school; it earned Medina the Pura Belpré medal and the 2013 Cybils Fiction award. In all Medina’s works, including her newest, she aims to unify readers across cultures by linking the uniqueness and the universality of Latino culture with other cultures.
Maria Venegas, Presentation: Contemporary Life
1:40 pm – 2:25 pm
At age 4, Maria Venegas emigrated from her home in Mexico to the United States. She grew up in Chicago, where she attended the University of Illinois and then moved to New York to pursue her writing. Her debut memoir, “Bulletproof Vest: The Ballad of an Outlaw and His Daughter,” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), portrays a deep narrative of her difficult relationship with her father. When she was younger, her father one day left in a bulletproof vest and never returned to his family. After learning of his legacy of brutal violence and revenge, the two were estranged for more than 14 years. Venegas returned to Mexico to reconnect with her father, and he shared stories from his dramatic life filled with a harsh culture of violence and retribution. In “Bulletproof Vest,” Venegas struggles to come to terms with her father’s actions, but learns the complexity of the situation that shaped his life, and with it, her own
Francisco Goldman, Presentation: Contemporary Life
3:30 pm – 4:15 pm
Francisco Goldman is an author of fiction and nonfiction who has contributed to the literary world through his work as a novelist, a notable journalist published in The New York Times and a professor. In his 2011 Prix Femina-winning autobiographical book, “Say Her Name,” Goldman wrote about his wife Aura Estrada’s tragic death and their relationship. In “The Interior Circuit: A Mexico City Chronicle” (Grove Press) Goldman continues to tell his own story, this time focusing on his emergence from grief five years after Aura’s death — an awakening experience that is mirrored by his journey into the heart of Mexico City. This personal account of finding home also sheds light on the oft-misunderstood political challenges across the border
Richard Rodriguez, Presentation: Poetry & Prose
3:30 pm – 4:15 pm
Richard Rodriguez first gained acclaim with “Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez,” which tells the story of Rodriguez’s journey from a schoolboy in Sacramento who knew only 50 words of English to a scholar who concludes his studies in the reading room of the British Museum. Rodriguez has been a teacher and journalist and has taken strong stands against affirmative action and bilingual education in his writings. His 1992 book, “Days of Obligation: An Argument with My Mexican Father,” was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. It continues the story of Rodriguez’s assimilation into American culture. In his recent work, “Darling: A Spiritual Autobiography” (Viking), Rodriguez, who is gay, grapples with the paradox of loving the religions of the desert — Islam, Judaism and Christianity — that often exclude homosexuals.
Alberto Rios, Presentation: Poetry & Prose
4:25 pm – 5:10 pm
Alberto Ríos is the author of 10 books and chapbooks of poetry, three collections of short stories and a memoir. His books of poems include, most recently, “The Dangerous Shirt” (Copper Canyon), which was preceded by “The Theater of Night,” winner of the 2007 PEN/Beyond Margins Award. His most recent short-story collection is “The Curtain of Trees.” His memoir, “Capirotada,” won the Latino Literary Hall of Fame Award. Ríos is the recipient of the Western Literature Association Distinguished Achievement Award, the Arizona Governor’s Arts Award, fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Walt Whitman Award, the Western States Book Award for Fiction, six Pushcart Prizes and inclusion in The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry.
Centennial of Three Mexican Literary Legends, Presentation: Special Evening Presentations
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
The Library of Congress National Book Festival, in conjunction with the Mexican Cultural Institute, will present a dialogue on the works and contributions of three giants of Mexican literature – the poets Octavio Paz and Efraín Huerta and the novelist José Revueltas, all of whom were born in 1914. Panelists will include poets Marcelo Uribe and Coral Bracho.
Evening Poetry Slam: Stage. Presentation: Poetry & Prose / Special Evening Presentations
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
The slam—a contest in which poets read or recite their poems, which are then judged by a panel—will include the District of Columbia’s top youth slam groups: the DC Youth Slam Team and Louder Than a Bomb DMV. Champion delegates from both groups will compete to be named the city’s top youth slammer, by performing new works on the subject of books and reading. The event is a collaboration among the Library of Congress Poetry and Literature Center, the National Endowment for the Arts and the poetry organization Split This Rock. Judges will include national and international slam champion Gayle Danley, Tajuja Desai Hidier, author of “Born Confused,” and Maryland State Sen. Jamie Raskin. The emcee for the slam will be Beltway Grand Slam champion Elizabeth Acevedo.
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