Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC This Weekend
Sixth year on the USC campus expected to draw more than 150,000 attendees
Contact: For USC, Eddie North-Hager at (213) 740-9335 or edwardnh@usc.edu.
For Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Spencer Alcorn at Spencer.Alcorn@latimes.com.
WHAT: The 21st annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the largest literary and cultural festival in the country. Visit http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/ and https://festivalofbooks.usc.edu/ for more information.
WHEN: Saturday, April 9, 10 a.m. — 6 p.m. and Sunday, April 10, 10 a.m. — 5 p.m.
Numerous appearances, hundreds of panels and 10 outdoor stages, including a USC Stage featuring:
On Saturday
10 a.m. — Festival Kickoff with the USC Trojan Marching Band

11:40 a.m. — Family Programming: Oliver Mayer, Big Dog on Campus 

12:50 p.m. — Music: USC Saved by Grace Gospel Choir
2 p.m. — Music: Spritely 

3:10 p.m. — Music: I See Hawks in L.A. 

4:20 p.m. — Music: Brett Fromson
5:30 p.m. — Music: Small Shelter
On Sunday
10:15 a.m. — Music: USC Trojan Marching Band

11:40 a.m. — Music: SAKURA Cello Quintet
12:50 p.m. — Music: Trousdale 

2 p.m. — Music: Deville
3:10 p.m. — Music: ALAJE
4:20 p.m. — Music: USC Kazan Taiko
For more, visit https://festivalofbooks.usc.edu/usc-events-programs/usc-stage
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 “To Live and Thrive: Insights into Living Long and Living Well;” “Are Presidential Primaries Good for Democracy?;” “State of Emergency: Homelessness in L.A.;” “Woody, Wilshire, and South L.A.: Selected Histories;” and “Race, Justice, and Poetry: National Book Award Winner Robin Coste Lewis.”
Highlights from the USC Civic Engagement booth include readings and book giveaways; a coding and robot demonstration by Foshay Robotics; literacy strategies for pre-K children; and arts and crafts projects provided by the USC Pacific Asia Museum.
Highlights from the Keck Medicine of USC Health Pavilion include free health screenings for blood pressure, glucose, vision, skin cancer, sleep apnea and oral health; Talk to a Doc hosted by the USC Institute of Urology; and health activities on weight and stress management courtesy of the Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy.
WHO: Thought leaders, personalities and experts scheduled to appear include: Buzz Aldrin, Kwame Alexander, Reza Aslan, Lidia Bastianich, Zac Brewer, T.C. Boyle, Alexander Chee, Nate Corddry, Taye Diggs, Duff Goldman, Juan Felipe Herrera, Laila Lalami, Padma Lakshmi, Jonathan Lethem, Diana Nyad, Joyce Carol Oates, Susan Orlean, Anna Quindlen, Holly Robinson Peete, Luis J. Rodriguez, Jonathan & Drew Scott, Tavis Smiley, Somini Sengupta, Shaka Senghor, Sabaa Tahir, David L. Ulin, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Henry Winkler, Rainn Wilson and Nicola Yoon, with more to be announced.
The festival will also feature two installments of the Ideas Exchange speaker series. On April 10 in Bovard Auditorium, author, actress and musician Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia, Transparent) will discuss her recent memoir Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl with Times writer Lorraine Ali; and Arianna Huffington (The Sleep Revolution, The Huffington Post) will appear in conversation with Times columnist Robin Abcarian. Tickets to each of these events also include a signed copy of the author’s latest book; VIP ticketholders have the opportunity to attend a meet-and-greet.
The festival will include hundreds of authors and performers, including Luis Alfaro, Aimee Bender, Barbara Boxer, Nao Bustamante, Rob Corddry, Dana Gioia, Geoff Cowan, Michael Connelly, Jonathan Gold, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Pico Iyer, M.G. Lord, Scott Martelle, Patt Morrison, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Jerry Stahl and Henry Winkler. A complete list can be found on the L.A. Times website here: http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/
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 new L.A. Metro Expo line at the Expo Park/USC Station.
PARKING: $10 per day in various USC-area parking lots. In addition, there are several public transit options available. More details, including a parking map, can be found here: http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/the-festival/info/
OTHER: The 21st Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the largest the largest literary and cultural festival in America, will be held at the University of Southern California April 9-10. Now a centerpiece of L.A.’s vibrant and diverse intellectual landscape, the free weekend of activities will include more than 600 authors, celebrities, musicians, artists and chefs with more than 150,000 attendees, and lead conversations on subjects ranging from the untold history of Los Angeles to the evolution of our food to how communities can help solve global problems.
Also new and of note this year:
- Performances, demonstrations and Q&As on 10 outdoor stages including the LA Times Main Stage, Reading by 9 Children’s Stage, Acura Cooking Stage, Hoy Stage, YA Stage, Travel Smart Stage, USC Stage, Poetry Stage and LA Times Central
- Over 100 ticketed Conversations on topics ranging from the presidential election to social justice to the art of the short story
- Live recording sessions of hit podcasts and radio shows, including Jonesy’s Jukebox, presented by KLOS, and Nate Corddry’s Reading Aloud, presented by Wolfpop
- Large-scale street-art-style installations curated by Branded Arts
- Hundreds of exhibitors with books and merchandise for sale, giveaways and activities
Seating for all Conversations is limited and requires tickets. For more information, http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/tickets-and-schedule/ticket-info/
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is presented in association with USC and major sponsors Southern California Acura Dealers, McDonald’s and C-SPAN.
Programming updates will be available at the Festival website, Facebook page and @latimesfob Twitter feed.
