Fifth year on the USC campus expected to draw more than 150,000 attendees
Contact: For USC, Merrill Balassone at (213) 740-6156 or balasson@usc.edu
For Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, John Conroy at (213) 237-4791 or john.conroy@latimes.com or Diana Hossfeld at (323) 866-0880 or dhossfeld@js2comm.com
WHAT: The 20th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the largest literary and cultural festival in the country.
Visit http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/ and http://festivalofbooks2015.usc.edu/ for more information.
WHEN: Saturday, April 18 10 a.m. — 6 p.m. and Sunday, April 19 10 a.m. — 5 p.m.
Numerous appearances, hundreds of panels and nine outdoor stages, including a USC Stage featuring:
On Saturday
10 a.m. — Festival Kickoff with the USC Trojan Marching Band and a joint welcome from USC President C. L. Max Nikias and Austin Beutner, Los Angeles Times publisher and CEO.
11:40 a.m. — Family Programming: The Jester Has Lost Its Jingle
12:50 a.m. — Music: The Trojan Men
2 p.m. — Music: Ren Martinez
3:10 p.m. — Music: Trio Ellas
4:20 p.m. — Music: Bellorage
5:30 p.m. — Music: Carlton
On Sunday
10:15 a.m. — Music: The Trojan Marching Band
11:40 a.m. — Music: Drew Tabor
12:50 p.m. — Music: Tyler Mann
2 p.m. — Music: Rosie Tucker
3:10 p.m. — Music: Dolly Spectra
4:20 p.m. — Dance: Jung Im Lee Korean Dance Academy
For more, visit http://festivalofbooks2015.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 Dine in L.A.: Food Pasts, Food Futures;” “From L.A. to the Middle East: Empowering Youth through the Arts;” “Being Black: Race and Justice in the U.S.;” and “Coming Home: New Approaches to Supporting Our Veterans.”
Highlights from the USC Civic Engagement booth include a reading and book giveaway with author Oliver Mayer; coding and robots demonstrations led by Foshay Robotics; and arts and crafts projects provided by the USC Pacific Asia Museum.
Highlights from the USC Health and Wellness Pavilion include free health screenings for skin cancer, sleep apnea and oral health; “Talk to a Doctor” sessions; and health activities on weight and stress management courtesy of the Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy.
WHO: New to this year’s festival is the inaugural Los Angeles Times Ideas Exchange which will take place at Bovard Auditorium on Sunday afternoon, April 19. Renowned author and New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell will take part in a lively one-on-one with The Times’ film critic Kenneth Turan to discuss the themes explored in his latest bestseller David and Goliath and how the body of Gladwell’s work has sparked conversations about who we are as individuals and as a society. The Ideas Exchange is designed to put insightful minds together in inspiring conversation and will continue as a series of special ticketed lectures throughout the year.
The festival willl include hundred of authors and performers, including Maria Bello, Candice Bergen, T.C. Boyle, Roy Choi, Sarah Dessen, Brian Grazer, Billy Idol, Jeff Kinney, Jon Klassen, Katie Lee, Dennis Lehane, Jonathan Lethem, Zoe Nathan, Joyce Carol Oates, Patton Oswalt, Pauley Perrette, Dav Pilkey, Claudia Rankine, Richard Riordan, Dan Santat, Jason Segel, Aarti Sequeira, John Scalzi, Tavis Smiley, Andrew Smith, Gary Snyder, Charles Spencer, Octavia Spencer and Jacqueline Woodson. 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.
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 20th 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 18-19. Now a centerpiece of L.A.’s vibrant and diverse intellectual landscape, the free weekend of activities will include more than 500 authors, celebrities, musicians, artists and chefs with more than 150,000 attendees and lead conversations on subjects ranging from the new California noir to digital privacy rights to the evolving American identity in the 21st century.
Also new and of note this year:
• 9 outdoor stages including the new Travel Smart Stage, LA Times Stage, USC Stage, Reading by 9 Children’s Stage, Cooking Stage, Hoy Stage, YA Stage and Poetry Stage
• LA Sound Stage featuring bands curated by The Times’ music writers and Spaceland Presents, as well as an emerging local group selected through our “Inspire Us” contest
• Over 100 Conversations on topics ranging from race and social justice to the environment, from privacy and media to how books make the leap from page to screen
• Hand-selected local artists, including one discovered through “Inspire Us,” creating installations live on site
Seating for all Conversations is limited and requires tickets. For more information, http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/fob-tickets/
Programming updates will be available at the Festival website, Facebook page and @latimesfob Twitter feed. To join in the conversation use the #bookfest hashtag.
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is presented in association with USC and major sponsor Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
