June 2015 | Rebecca Rego Barry

National Book Festival Details

LC Poster copy.jpgLast week, the Library of Congress unveiled its 2015 National Book Festival poster and official blog. Artist Peter de Sève, known for his many New Yorker magazine covers, was chosen to illustrate this year's poster, which features a young girl contorted in several positions on an armchair, completely absorbed by a book. In a press release issued by the Library of Congress, de Sève said the poster was inspired by his two daughters. "They are both voracious readers and, frankly, my heart swells every time I see one of them curled up with a book, which is basically always. More specifically, the girl on the poster is Fia, whom I have found reading in almost every position you see on the poster. For her, reading is practically an Olympic sport."

According to the blog, a record 150 authors have signed on for the Sept. 5 event at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., including Kate DiCamillo, David McCullough, Louise Erdrich, Ishmael Reed, and newly appointed Poet Laureate for 2015-2016, Juan Felipe Herrera. De Sève will also be there to discuss and sign his book, A Sketchy Past: The Art of Peter de Sève.

This is the fifteenth annual book festival hosted by the Library of Congress, and since 2010, its lead benefactor has been philanthropist and book collector David M. Rubenstein.