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Monday, 13 April, 2015 0:13 AM
20th
Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books to Bring 150,000 Southern
Californians Together in Conversation
The
Times to Debut New Ideas Exchange April 19 with Kenneth Turan and
Special Guest Malcolm Gladwell
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| Photo
courtesy of The Los Angeles Times |
Crowds
at the entrance of the 2014 Los Angeles Times Festival of
Books
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LOS
ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Times today announced the
lineup for the 20th annual Festival of Books, its signature civic
event and the largest literary and cultural festival in America,
to be held at the University of Southern California April 18-19.
Over two decades, The Times has grown the Festival into an unparalleled
celebration of ideas, creativity and the written word. Now a centerpiece
of L.A.’s vibrant and diverse intellectual landscape, the
Festival will convene over 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.
Among
the luminaries expected to appear are Maria Bello, Candice Bergen,
T.C. Boyle, LeVar Burton, Roy Choi, Sarah Dessen, Brian Grazer,
Tony Hale, 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, with more to be announced.
An added
element for 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 Mr. 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.
Notable
Festival highlights include:
-
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
The Los
Angeles Times Festival of Books is presented in association with
USC and major sponsor the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
County. Centrally located in the Downtown Arts and Education Corridor
adjacent to Exposition Park, the Festival is free and open to
the public. Beginning today Los Angeles Times subscribers will
receive one week of early access to purchase Festival Passes (which
provide reservations for up to eight Conversations) and the new
Super Pass (which includes valet parking, merchandise and access
to a private rest area), as well as tickets to the Ideas Exchange
with Malcolm Gladwell and the Book Prizes ceremony. Sales will
open to the general public on March 25 at 10 a.m. PDT. Schedule,
location, ticket and transportation information can be found on
the Festival website, Facebook page and Twitter feed (#bookfest).
T.
Coraghessan Boyle, LeVar Burton to Be Honored at 35th Annual Los
Angeles Times Book Prizes
Today
the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes announced that T. Coraghessan
Boyle will receive the 2014 Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement,
LeVar Burton will be honored with the Innovator’s Award,
and the finalists in 10 categories that will be presented April
18th at the University of Southern California’s Bovard Auditorium.
The event will take place during the 20th annual Los Angeles Times
Festival of Books, the nation’s largest public literary
festival, to be held on USC’s campus April 18th and 19th.
“T.C.
Boyle has had a long-standing presence as both a writer and a
teacher in the Southern California literary world,” said
Times book critic David L. Ulin. “His stature within our
community is unique, from the breadth of his novels and stories
to his engagement with his students and role as a mentor.”
Santa Barbara-based Boyle has published 14 novels and more than
100 short stories and is a Distinguished Professor of English
at USC. His work has been translated into more than two dozen
languages and his stories have appeared in a broad range of magazines,
including The New Yorker, Harper's, Esquire, The Atlantic Monthly,
Playboy, The Paris Review, GQ, Antaeus, Granta and McSweeney's.
He has been the recipient of a number of literary awards, including
the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction (World's End, 1988); the PEN/Malamud
Award for Excellence in Short Fiction (1999); and the Prix Médicis
Étranger for best foreign novel in France (The Tortilla
Curtain, 1997).
The recipient
of the 2014 Innovator’s Award, which spotlights cutting-edge
business models, technology or applications of narrative art,
is LeVar Burton.
“As
someone who has influenced young people through the Reading Rainbow
television show and continued advocacy of children’s literature
over more than 25 years, LeVar Burton embodies the very spirit
of the Innovator’s Award,” said Ulin. “His phenomenally
successful Kickstarter campaign to re-launch Reading Rainbow in
app and web-based forms exemplifies forward thinking and illustrates
the way a time-tested and beloved brand can reach a whole new
generation using modern technology.”
The Book
Prizes recognize 50 remarkable works in 10 different categories:
biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum
Award), graphic novel/comics, history, mystery/thriller, poetry,
science and technology, and young adult literature. Finalists
and winners are selected by judging panels composed of writers
who specialize in each genre. The complete list of this year’s
finalists and further information, including past winners, is
available at latimes.com/bookprizes. Tickets for the ceremony
will be made available for purchase later this month.
For
more information about the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books,
visit events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/
Source:
Los Angeles Times
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| Photo
courtesy of The Los Angeles Times |
Cooking
demonstration at the 2014 Los Angeles Times Festival of
Books
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| Photo
courtesy of The Los Angeles Times |
Kids
activities at
the 2014 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
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