Festival of Books and the Book Drop Bash

This weekend, on April 18 and 19, is the LA Times 20th year of the Festival of Books. A great time for the arts! Over 540 authors will be signing their books!

Celebrating its 20th year, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books has become an essential piece of the L.A. cultural scene. Today, it is the largest literary event in America. Happening April 18 and 19, the festival is a two-day celebration of books, art, food, music, photography and poetry that takes place on the USC campus. It features non-stop activities from musical performances and cooking demos to movie screenings and local artists creating works of art on-site. Plus, there will be 13 gourmet food trucks serving a wide variety of cuisines that reflects L.A.’s diversity.

However, the true stars of the weekend are the 540+ authors and celebrities who will be signing, reading and discussing their books, including Joyce Carol Oates, Patton Oswalt, Octavia Spencer, T.C. Boyle – even Billy Idol – to name a few. On the night of April 18, the 35th Annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes honors the best books in ten categories and authors of 2014.

New this year is the Ideas Exchange on April 19, which features #1 bestselling author and phenomenally popular TED Talks speaker Malcolm Gladwell.

The fun doesn’t stop when the sun goes down. As part of Festival After Dark, the Los Angeles Times is sponsoring a series of evening events filled with drama, laughs and fun, like the Book Drop Bash on Saturday, April 18 and Literary Death Match on Sunday, April 19.

The festival has something for everyone, and best of all, general admission is free. To learn more, visit latimes.com/FestivalofBooks.