Thursday, January 16, 10:30 AM
NATIONAL AMBASSADOR FOR YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE INAUGURATION: JASON REYNOLDS

Award-winning author Jason Reynolds will be inaugurated as the 2020-2021 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, the seventh writer to hold this position. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden will lead a conversation with Reynolds during the ceremony, which will also include a special appearance by 2018-2019 National Ambassador Jacqueline Woodson.

Tickets are not required for this event, which is free and open to the public. This event will also be livestreamed from both the Library's Facebook page and the Library's YouTube site (with captions).

Co-sponsored by Every Child a Reader and the Children’s Book Council, with additional support from Dollar General Literacy Foundation.

Location: Coolidge Auditorium, ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: (202) 707-5394

To learn more about Jason Reynolds and his activities as National Ambassador, visit his Library of Congress resource guide. 

The Library of Congress' partner, Every Child a Reader, is currently accepting proposal submissions from libraries, schools, community centers, and organizations interested in hosting an event with Jason Reynolds, the 7^th National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

Reynolds will travel to rural/small underserved communities across the country during his two-year term to have meaningful discussions with young people. Through his platform, “GRAB THE MIC: Tell Your Story,” he will connect with, listen to, and empower students to share their stories and start their journey as storytellers.

Organizations are encouraged to put together proposals that support and align with Jason's platform and the mission of the program. 

To learn more about the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature program click here. To learn more about Reynolds’ tenure as Ambassador click here.

Submit your proposal here: https://everychildareader.net/ambassador/

On Thursday, March 12, the Library of Congress closed all Library buildings to the public until April 1. On Tuesday, March 17, the Library announced that all public events are canceled until May 11 to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 coronavirus. Whenever possible, the Library will reschedule the public programs that have been canceled. Please read the Library's public statement, and see the Poetry and Literature Center's event updates below.

Thursday, March 19, 7:00 PM
NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL PRESENTS JEFFREY ROSEN AND DAHLIA LITHWICK

This event has been CANCELED.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Author Jeffrey Rosen will discuss his new book, Conversations with RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty and Law, with Dahlia Lithwick, a senior editor at Slate. This event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the Law Library of Congress and presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: LJ-119, first floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

Thursday, April 2, 7:00 PM
NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL PRESENTS RICHARD FORD

This event has been POSTPONED to a later date.
Note: Once a date has been confirmed, the Library of Congress will alert all those who registered for the original event date via their email addresses. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and look forward to seeing you, your family and friends very soon.

In an event titled “A Good Story Knows No Borders,” Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction winner Richard Ford will give a talk about the universality of fiction as well as participate in a discussion with his German translator, Frank Heibert. The discussion will be moderated by Library of Congress Literary Director Marie Arana. This event is free and open to the public. Presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: Coolidge Auditorium, ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

Tuesday, April 21, 7:00 PM
LIFE OF A POET: KIMIKO HAHN

This event has been POSTPONED to a later date.
Note: Once a date has been confirmed, Hill Center will alert all those who registered for the original event date via their email addresses. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and look forward to seeing you, your family and friends very soon.

Poet Kimiko Hahn will discuss her work with Ron Charles, book critic at The Washington Post. This event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by Hill Center and The Washington Post.

Location: Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital (921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE)
Contact: poetry@loc.gov 

Thursday, April 30, 7:00 PM
NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL PRESENTS JOY HARJO

This event has been CANCELED.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Joy Harjo will participate in her closing event as the 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate, which will include a moderated discussion and special musical performance. This event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the Library’s American Folklife Center and Music Division, and presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: Coolidge Auditorium, ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

Thursday, May 7, 7:00 PM
NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL PRESENTS JOHN HESSLER

This event has been POSTPONED to a later date.
Note: Once a date has been confirmed, the Library of Congress will alert all those who registered for the original event date via their email addresses. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and look forward to seeing you, your family and friends very soon.

John Hessler, specialist in the Library of Congress’ Geography and Map division and author of the best-seller MAP: Exploring the World, will discuss his new book on pre-Columbian cultures, Collecting for the New World. This event is free and open to the public. Presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: LJ-119, first floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

For more information about upcoming events, please visit the Poetry and Literature Center's website. 

Thursday, April 30, 7:00 PM
SPILLOVER: ANIMAL INFECTIONS AND THE NEXT HUMAN PANDEMIC

Prize-winning science writer David Quammen will discuss “Spillover,” in which he tracks the animal origins of human diseases through the centuries, with David Rubenstein. Presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: Online only—this event will be streamed from both the Library's Facebook page and its YouTube site (with captions), and will be archived as a webcast on the Library’s website. Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

Thursday, May 7, 7:00 PM
HOW ONE 21ST CENTURY PANDEMIC, SARS, PREDICTED ANOTHER, COVID-19

Author and journalist Karl Taro Greenfeld will discuss his prescient book on the SARS epidemic, which foreshadowed the more devastating COVID-19 pandemic, with the Library of Congress’s Roswell Encina, chief of communications. Presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: Online only—this event will be streamed from both the Library's Facebook page and its YouTube site (with captions), and will be archived as a webcast on the Library’s website. Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

Friday, May 8, 5:00 PM
BEYOND SUNRISE, THERE IS A SONG WE FOLLOW: U.S. POET LAUREATE JOY HARJO IN CONVERSATION

U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo will discuss her poetry and her work in the laureate position with Rob Casper, head of the Poetry and Literature Center. Co-sponsored by The Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP).

Location: Online only—this event will be streamed from AWP’s website, where it will also be archived.
Contact: juanita@awpwriter.org

Thursday, May 14, 7:00 PM
ONCE UPON A TIME I LIVED ON MARS: SPACE, EXPLORATION AND LIFE ON EARTH

NASA astronaut and scientist Kate Greene lived in a simulated Martian environment located on the slopes of Mauna Loa in Hawai’i, where she spent several months in isolation, doing research. She will discuss the stress, loneliness and other challenges of sequestration with Library of Congress Literary Director Marie Arana. Presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: Online only—this event will be streamed from both the Library's Facebook page and its YouTube site (with captions), and will be archived as a webcast on the Library’s website. Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

Thursday, May 21, 7:00 PM
WHY IT’S HARD TO KNOW THINGS, LATELY. AND HOW COVID-19 WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY

Bestselling historian and Harvard professor Jill Lepore will discuss how the current pandemic, its effects and our reaction to them say something very real about America in this moment and in the historical record that will emerge from it with John Haskell, director of the John M. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. Presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: Online only—this event will be streamed from both the Library's Facebook page and its YouTube site (with captions), and will be archived as a webcast on the Library’s website. Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

For more information about upcoming events, please visit the Poetry and Literature Center's website.

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