Words sprung to life as thousands of book enthusiasts flocked the the Mall at the Library of Congress’s National Book Festival on Sept. 21-22.
With more than 100 authors giving interactive talks, audiences flocked to see a wide range of history, genre and fiction writers. Featured authors included the New Yorker’s D.T. Max, Don Delillo, Margaret Atwood, Christopher Buckley and Khaled Hosseini.
Joyce Carol Oates, author of “The Accursed,” drew large numbers of book lovers in a standing room only event. She spoke about her foray into Twitter while also fielding questions about the trepidation she experiences when beginning the writing process.
D.T. Max, author of “Every Love Story is a Ghost Story,” said that while researching his biography, he found that David Foster Wallace’s career in writing was spurred from his two turbulent breakdowns at Amherst College.
“He graduated with more honors at Amherst (College) than I knew existed,” Max said.
Mark Helprin, author of “Winter’s Tale” and the recently released “In Sunlight and Shadow,” managed to entertain the audience with jokes about how drained he is from his one-year book tour.
“It makes your brain like a fried squid.” Helprin said.
Despite the sizable turnout for the 2013 National Book Festival, it is rumored to be the last at this venue, according to the Washington Post. Next year’s festival may be moved to a convention center due to the apparent installation of the Mall’s new irrigation system.
dkahen-kashi@theeagleonline.com
