Tenth Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books Set for April 23-24 at UCLA

NOTE TO EDITORS: Advance registration is required for working media planning to cover the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. The registration deadline has been extended to April 18. The registration form and directions are posted online at https://www.latimes.com/extras/festivalofbooks/media.html.

LOS ANGELES, April 14, 2005 -- Hundreds of the country’s best-selling authors will engage thousands of Southern California book lovers with millions of words at the 10th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, which will be held Saturday, April 23, and Sunday, April 24, on the UCLA campus.

Festival hours are Saturday 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Sen. Bob Graham and Stefanie Powers are among the recent additions to the line-up of literary luminaries who will be part of the Festival. Others who are scheduled to appear are Madeleine Albright, Jason Alexander, Tariq Ali, Ray Bradbury, Stephen Cannell, Carol Higgins Clark, Mary Higgins Clark, Eoin Colfer, Robert Crais, John W. Dean, Frank Deford, Jared Diamond, Sir Harold Evans, Carrie Fisher, Sue Grafton, Tony Hillerman, Arianna Huffington, Eric Idle, Pico Iyer, Ron Kovic, Sanoe Lake, Phil Lesh, Sandra Tsing Loh, Richard Matheson, James McCourt, Walter Mosley, Carol Muske-Dukes, Lynda Obst, P.J. O’Rourke, T. Jefferson Parker, Anne Perry, Sally Ride, Carl Reiner, Asne Seierstad, Maria Shriver, Jane Smiley, Alexander McCall Smith, Hector Tobar, Colm Toibin, Jack Welch, Rosemary Wells and Amy Wilentz.

Admission is free, but tickets are required to attend author/panel discussions and lectures because of limited seating. Free tickets will be available at all Ticketmaster locations in Southern California starting Sunday, April 17, at noon until Thursday, April 21, at 5 p.m. A limited number of tickets are distributed on-site during the Festival.

General event information about the Festival, including a list of authors and panels, is available at https://www.latimes.com/events. The Festival program will be published as a special section in the Sunday, April 17 edition of the Los Angeles Times. Information is also available by calling 1-800-LA TIMES, ext. 7BOOK.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books -- one of the nation’s premier public literary festivals -- was created in 1996 by The Times to promote literacy and to bring together those who create books with the people who love to read them. It is presented in association with UCLA.

The two-day literary celebration features panel discussions, book signings, poetry readings, cooking demonstrations and music. The Festival affords book lovers the chance to meet best-selling authors, publishers and celebrities. The hundreds of exhibitor booths, stage events and popular children’s characters serve readers and readers-in-training of all ages.

Festival Highlights

• Some 380 authors participating in 96 panels, readings and book signings
• Six stages showcasing book and poetry readings, cooking demonstrations, children’s storytelling and cartoon characters, and music, drama and dance performances
• 25th annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes awards ceremony on Friday, April 22
• 400 exhibitor booths representing specialty booksellers and major book publishers

Author Sessions

Authors who will be featured in solo events are include Madeleine Albright, T.C. Boyle, Ray Bradbury, Ron Chernow, Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark, Michael Connelly & Miles Corwin, Frank Deford & Bill Plaschke, Jared Diamond, Sir Harold Evans, Carrie Fisher, Elizabeth George, Sue Grafton, Tony Hillerman, Eric Idle, James Ivory, Ron Kovic, Phil Lesh, John Rechy, Jane Smiley, Walter Mosley, James Patterson, Sally Ride, Howard Rosenberg, Alexander McCall Smith, Liz Smith and Jack Welch.

Panel Sessions

• Aspects of Writing – “Found In Translation,” “Writing & Reading: The Future of Literacy”
• Biography – “Masters of Invention: Writing Biography,” “Biography: Epic Lives,” “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue”
• Book Biz – “Maverick Publishing: Shepherding Ideas,” “What’s Hot: Agents Discuss the Changing Literary Marketplace,” “The Los Angeles Times Book Review: Celebrating 30 Years,” “Independent Publishing: Risk Takers & Trendsetters,” “The Magical World of a Picture Book,” “Young Adult Fiction: Growing Stories, Growing Readers,” “Young Adult Fiction: Not Just for Kids,” “Words & Pictures: How a Children’s Book Gets Made”
• Children’s – “The Magical World of a Picture Book,” “Young Adult Fiction: Growing Stories, Growing Readers,” “Young Adult Fiction: Not Just for Kids,” “Words & Pictures: How a Children’s Book Gets Made”
• Fiction – “Fiction: The Heart of the Matter,” “Writers In Exile,” “Fiction: Taking on History,” “Fiction: Making Characters Connect,” “Fiction: Literary Lives,” “First Fiction: Finding A Voice,” “Fiction: Hollywood Confidential,” “Finding the Truth In Fiction,” “Fiction: Rethinking Los Angeles,” “Fiction: Searching for Our Ideal Reader,” “Between Two Worlds: Real and Imagined,” “Fiction: American Snapshots,” “Finding Fictions: Where Do Stories Come From?”
• Food and Wine – “The Life & Legacy of Julia Child”
• Gay and Lesbian – “From Aristo to Stonewall & Beyond: Gay Literature Now”
• History – “Hollywood & the Reds,” “Sir Harold Evans on Who Made America,” “Writing History,” “Beasts of the Field: A Narrative & Pictorial History of California Farmworkers,” “Witness to a Persecution: The Blacklist Revisited,” “Writing Epic History”
• Hollywood – “Hollywood: Behind the Camera,” “From Page to Screen,” “The Movie Biz: Making Deals & Cutting Throats”
• Latino and South American – “The Challenges Facing Latin America: Politics, & Art”
• Memoir – “Memoir: Family Matters”
• Music – “Music History: Sounds In America”
• Mystery/Thriller – “Mystery: Spies Among Us,” “Criminal Justice: The Real Crime Writers,” “Not Your Usual Suspects,” “Celebrating Sherlock Holmes,” “Mystery, Mayhem, & Murder,” “Mystery: Urban Grit”
• Nonfiction – “Weaving a True Tale: Creative Nonfiction I,” “True Confessions: Creative Nonfiction II,” “Discovering California,” “To Live & Die in L.A.,” “Between Two Worlds: Real and Imagined,” “A Sense of Place: The Literature of Cities”
• Poetry – “Poetry: The Magic of Words,” “Poetry: Celebrating Verse”
• Politics – “Interrogation or Torture: Human Rights After 9/11,” “America Looks Forward: Tapping the Politics of Fear,” “Lies, Deceit, & Cover-ups,” “Brave New World: Monopoly, Media, & the Right to Know,” “Outsourcing Democracy: Can it Work?” “On the Front Lines: Covering War,” “Searching for a Civil Society: America’s Contemporary Political Culture,” “The New World Order,” “The Future of the American Military”
• Religion – “Islam Now,” “Godspell: The Fetish of Religion in America Today”
• Science – “Science Breakthroughs,” “Writing Science,” “The Politics of Science”
• Science Fiction and Fantasy – “Science Fiction: Worlds of the Future”
• Travel – “Travelers Tales”
• Women – “Scheherazade’s Daughters: Women in the Middle East”

Six Stages Featuring Celebrities, Discussions, Readings, Family Entertainment

The Target Children’s Stage, designed for the entire family, will feature Peter Abrahams, Jason Alexander, Angelina Ballerina and Katharine Holabird, Bob the Builder, Patrick Carmen, Cecil Castellucci, Sasha Cohen, Laura Shane Cunningham, Hi-5 Stage Show, Al Jardine, Junie B. Jones Stage Show, the Justin Roberts Band, David Kirk, Jarrett Krosoczka, Sanoe Lake, Carl Reiner, Angie Sage and Rosemary Wells, among others.

The Los Angeles Times Stage in partnership with Barnes & Noble will feature Robert Crais, Alice Hoffman, Eric Idle, Anne Lamott, Susan Miller, Walter Mosley, Laurie Notaro, James Patterson, Maria Shriver, Liz Smith and Alexander McCall Smith, among others.

Canada Presents the Culinary Stage will feature Georges Chauvet, Canada’s Olympic Chef emeritus and Champion du monde en culinare; Jasmin Kobajica; Alistair Barnes; Tyler Florence; Giada de Laurentiis; and Mary Sue Milliken & Susan Feniger.The ETC. Stage will feature a variety of speakers and performers including Boondocks author Aaron McGruder, KPCC’s Kitty Felde & the Book Club for Young Adults, Melvin Eddy Blues Band, WriteGirl and Kishin Daiko Japanese music & dance.

Among the authors gracing the Poetry Stage will be Sophie Cabot Black, Diane di Prima, Dana Goodyear, Richard Howard, Joshua Mehigan and Carol Muske-Dukes.

The Reading by 9 Storytelling Stage will include Derek Anderson, Beethoven’s Wig, Children’s Museum of L.A. Readers Theatre Project, the East-West Players, Jay-Jay the Jet Plane, Jose-Luis Orozco, Rachel Payne Native American Storytelling, June Foray, Greathall Productions, Stacia Deutsch, Barney Saltzberg and readings by Sally Ride, Quincy Troupe, Kadir Nelson and Barbara Saltzman.

Festival of Books Sponsors

Target is the presenting sponsor of the 2005 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Barnes & Noble, Borders and the Canadian Tourism Commission are major sponsors, and C-SPAN, HBO, Geffen Playhouse and KidSpace Children’s Museum are contributing sponsors. KCBS-2/KCAL-9 is the official television sponsor of the 2005 Festival of Books. The official ticket provider is Ticketmaster. Other media sponsors are Distinction Southern California magazine, ESPN Radio, Hoy, KABC-AM, KCRW-FM, KFWB-AM, KKJZ-FM, KPCC-FM, KPFK-FM and Radio Disney. The Los Angeles Times is the title sponsor of the Festival.

Los Angeles Times Book Prizes Awards Ceremony

The 25th annual presentation of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes is set for Friday, April 22, at 8 p.m., in UCLA’s Royce Hall. Best-selling mystery writer Tony Hillerman will receive the 25th annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes’ Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement. Author/journalist Sir Harold Evans will emcee the event.

Tickets are required and are on sale at UCLA’s Central Ticket Office (310-825-2101) and online. The Book Prizes homepage (www.latimes.com/bookprizes) has a direct link to online ticket purchases through UCLA’s Central Ticket Office. (Note: There is an additional $2 handling fee for online ticket purchases through UCLA’s Central Ticket Office.) Tickets are $14 for a reserved seat only. A special Book Prizes package for $60 includes a buffet dinner (6-7:45 p.m.) with authors, premium reserved seat at the Book Prizes event and convenient parking at Royce Hall.

The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, established in 1980, recognize outstanding literary achievements in biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction, history, mystery/thriller, poetry, science and technology, and young adult fiction. More information is available at www.latimes.com/bookprizes.

The Los Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing company, is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country and the winner of 37 Pulitzer Prizes – including two this year. The Times publishes five daily regional editions, including the Los Angeles metropolitan area, Orange and Ventura counties, the San Fernando Valley, and an Inland Empire edition covering Riverside and San Bernardino counties – as well as a National edition. Additional information about The Times is available at www.latimes.com/mediacenter.

Contact:
Mike Lange
213-237-3848
mike.lange@latimes.com