Los Angeles Times Festival of Books Enters 12th Storied Year April 28-29 at UCLA

LOS ANGELES, March 21, 2007 - The city renowned as the entertainment capital of the world will roll out the red carpet to celebrate the nation’s largest public literary festival when the Los Angeles Times, in association with UCLA, holds the 12th Annual Festival of Books. The event will take place Saturday April 28 (10 a.m. - 6 p.m.) and Sunday April 29 (10 a.m. - 5 p.m.) on the beautiful University of California campus in West L.A.

“The Los Angeles Times is proud to host one of the most beloved and unique literary events in Southern California for the 12th straight year and we cherish the opportunity to promote literacy while bringing the world of books to life,” said Publisher David D. Hiller.

Over 130,000 book lovers are expected to attend the festival, which will bring together a notably hip, eclectic and entertaining group of celebrities, from the lovable mentor of “Project Runway” Tim Gunn to “Gilligan’s Island” fashion plate Tina “Ginger” Louise, from Dr. Phil to gothic illusionist, musician and “Mindfreak” host Criss Angel, and from basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to “Mary Poppins” herself, Julie Andrews Edwards.

The celebration will showcase many activities for fans of literary genres ranging from classics to comics and feature a literal who’s who of writers, including “Conversations With” renowned authors such as Gore Vidal, Walter Mosley and Ray Bradbury. Book signings will meld with musical performances, groundbreaking poetry readings and cooking demonstrations from star chefs. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the people who pen the best-sellers as well as their publishers, explore hundreds of unique exhibits, experience dozens of staged events and even enjoy visits from popular children’s characters.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books was created in 1996 by The Times to promote literacy and to unite those who create books with the people who love to read them.

General event information, including a list of authors is available at https://www.latimes.com/events. Information is also available by calling 1-800-LA TIMES, ext. 7BOOK. Admission is free, but tickets are required to attend author/panel discussions and lectures. Because seating at those events is limited, free tickets will be available through select Ticketmaster locations in Southern California or for a $. 75 per ticket fee at Ticketmaster.com between 12 Noon, Sunday, April 22nd and 5:00 p.m., April 26th. A limited number of tickets will also be available on-site during the Festival.

OTHER FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Biography & History
Biography: 20th Century Lives
Biography: Icons on the Page
Biography: Patriotism & Dissent
Biography: Remarkable Lives
History: The World Between Two Covers

Current Events
Always Running: The 2008 Election
Crossing the Border: Immigrant Lives
Current Interest: Profiles in Terror
Current Interest: State of the Union
Divided We Stand: Facing Tough Issues
Iraq: What’s Next?
Land and Sea: The Health of the Planet
Sands of Strife: The Middle East
The Age of Spin: Controlling the Message

Fiction
Fiction: Delving Within
Fiction: Dark Humor
Fiction: Hearts and Minds
Fiction: Hopes and Disappointments in the Promised Land
Fiction: Jumping Off the Page
Fiction: Laugh Lines
Fiction: Lives on the Edge
Fiction: Modern Myth
Fiction: Novel Landscapes
Fiction: Portraits in Time
Fiction Taking On the World
Fiction: Through the Looking Glass
Fiction: Visions of the South
Fiction: Writing Across Genres
First Novels: New Visions
Fiction without Boundaries
Blurring the Lines: Fiction & Mystery
Inland Empire Fiction: The Other California
Los Angeles Fiction: Living in Paradise
The Power of Fiction
Dracula’s Children: Books with Bite

Children & Young Adults
Children’s Books: Creating Today’s Classics
Children’s Books: Picture Me This
Young Adult Fiction: Writing for Teens & Tweens
Young Adult Fiction: Reality Bites

Hollywood/Entertainment
Page & Screen
The Business: How Hollywood Works

Media & Journalism
New Media: Blogging & Beyond
Journalism: Getting the Story
The Future of News

Mystery
Mystery: From One Murder to the Next
Mystery: Death Becomes You
Mystery: Perps & Vics
Mystery: Conspiracy Theories
Mystery: Keeping it Lighter
Mystery: Southern California’s Mean Streets

Nonfiction
Nonfiction: Humor and Attitude
Nonfiction: The Ties That Bind
Rx: Adventures in the World of Medicine
Memoir: Lessons Learned
Memoir: What Shapes Us
Memoir: Hidden Truths
True Crime: When It Happens to You
Music: The L.A. Sound
The New Adulthood: Why Should Kids Have All the Fun?
Scripted Spaces: What is the West?
Our Schools: What Works?
Fault Lines: L.A. on the Page
The Promised Land: California & the American Dream

Outdoor/Travel
The Global Village

Poetry
Poetry: Inspiring Lines
Poetry: Chapter & Verse

Publishing
Publishing: The Brass Tacks
The Future of Publishing
Publishing: Independent Voices

Religion
Religion: The Politics of Faith
Religion & Culture: Do They Mix?

Science
Science & Humanity: From the Past to the Future
Writing Science

Others:
Critical Thinking: The Role of the Reviewer
Litblogs: Words Online
Books About Books
Punching the Clock Twice: Writing After Hours
The Sunday Funnies
Film Screening

Participants to be featured in “In Conversation with…..” or in solo sessions are:
Dr. Phil McGraw in Conversation with Mitch Albom
Ellen Burstyn in Conversation with Leonard Maltin
Gore Vidal in Conversation with Jon Weiner
Kirk Douglas in Conversation with Patt Morrison
Lee Iacocca with an Introduction from David Hiller
Jared Diamond in Conversation with Susan Diamond
Jane Smiley in Conversation with David L. Ulin
Jim Lehrer in Conversation with Sander Vanocur
Joseph Wambaugh & James Ellroy in Conversation
Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark in Conversation with Connie Martinson
Michael Connelly in Conversation with Kit Rachlis
Mitch Albom in Conversation with Frank McCourt
Paul Conrad in Conversation with M.G. Lord
Ralph Nader in Conversation with Marc Cooper
Robert Crais & Harlan Coben in Conversation
Walter Mosley in Conversation with Karen Grigsby Bates
William Kittredge in Conversation with Tom Curwen
Ray Bradbury
T.C. Boyle

Six Stages Featuring Celebrities, Discussions, Readings and Family Entertainment
The ETC. Stage will offer a mix of discussion and musical performances from such artists as Define-A-Thon, Scott Fickas, Los Abondoned and Quinto Sol. The Reading by 9 Storytelling stage will also feature a mix of music and favorite children’s book readings including: Emcee, Adam Rivers, Kylee Lin, Miss California Teen USA, Alan Katz, Storyteller, Jim Weiss and “Gilligan’s Island” favorite Tina Louise, KidSpace Children’s Museum, Children’s Museum of Los Angeles’ Readers Theatre Project, PBS’ Jay Jay the Jet Plane, Beethoven’s Wig and many more.

The Target Reading Stage will feature an array of entertainment and book readings by Julie Andrews Edwards, Henry Winkler, Katherine Holabird, Angelina the Ballerina Stage Show, Rosemary Wells, Hi-5, The Justin Roberts Band, and many more.

The Barnes & Nobel Stage will showcase Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Gunn, Dan Matthews, Mike Farrell, Sherman Alexie, T. Jefferson Parker, and many more.

The Cooking Stage will host Govind Armstrong, Dave Lieberman, Cat Cora, Ted Allen, Martin Yan, Barbara Fairchild & Janet McCracken, and Nancy Silverton.

The Poetry Stage will have a wonderful line-up including Mark Doty, Jane Miller, David St. John, Carol Muske-Dukes and many more.

Festival of Book Sponsors
The presenting sponsor for the 2007 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is Target and the major sponsors are Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Borders Bookstores and Ticketmaster. Contributing Sponsors for the event are Ghirardelli, Time Warner, and Toyota’s “Highway to the Future: Mobile Hybrid Experience.” Supporting sponsors are Chronicle Books, Geffen Playhouse, Jiffy Lube and Luxe Hotel and KRLA Talkradio 870, KABC Talkradio 790, Radio Disney (KDIS-1110 AM), KCRW 89.9, KPFK 90.7 are the festival’s media sponsors.

Los Angeles Times Book Prize Awards Ceremony
The 27th annual presentation of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes will be held Friday, April 27, at 8 p.m., in UCLA’s Royce Hall. PBS Newshour host Jim Lehrer will emcee the event, and the ceremony will recognize William Kittredge with the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement as well as honor books in nine categories. The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, established in 1980, celebrate outstanding literary achievement in biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction, history, mystery/thriller, poetry, science and technology, and young adult fiction.

Tickets are required for the Book Prizes ceremony and are on sale at UCLA’s Central Ticket Office 310-825-2101 and online at www.tickets.ucla.edu under “Special Events” (a surcharge applies). Tickets are $18 for a reserved seat only. Special $65 tickets include a buffet dinner (6-7:45 p.m.) with many of the nominated authors at the UCLA Faculty Center, a prime reserved ceremony seat and convenient Royce Hall parking.

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

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The Los Angeles Times is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with a daily readership of nearly 2.2 million and 3.3 million on Sunday. The Los Angeles Times and its media businesses - including latimes.com, The Envelope/theenvelope.com, Times Community Newspapers, Recycler Classifieds, Hoy, and California Community News - reach approximately 8.1 million or 62% of all adults in the Southern California marketplace every week.

The Los Angeles Times, has been covering Southern California for over 125 years and is part of Tribune Company ( NYSE: TRB), one of the country’s leading media companies with businesses in publishing, the Internet and broadcasting. Additional information about the Los Angeles Times is available at www.latimes.com/mediacenter.

Contact:
Myrna Gutierrez (818) 550-1448 eselect@aol.com
John Conroy (213) 237-4791 john.conroy@latimes.com