13th Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books Set for April 26-27 at UCLA

LOS ANGELES, March 20, 2008 -- Readers, writers and book-lovers of all ages will come together Saturday, April 26th and Sunday, April 27th to participate in the highly anticipated 13th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on the UCLA campus.

“The Los Angeles Times is proud to host one of the largest and most engaging literary festivals in the country. Now in its 13th year, The Festival of Books continues to expand and attracts a wonderful and diverse population of book-lovers while helping to promote literacy and the value of the written word,” said Publisher David D. Hiller.

Over 140,000 attendees are expected this year, as the Festival brings together a hip, eclectic and family friendly line-up of talent, story-tellers, celebrities, musical performances and literary giants (full list at latimesfestivalofbooks.com). For the first time, the Festival of Books will offer “The Comix Strip,” an entirely new comic book, graphic novel and Manga-devoted event area, offering attendees access to the genres’ exhibitors, retailers and newest issues. Mike Mignola, creator of the Hellboy comic series, and other comics luminaries are slated to participate in special panels, programming and autograph sessions.

For children, families and the young at heart, the Target Children’s Stage will feature an array of entertainment and book readings by Julie Andrews; Aly and AJ; Henry Winkler; Cheech Marin; Marlee Matlin and Doug Cooney; Dylan and Cole Sprouse; Ben Barnes, “Prince Caspian” from the upcoming “Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” movie; musical groups The Doodlebops™ and Playhouse Disney’s “Johnny and the Sprites,” and many more. Other Festival highlights include the prestigious 28th annual Los Angeles Times Book Prize awards ceremony April 25th and five additional outdoor stages featuring a variety of live entertainment throughout the weekend.

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books--the nation’s largest public literary festival--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. It is presented in association with UCLA.

General event information can be found at latimesfestivalofbooks.comor 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 these events is limited, tickets will be made available for a $.75 per ticket fee at Ticketmaster.com and through select Ticketmaster locations in Southern California beginning at 12 Noon, April 20 and until capacity has been reached.

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About the Festival of Books

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is presented in association with UCLA and presenting sponsor, Target; major sponsors, South African Tourism, Borders and Ticketmaster; contributing sponsor, Time Warner Cable and media sponsors, KTLA-TV, Hoy, KCRW-FM, KPFK-FM, KLAX-FM, KJZZ-FM, KOST-FM, KABC-AM, KRLA-AM and Indie 103.1.

About the Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with a daily readership of 2.2 million and 3.2 million on Sunday, and a combined print and interactive monthly audience of 4.9 million. The Los Angeles Times and its media businesses and affiliates, including The Envelope, Metromix, Times Community Newspapers, Hoy, and California Community News reach approximately 8.1 million or 62% of all adults in the Southern California marketplace.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times has been covering Southern California for over 126 years and is part of Tribune Company, 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 here.

Contact:
Nancy Sullivan 213-237-6160 nancy.sullivan@latimes.com