LA Times Festival of Books returns to campus


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The annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is back in full swing at USC’s University Park campus from April 18 to April 19.  As the largest literary and cultural festival in the country, the Festival of Books is marking its 20th year as a Southern California tradition of celebrating ideas, creativity and the written word.

Among the many guest speakers scheduled to appear this year are Maria Bello, T.C. Boyle, LeVar Burton, Roy Choi, Billy Idol, Richard Riordan, Jason Segel and Octavia Spencer.

This year’s festival includes a new feature, the Los Angeles Times Ideas Exchange, a paid event that will take place on Sunday afternoon at Bovard Auditorium. The event will feature author and New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell in conversation with Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan to discuss his latest bestseller David and Goliath. Tickets for the event are sold out.

The festival will include a variety of panel discussions featuring topics such as the future of food in Los Angeles and how books can be transformed into movies. Events will be held at various locations across campus, including the Ray Stark Theater, Wallis Annenberg Hall and Hancock Foundation Building.

More than 150,000 Southern Californians are expected to attend the event to meet authors, listen to speeches, watch musical performances and dine on foods provided by various vendors.

This is the fifth consecutive year that USC has hosted the Festival of Books. Before the festival was brought to USC, the Los Angeles Times hosted the annual event at UCLA, but moved it due to budget issues within the UC system. President C. L. Max Nikias has expressed pride over the university successfully hosting the event.

“USC is extremely proud to host this exceptional event for the fifth consecutive year,” Nikias said in a statement. “Throughout the weekend, more than 160,000 people will visit our campus, making this the largest and most prestigious literary festival in the nation. This weekend will be festive and exciting, as we champion literature, music, film, and art, while celebrating community, creativity, and intellectual curiosity.”

Nikias encouraged USC students to take a break from studies and take advantage of the festival’s outstanding offerings.

Hundreds of publishers, booksellers, museums and theaters, as well as literacy and cultural organizations will be present all over campus on Trousdale Parkway, Alumni Park and McCarthy Quad to answer questions and promote L.A.’s cultural and artistic diversity. Some notable attendees will include Pasadena’s famed Vroman’s Bookstore, KCRW, Pelican Publishing Company, PBS SoCal and the Natural History Museum.

The festival will include nine outdoor stages spread throughout the campus, including the Los Angeles Times Stage, USC Stage, Reading by 9 Children’s Stage and Cooking Stage.

Food trucks will be located at Parking Structure 2 near Salvatori Hall. Children will have the opportunity to partake in arts and crafts along with storytelling time from well-known authors and speakers. For those interested in the arts, there will be live creation of street art, with hand-selected local artists from the Los Angeles Times “Inspire Us” Contest.

Similar to last year, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority is urging festival attendees to utilize public transportation when coming to USC to avoid parking issues and car congestion.

According to Metro statistics, more than 10 percent of festival attendees took the Metro to arrive at the event last year. Transportation options include the Metro Expo Line, the DASH F line and the Festival Shuttle Bus, which bring attendees to the front door of the event. Before or during the event, festival attendees can plan out their itineraries and learn more about the attending authors and the events to be held by visiting the festival’s mobile-friendly website.