Bookfest on the Mall

(Laris Karklis/The Washington Post)

  • Bookfest on the Mall

    Bookfest on the Mall

    More than 200,000 eager readers are expected to attend this year’s National Book Festival on the Mall, Sept. 21-22.

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  • Joyce Carol Oates on the writer’s elusive self

    Joyce Carol Oates on the writer’s elusive self

    Henry James said it best: “A writer’s life is in his work, and that is the place to find him.”

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  • Who’s the baddest of the bad?

    Who’s the baddest of the bad?

    National Book Festival authors sound off on the most terrible villains ever to haunt a writer’s imagination.

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Recent Reviews

White Women of the Black Renaissance

Carla Kaplan looks at six white women who decided to make the Harlem Renaissance their own.

Don DeLillo receives American fiction prize at National Book Festival gala

Party for 110 authors kicks off National Book Festival on the Mall this weekend

Muslims fighting fundamentalism

‘Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here’ shows that thousands of Muslims fight extremist violence every day.

The fathers of Super Man

In “Superboys,” Brad Ricca looks at the two obscure men who created Superman and sold the idea for $130.

Last National Book Festival on the Mall?

Hay-Adams’s general manager, Hans Bruland, said the festival will be moved to the D.C. Convention Center in 2014.

‘Ebony and Ivy:’ The legacy of colleges and race

The history of American higher education is riddled with racism, argues Craig Steven Wilder.

A biography of Gerald Ford

James Cannon, who served in the Ford administration, looks at the legacy of the 38th president

‘Drama High,’ by Michael Sokolove

Michael Sokolove writes about an inspiring drama teacher in a struggling Pennsylvania town

Why are their students outscoring ours?

“The Smartest Kids in the World” explores education in Finland, South Korea and Poland.

The life of the maker of the Muppets

“Jim Henson” reveals a slightly off-center American genius.

Fiction: ‘Doctor Sleep,’ by Stephen King

‘The Shining’ gets a sequel in which Danny is now battling some familar demons.

Mary Kay Zuravleff to replace Jamaica Kincaid at National Book Festival

Washington writer has received rave reviews for her new novel this month.

National Book Award longlist in fiction

Alice McDermott, Jhumpa Lahiri and Thomas Pynchon are among 10 finalists for $10,000 prize.

Book World: ‘Faces of Love,’ reviewed by Michael Dirda

The translations of Hafez and other Persian bards bring their poetry to life in modern English.

National Book Award longlist for nonfiction

New Yorker writers and works about America dominate this year’s finalists for the $10,000 prize.

Fiction: ‘Traveling Sprinkler,’ by Nicholson Baker

Delightful tale of a hapless, aspiring songwriter is a fun journey, but is it really a cohesive novel?

Review: Midwife courts controversy in ‘My Notorious Life’

BOOK WORLD | Kate Manning’s rousing historical novel is about an abortion provider New York City.

We ask Terry McMillan about ‘Who Asked You?’

Her new novel features a woman forced to take on the care of her two grandchildren.

National Book Award ‘longlist’ for poetry

NPR’s Andrei Codrescu among 10 finalists

Fiction: ‘Enon’ by Paul Harding

A sequel to the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Tinkers.”

National Book Award finalists in young adult literature

For the first time, 10 finalists make the foundation’s new “long list.“

Book World: ‘After Her’ by Joyce Maynard

The strength of this suspense novel is in its depiction of the relationship between teen sisters and their father.

Living life in 30 second intervals

In “Permanent Present Tense,” Suzanne Corkin reveals the corners of memory through one patient.

A pair of biographies of the glamourous Gloria Swanson

Books by Tricia Welsch and Stephen Michael Shearer chronicle the woman who practically invented the film star.

Fiction: ‘The Violet Hour,’ by Katherine Hill

“The Violet Hour” may not be an ode to suburban Washington, but it is a rewarding family saga.

National Book Festival: Special programs

Young writers read their work, Galileo’s ‘Starry Messenger’ is analyzed and more.

National Book Festival: Graphic Novels and Sci-Fi listings

Lynda Barry, the Hernandez brothers and Elizabeth Moon are attending the festival Sept. 22.

How America goes to war

Marvin Kalb’s “The Road to War” explores the history of presidents’ foreign policy commitments.

Who’s the baddest of the bad?

National Book Festival authors sound off on the most terrible villains ever to haunt a writer’s imagination.

National Book Festival: Poetry and Prose listings

Joyce Carol Oates, Jamaica Kincaid and Natasha Trethewey are attending the festival Sept. 21 and 22.

National Book Festival: Teens and Children listings

Katherine Paterson, Susan Cooper and Kathryn Erskine are attending the festival Sept. 21 and 22.

National Book Festival: History and Biography listings

A. Scott Berg, Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rick Atkinson are attending the festival Sept. 21 and 22.

National Book Festival: Fiction and Mystery listings

Don DeLillo, Margaret Atwood and Adam Johnson are attending the festival Sept. 21 and 22.

National Book Festival: Contemporary Life listings

Linda Ronstadt, Andrew Solomon and George Weigel are attending the festival Sept. 21 and 22.

National Book Festival: Children’s listings

Suzy Lee, Jon Scieszka and Katherine Applegate are attending the festival Sept. 21 and 22.

Suzy Lee on her design for National Book Festival poster

The celebrated children’s book illustrator values art “with no language or cultural barrier.”

Washington Post Bestsellers Sept. 22

The books Washington has been reading.

Washington: From cover to cover

Washington: From cover to cover

From novels to history to cooking and ghost stories, Post editors and critics offer introduction to capital.

Ron Charles

Ron Charles

Review: Midwife courts controversy in ‘My Notorious Life’

BOOK WORLD | Kate Manning’s rousing historical novel is about an abortion provider New York City.

Ron Charles

Ron Charles

Fiction: ‘Dissident Gardens,’ by Jonathan Lethem

A family of communists in Queens struggles on against obsolescence.

Ron Charles

Ron Charles

Fiction: ‘The Woman Who Lost Her Soul,’ by Bob Shacochis

National Book Award winner offers a soaring literary epic about the ­forces that have driven us to the 9/11 age.

Michael Dirda

Michael Dirda

Book World: ‘Faces of Love,’ reviewed by Michael Dirda

The translations of Hafez and other Persian bards bring their poetry to life in modern English.

Michael Dirda

Michael Dirda

Book World: Thomas Pynchon’s ‘Bleeding Edge’

Thomas Pynchon’s “Bleeding Edge” is set in New York City, and the shadow of 9/11 touches every page.

Michael Dirda

Michael Dirda

Fiction: ‘MaddAddam,’ by Margaret Atwood

The spectacular final volume of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian trilogy.

Jonathan Yardley

Jonathan Yardley

‘Ebony and Ivy:’ The legacy of colleges and race

The history of American higher education is riddled with racism, argues Craig Steven Wilder.

Jonathan Yardley

Jonathan Yardley

A singer from the Sonoran Desert

Jonathan Yardley

Jonathan Yardley

The spy who came in from the cold 50 years later

Penguin is releasing John le Carre’s espionage masterpiece, 50 years after it made the writer’s career

Literary Calendar

Going Out Guide: Upcoming events

Going Out Guide: Upcoming events

Get the latest on readings, signings and author appearances in the D.C. area.