Visitors enjoy the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on the USC University Park Campus in 2016. (USC Photo/Gus Ruelas)
USC hosts Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this weekend
With 500 authors, celebrities, musicians, artists and chefs and more than 150,000 attendees, it’s the largest literary and cultural festival in the nation
The 22nd annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the largest literary and cultural festival in the nation, returns to the USC University Park Campus on April 22-23.
A centerpiece of L.A.’s vibrant and diverse intellectual landscape, the free weekend of activities will include more than 500 authors, celebrities, musicians, artists and chefs with more than 150,000 attendees, and conversations on subjects ranging from the untold history of Los Angeles to the evolution of our food to how communities can help solve global problems. Other features include musical performances and food trucks.
USC, in its seventh year of hosting the festival, is planning a number of activities that draw from its strengths in academics, literature, performing arts, health and civic engagement.
USC events
USC panels in Wallis Annenberg Hall include “Walls and Lines in the Sand: The Shifting Landscape of Immigration,” “What Are We So Afraid Of? The Role of Fear in Our Lives,” “Truth Matters: Media in the Age of Fake News and Alternative Facts,” “Hapa: Mixed-Race Identity and Representation,” “Is This Goodbye, NEA? Addressing Our Fears — and Hopes — for the Arts and Humanities” and “Living Long or Living Well: Can We Do Both?”
Highlights from the USC Communities Tent include a magic show, mariachis and readings by USC Athletic Director and football legend Lynn Swann, KABC-TV news personality Alysha Del Valle and Ana Guerrero, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti’s chief of staff.
Highlights from the Keck Medicine of USC Health Pavilion include free health screenings for blood pressure, glucose, vision, skin cancer, sleep apnea and oral health, interactive health activities by the USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, vision screenings by the USC Roski Eye Institute, health screenings by the USC School of Pharmacy and dental screenings by the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC.
Stellar lineup
Personalities and experts scheduled to appear include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Margaret Atwood, Bryan Cranston, Dave Grohl, Tippi Hedren, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Danica McKellar, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Joyce Carol Oates, Mary Roach and Ngugi wa Thiong’o. A full schedule is online.
Admission to the festival is free, though some conversation panels require a $1 ticket that can be purchased online.
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is presented in association with USC and the Southern California Acura Dealers.