BATON ROUGE, La. – The 2022 Louisiana Book Festival announces an exciting lineup of activities and programs for young people from toddlers to teens during the state’s premier literary event. The festival, held on Saturday, October 29, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Baton Rouge’s Capitol Park area, will feature author talks and book signings, special areas for children and teens, face painting, balloon animals, and special appearances by Pig of Laura Numeroff’s If You Give… series and Spot of Eric Hill's Spot the Dog series. As always, the festival is free and open to the public.
“The Louisiana Book Festival gives the young people in our state an extraordinary opportunity to meet and interact with some of the most popular and renowned children’s and young adult authors from Louisiana and beyond,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “Not only is it an entertaining experience for families and people of all ages, but the festival also provides motivation for young people to become the next generation of life-long readers and great Louisiana writers.”
The festival is excited to welcome back the 2017 Louisiana Writer Award recipient and Louisiana native Johnette Downing with her latest children’s title, Five Little Possums. At her program, Johnette Downing will autograph the first guitar she ever received, a Christmas gift from her parents, which she graciously donated to the State Library. Other featured authors include Louisiana First Lady Donna Edwards with her debut picture book A Bandit in the Mansion, Newbery Honor author Margi Preus with Windswept, and Pura Belpré Honor author Alda P. Dobbs with Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna and The Other Side of the River. The Young Readers Pavilion will feature storytellers, musical performances, and book related crafts.
Teens will enjoy American Ninja Warrior favorite Lance Pekus with his debut Young Adult novel The Warrior Within, co-written with Jesse Haynes, also attending as author of Delta Adrift. Other authors appearing include Adib Khorram, winner of both the 2019 William C. Morris Award and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature from the American Library Association with his novel Kiss & Tell; The New York Times bestselling authors Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson with their book The Agathas; and, critically-acclaimed young adult author Shaun David Hutchinson with his latest novel, Howl. Teen Headquarters, located in the State Library of Louisiana, will feature crafts, giveaways, and trivia games hosted by attending YA authors.
Celebrated bestselling writer Susan Hood will be recognized for her Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Honor Book Titan and the Wild Boars: The True Cave Rescue of the Thai Soccer Team at a ceremony in the State Library of Louisiana. Another special ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. in the Capitol Park Museum auditorium for Louisiana Writes contest winners from throughout the state. The writing competition provides opportunity for students in grades K-12 to submit fiction, poetry, and non-fiction in English or French.
Other standout guests for young people include the five Class of 2022 National Student Poets from across the county as they read their work and help celebrate the program’s ten years of youth poetry and service, and local teen entrepreneur Kheris Rogers, who will exhibit her viral apparel brand Flexin’ In My Complexion.
Musical performer Rick Kelley of Music with a Message for Kids will spend the week leading up to the Festival visiting various schools and libraries throughout the state, from Lake Charles to Slidell and from Bossier City and Benton to Baton Rouge, to promote the Louisiana Book Festival. His interactive performances, which involve music, singing, and literacy, inspire kids to read and find joy in books and libraries.
All authors are scheduled for signings in the festival book tent operated by Cavalier House Books of Denham Springs.
The Louisiana Center for the Book, established in the State Library of Louisiana in 1994 for the purpose of stimulating public interest in reading, books, literacy, and libraries and celebrating Louisiana’s rich literary heritage, is the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book.
For more information, including a full list of authors for all ages and an at-a-glance schedule of all programs, please visit www.LouisianaBookFestival.org and follow us on Facebook.