LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Los Angeles Times today announced the inspiring lineup of authors and performers set to participate in the Festival of Books’ annual celebration of ideas, creativity, and the written word April 12-13 at USC. Held in the heart of one of the world’s most culturally vibrant and diverse cities and drawing more than 150,000 attendees, the Festival is – for the first time ever – calling for local artists, comedians, musicians, photographers, and poets to join The Times’ “Inspire Us” contest and upload their work for a chance to make the leap from audience to stage at this year’s event.
Hugh Acheson, Shoreh Aghdashloo, Gustavo Arellano, Reza Aslan, Philip Bailey, Mayim Bialik, T.C. Boyle, LeVar Burton, Roy Choi, Sandra Cisneros, Jackie Collins, Giada de Laurentiis, Rob Delaney, Barbara Ehrenreich, John Green, Carla Hall, Daniel Handler, Robert Hilburn, Pico Iyer, Diego Luna, Chris Kluwe, Terry McMillan, B.J. Novak, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Katherine Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver, Alicia Silverstone, Susan Straight, Marlo Thomas, Stephen Tobolowsky, Sandra Tsing Loh, Henry Winkler, Rachel Zoe and Adrian Todd Zuniga among others will be appearing over the weekend with more to be announced.
Alongside its authors and performers, the Festival will have art and photo installations, live music and readings, cooking demonstrations, film screenings, aisles of booksellers and exhibitors, as well as plenty of surprises.
New and of note this year:
- Artists’ Row: in a nod to the Southland’s thriving fine art community, the Festival will include a hand-selected group of artists from several genres creating installations live on site. And, they will be joined by one aspiring creator discovered through “Inspire Us.”
- LA Times Photo Pop-Up Gallery: the award-winning Times visual storytelling team will be showcasing recent work, with a spot reserved for an “Inspire Us” shutterbug.
- Pop & Hiss Stage: in collaboration with Spaceland Presents, this year’s music stage will host a variety of emerging bands as well as an artist and emcee selected through the “Inspire Us” music and comedy submissions.
- Poetry Stage: one of literature’s oldest art forms and the Festival’s longest-running stages will get a hit of street style with an “Inspire Us”-picked performance poet.
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is presented in association with USC and major sponsor Chevrolet. Centrally located on USC’s University Park Campus adjacent to Exposition Park, the Festival is free and open to the public. Festival Passes, which provide early access to reserved seating in up to eight Conversations, and Book Prizes tickets go on sale March 17 at 10 a.m.; Times members are offered a discount on Festival Passes. Individual Conversation tickets will become available on April 6. Schedule, location, ticket, and transportation information can be found on the Festival website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed (#bookfest).
FOR EDITORS:
Visit latimes.com/festivalofbooks and refer to the Media tab for relevant press releases and the media accreditation application.
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About the University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is one of the world’s leading private research universities. An anchor institution in Los Angeles, a global center for arts, technology and international trade, USC enrolls more international students than any other U.S. university and offers extensive opportunities for internships and study abroad. With a strong tradition of integrating liberal and professional education, USC fosters a vibrant culture of public service and encourages students to cross academic as well as geographic boundaries in their pursuit of knowledge.
