Library of Congress Book Festival 2026

The Library of Congress has been one of my favorite places to explore for years, and its National Book Festival is an event I look forward to every year. The Library began in 1800 with books for Congress. After a fire destroyed much of that early collection, Congress purchased former President Thomas Jefferson’s personal library—a remarkable range of books that helped shape the Library into the vast collection we know today. It now preserves books, photographs, maps, recordings, and pieces of our shared history, while its Centers for the Book celebrate writers and literary traditions in every state. First Lady Laura Bush and Librarian of Congress James Billington started the National Book Festival in 2001. These days, I can enjoy author conversations live from home and return to the recordings later, following one bookish rabbit hole after another.

The 2026 festival was especially good at adding to my reading pile. I enjoyed hearing Tayari Jones discuss Kin, and I loved the conversation between Isaac Fitzgerald, author of American Rambler, and Beverly Gage, moderated by David M. Rubenstein. Another favorite was C‑SPAN’s America’s Book Club conversation with historians Douglas Brinkley and Annette Gordon-Reed about 1,000 Days in America. I came away from the festival with two books I simply had to buy: American Rambler and 1,000 Days in America. That, to me, is the magic of a book festival.

Issac Fitzgerald, author of in conversation with Beverly Gage, historian at Yale University and David Rubenstein as moderator(Because of the discussion I bought both books, lol!)

And you thought Britain only had 13 colonies? to find out more check out the video.  the Founders’ Revolutionary Ideas Emerged: Lindsay M. Chervinsky, Sarah M.S. Pearsall

1,000 Days in America” with Historians Douglas Brinkley and Annette Gordon-Reed.

These are just a few of the conversations I enjoyed at the 2026 National Book Festival. Many events explored American history during the nation’s 250th anniversary year, but the day offered fiction, film, comedy, and plenty of surprises, too. I was drawn to a fresh look at the Lewis and Clark expedition, Geoff Bennett’s discussion of Black comedy, and a fascinating conversation about Roy Cohn and American Scoundrel. Martin Scorsese spoke about preserving film history, and Patrick Radden Keefe returned to discuss investigative storytelling and his new book, London Falling. There was fiction, non-fiction, children and young at heart authors, comedy, and culture discussions of all kinds. Even a laugh or two, or three. I could keep listing favorites, but you might be here all afternoon! I was especially glad to find recordings from the day afterward, so I can catch the conversations I missed. Here are the many more videos on YouTube just released. And more events from the day’s festivities from C-SPAN.One festival, several new rabbit holes

I Went to the National Book Festival for the author conversations and came away wanting to explore the Library of Congress all over again. That’s usually how this happens: one interesting conversation leads to a book, which leads to a question, and suddenly I have twelve tabs open.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

This time, my next stop is the Library’s America 250 collection. I can explore The Declaration’s Promise and The Two Georges from my chair. If I make it back to Washington, I want to see the Declaration exhibit in person—and spend some time with the re-created Thomas Jefferson’s Library. How could I write about the collection that helped shape the Library of Congress and then walk past all those books?