The L.A. Times Festival of Books returns to the USC campus
After two years online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books returns to in-person activities April 23–24 on USC’s University Park campus. This long-running event for book lovers presents panel discussions, readings, music, cooking demonstrations, book signings and kid-friendly fun.
USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences faculty, students and alumni will participate on panels and read their work. View the schedule of events that include USC Dornsife-affiliated scholars and alumni below.
Festival participants include Christos Ikonomou, who will also receive USC Dornsife’s inaugural Chowdhury Prize in Literature at a gala event at USC on April 21.
In addition, the L.A. Times Book Prizes will be awarded in Bovard Auditorium on April 22. Finalists include USC Dornsife’s Alice Baumgartner, assistant professor of history, for her book South to Freedom: Runaway Slaves to Mexico and the Road to the Civil War (Basic Books, 2020).
For the full list of events and general information for attendees, visit the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books website.
You can also join in the conversation on social media using the hashtag #bookfest.
USC Dornsife Schedule
SATURDAY, APRIL 23
10:30 a.m.
Feminism and the Personal Essay
Speakers: Maggie Nelson, Dinah Lenney, Melissa Febos, Deborah Levy
Location: Mudd Hall 123
10:30 a.m.
Parenting Today: Navigating Stress, Health and Social Upheaval
Speakers: Michael Goran, Darby Saxbe, Dorian E. Traube, Christine M. Beckman, Jessica Nordell
Location: Wallis Annenberg Hall
10:30 a.m.
Speakers: Nadifa Mohamed, Natasha Brown, Véronique Tadjo, Melissa Chadburn
Location: Salvatori Computer Science 101
Noon
Rise, Resist, and Imagine: Collective and Creative Visions for Change
Speakers: Sangita Shresthova, Ange-Marie Hancock Alfaro, Henry Guy Jenkins, Tianna Shaw-Wakeman, Nayan Shah
Location: Wallis Annenberg Hall
Noon
Untold Stories: Building a Publishing Pipeline
Speakers: Lisa Lucas, Roxane Gay, David Ulin, David Treuer
Location: Ronald Tutor Campus Center
1:30 p.m.
Poetry: A Reckoning with History
Speakers: Mai Der Vang, Morgan Parker, Phillip B. Williams, David St. John, Cyrus Cassells
Location: Broccoli Theatre
1:30 p.m.
Confronting Climate Change: Solutions for a Sustainable World
Speakers: Mick Dalrymple, Jill Sohm, Alexander Robinson, Jennifer Bernstein
Location: Wallis Annenberg Hall
2 p.m.
George Sanchez, Reading from Boyle Heights
Speaker: George Sanchez
Location: USC Friends and Neighbors Stage
3 p.m.
AI, Technology, and Society: Possibilities, Pitfalls and Systems of Power
Speakers: Mike Ananny, Kate Crawford , Kara Keeling, Andrew Lakoff
Location: Wallis Annenberg Hall
3 p.m.
Christos Ikonomou and Maggie Nelson on Writing the Present
Speakers: Christos Ikonomou, Maggie Nelson, David Ulin
Location: Broccoli Theatre
3 p.m.
Speakers: Jean Chen Ho, Lisa See, Chris Daley
Location: Town and Gown
3:30 p.m.
Speakers: Kai Harris, Melissa Chadburn, Adriana E. Ramirez
Location: Mudd Hall 124
3:40 p.m.
Anna Journey, Reading from The Judas Ear
Speaker: Anna Journey
Location: Poetry Stage
4:30 p.m.
The Politics and Poetics of Place in Fiction
Speakers: Joseph Allen Boone, Aimee Bender, Dana Johnson, David Treuer
Location: Wallis Annenberg Hall
4:30 p.m.
Speakers: William Deverell, Matthew David Specktor, Greg Sarris
Location: Salvatori Computer Science 101
SUNDAY, APRIL 24
10:30 a.m.
Surviving and Thriving in a Time of Crisis: Mindfulness, Advocacy, and Connection
Speakers: Jennifer Lewis , Linda Yaron Weston, Varun Soni, Valarie Kaur
Location: Wallis Annenberg Hall
10:30 a.m.
Speakers: Daniel Hernandez, Gustavo Arellano, Luis J. Rodriguez, Natalia Molina
Location: Norris Theatre
Noon
Fiction: California as a Character
Speakers: Carol Edagarian, Claire Vaye Watkins, Laila Lalami, Carolyn Kellogg
Location: Town and Gown
2 p.m
Daniel Tiffany, Reading from Cry Baby Mystic
Speaker: Daniel Tiffany
Location: Poetry Stage
1:30 p.m.
Speakers: George J. Sanchez, Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, Natalia Molina, Juan De Lara
Location: Wallis Annneberg Hall
T.C. Boyle, Author of Talk to Me
Speaker: T.C. Boyle
Location: Town and Gown
Are you a member of the USC Dornsife community who will be part of the festival? Email your event to communication@dornsife.usc.edu so we can add you to our round up.