The following is a guest post by Ramon Samuel, a contracts team lead currently working in the Literary Initiatives Office as part of the Library of Congress Leadership Development Program. The big news today: the Library will open its “Collecting Memories: Treasures from the Library of Congress” exhibit in the Thomas Jefferson Building. I’m happy to report that next week the Literary Initiatives Office will join in the celebration with our Live! at the Library event: “‘A True-Life National Treasure,’ on Film and at the Library.” What if the famed film franchise “National Treasure” drew upon re ..read more

The following is a guest blog by Maria Peña, public affairs specialist in the Library’s Office of Communications. We are thrilled to unveil the official poster for the 2024 Library of Congress National Book Festival, designed by multidisciplinary artist, designer and creative director Laci Jordan. The Huntsville, Alabama native, often described by critics as a modern “Renaissance woman,” is known for her stunning designs, her use of vibrant colors and authentic portrayals of contemporary culture. Please join us in celebrating literature as we return to the Washington Convention Center for the ..read more

The following is a guest post by Brett Zongker, the Library’s Chief of Media Relations. U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón has been in the news recently for her “You Are Here” signature project, but there’s also news about her collaboration with NASA and its Europa Clipper mission. The “Message in a Bottle” campaign—built around Limón’s poem, “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa”—won two Webby Awards for Advertising, Media and PR: Best Community Engagement for 2024. One of the campaign’s Webbys was given by members of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and the other—a W ..read more

We’ve had a lot of people sign up for free tickets to the Library’s next big event, Fantasy Book Night, on May 16. In fact, we had so many requests that yesterday we released more tickets—get tickets here. Join us for a night of imaginative Library quests, tarot readings, Dungeons and Dragons character sheet creation, past and future audiobook technology that makes storytelling accessible to all, Library of Congress collections displays, happy hour food, drinks and more. We’ve had a lot of fun cooking up events and activities for this, our second theme night (after Mystery Night last fall) Fan ..read more

George Takei—actor, advocate, he of the iconic baritone voice and famous characterization of Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek—will speak at the Library of Congress on Saturday, May 11 at 2pm in Coolidge Auditorium. We hope you’ll join us then; grab your free tickets here, but hurry: we are filling up fast! Adults, children and all other ages are welcome. Takei has just published a new picture book “My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story,” illustrated by Michelle Lee. Delving into the details of the Takei family’s experience in three U.S.-run internment camps during WWII, “My Lost Fre ..read more

This is a guest post by Catalina Gómez, Reference Librarian at the Library’s Latin American, Caribbean, and European Division (LAC&E) and Curator of the PALABRA Archive. As part of the Library’s National Poetry Month celebrations, the Latin American, Caribbean, and European Division (LAC&E) is making digitally available 24 previously unpublished audio recordings from the PALABRA Archive. Since the launch of the online repositories of the Library’s literary audio archives almost a decade ago, the tradition around the PALABRA Archive has been to celebrate and release recordings during Na ..read more

The Library recently released 28 new recordings as part of our Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature—including recordings of Maya Angelou and Lucille Clifton; a conference on the teaching of creative writing in 1973; and celebrations of Greek, Hungarian, Israeli and Scandinavian poets. I recently talked with Genevieve Havemeyer-King, a Senior Digital Collections Specialist in the Digital Collections Management and Services Division, about the work behind making these historic recordings accessible via our website. Library of Congress Senior Digital Collections Specialist Genevieve Havemeye ..read more

Just last week, we launched Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s signature project, “You Are Here,” and the Mary Oliver Memorial Event at the Library’s historic Coolidge Auditorium. If you missed the event, you can check it out on our YouTube page—and here’s where to buy “You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World,” the brand-new anthology featuring 50 poems commissioned by the laureate. Poet Laureate Ada Limón onstage with (L-R) poets Paul Tran, Analicia Sotelo, Jake Skeets and Molly McCully Brown, for Limón’s “You Are Here” project launch at the Library of Congress. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Cong ..read more

There are so many wonderful aspects to creating book festivals and working on book prizes and putting a spotlight on talented writers that it might seem churlish to even hint at one of the pitfalls of this profession: sometimes you have to be cautious when meeting your idols. But there’s good news for beloved poet Mary Oliver’s many fans: Bill and Amalie Reichblum, who were close friends with Oliver and her partner Molly Malone Cook, told me recently that Oliver’s poetry—hopeful, open, generous and inviting—is exactly like Oliver herself was. The Reichblums, who are the executors of Oliver’s e ..read more

Meg Medina, 8th National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, invites you to join a special one-on-one session as part of her Cuéntame! Let’s Talk Books platform. This is her third time hosting office hours. Meg Medina shares books by previous National Ambassadors for Young People’s Literature with a visiting family. In your 20-minute “Meet Meg Medina!” session, you can expect to talk about your favorite books, ask your burning questions about writing and the writing process and experience a master book talker connect your passions to books you may enjoy. Medina will share her favorite Li ..read more