How to make the most of the Festival of Books
From Jon M. Chu to Chelsea Handler, this year’s Festival of Books will bring together the biggest names in Hollywood. Ahead of the fest, we preview the Sunday festivities.
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Last week, we told you about some of the can’t-miss panels and events happening on Saturday, April 25. From a discussion on romance literature to a talk on book bans, there’s no shortage of fun events and fantastic authors for attendees to enjoy.
But on Sunday, there’s even more, so be sure to stick around to take full advantage of the book bonanza.
This year’s fest is attracting some of the biggest names in Hollywood. The director of last year’s smash-hit movie musical “Wicked,” Jon M. Chu, will be speaking to Times reporter Ashley Lee at 1:30pm. Actor, producer and political activist Wilmer Valderrama will speak with De Los editorial director Fidel Martinez on the Main Stage at 11:30 a.m. Musician Robyn Hitchcock will be in conversation with Jonathan Lethem at 11 a.m. Actor Josh Gad will also be in attendance, talking with Jon Lovett, host of the “Pod Save America” podcast, at 12:40pm.
Chelsea Handler, who released a Netflix special at the end of March, recently turned 50 and she, like many women, is “not going anywhere. That’s why men are so scared of us, because we have become so powerful and so independent,” she said in a recent interview with The Times. Don’t miss the conversation between reporter Yvonne Villarreal and Handler on the Main Stage at 1:50 p.m.
📚 Sunday festivities
It’s the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth. To celebrate, we’ve got a special screening of the first episode of Masterpiece’s “Miss Austen”, with appearances by writer Gill Hornby and the show’s executive producer, Christine Langan. These festivities kickoff at 10 a.m.
Author ‘Pemi Aguda, who is a finalist for the Art Seidenbaum Award at Friday night’s Book Awards presentation, will be part of a panel called “The Oddities of Earthlings: Magical Realism in Contemporary Fiction” that begins at 10:30 a.m. She will be joined on the panel by Hilary Leichter, Muriel Leung and Claire Stanford.
Also at 10:30 will be a powerful panel on American politics. “Unequal Ground: The Silent War Against the Poor and Marginalized” features Melissa Ann Chadburn, Bernadette Atuahene, Sarah Jones and Andrea Freeman discussing the ways that racism and other forms of systematic oppression have played out in agriculture and food policies.
Some of the most-acclaimed writers gather for “The Call Is Coming From Inside the House,” a panel about writers writing novels about writers. Featuring Danzy Senna, Edan Lepucki, Ashley Whitaker and Nnedi Okorafor, the panel is a must-see for aspiring authors.
The “Under My Skin: Gender and Identity in Fiction” panel is happening at a time when the trans community is being targeted by the Trump administration. Taking place at noon, the panel will feature authors Emily St. James, Rax Will, Daniel Lavery and Zee Carlstrom, who will talk about their work that navigates questions of gender, identity and belonging in an often hostile and ever-evolving world. For further reading, check out this recent Publishers Weekly story featuring interviews with trans and nonbinary writers.
Percival Everett, hailed as one of his generation’s greatest writers, received the 2024 National Book Award for “James.” He will also be on hand at the festival for a one-on-one discussion with Héctor Tobar. Tickets are going fast for this panel, so don’t hesitate to secure your spot.
A conversation on this year’s devastating fires will take place at 1:30 p.m. “Red Flag Warning: California, Wildfires and Where We Go From Here” will feature a discussion on the state’s present and future challenges as climate change makes wildfires more frequent and more intense. Obi Kaufmann, Manjula Martin, Jordan Thomas, Jack Dolan, and Lucero Chavez-Ramirez will participate in the panel.
One of the ways that I’ve been combating my own climate anxiety is by turning a yard full of invasive weeds into a pollinator garden full of native plants, so I’m stoked for The Times’ Native Plants booth at this year’s fest, featuring staff from the Theodore Payne Foundation and the California Native Plant Society. Those who visit the booth (and who subscribe to the Plants newsletter) will receive free sunflower (helianthus) seeds and have a chance to take home pots of native flowers. On Saturday, the CNPS will offer advice on growing in your particular zip code.
The sunflower-seed giveaway helps support bird-friendly gardening, according to Times’ plants writer Jeanette Marantos, which is perfect because this time of year is also when prime bird migration takes place.
(Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.)
Reading list
The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, April 27, 2025, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction.
The Week(s) in Books
Want to learn more about birds? You’re in luck! Amy Tan’s “The Backyard Bird Chronicles” is a recent bestseller. And actor Lili Taylor debuts next week with “Turning to Birds: The Beauty and Power of Noticing.”
Octavia Butler, the visionary Southern California writer, will soon be accessible for those who prefer to take in their literature via comic books and graphic novels. One of L.A.’s buzziest bookshops, Octavia’s Bookshelf, unveiled the graphic novel adaptation of “Parable of the Talents,” by Damian Duffy, John Jennings and David Brame.
Los Angeles native Matthew Specktor argues that the fascist attack on the arts should concern us all, especially the denizens and fans of the film industry: “The pleasure of making beautiful things and reveling in beautiful things and making art is a bizarre thing in America.”
The legacy of Indian boarding schools, a shameful chapter of recent American history, is the focus of “Medicine River” by Mary Annette Pember. “Pember’s book blends her research and reportage with memoir,” writes Charles Arrowsmith.
Aimee Semple McPherson’s Venice Beach drowning and subsequent reappearance in the Mexican desert made her a local legend. Author Claire Hoffman notes that “Aimee’s disappearance had made national news, but her resurrection made global headlines.”
Over at the New Yorker, festival participant Elaine Pagels discusses the mysterious companion of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, with writer Eliza Griswold. Pagels will appear at a panel on Saturday, April 26 at 2 p.m.
The anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth was April 23rd. (Happy 459th, Will!) This past week, he was in the news when scholars announced that they had identified the correspondents in a letter fragment found in a book in 1978.
Shakespeare had long been thought to have lived in London alone, having left his wife behind in Stratford. But based on the letter, Shakespeare scholar Matthew Steggle says that the couple resided together at a house on Trinity Lane. The young correspondent beseeches “Good Mrs. Shakspaire” to release funds in a trust held by her husband. “The letter writer thinks that ‘Mrs Shakspaire’ has independent access to money, [Steggle said.] ‘They hope that Mrs Shakspaire might ‘paye your husbands debte.’”
If only the Shakespeares had had access to what is likely to be paid next month for the bard’s work. Sotheby’s has announced that a complete set of all four folios will be auctioned on May 23rd. It is the first time since 1989 that a complete set has been available to purchase. But pack your checkbook. It’s expected that the bidding may go as high as $4.5 million.
We hope to see you at the Festival of Books for a chance to meet new friends—all those lovely books waiting to find their new forever home with you. After all, as Groucho once reminded us, “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”
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