L.A. book prizes & festival

The Los Angeles Times used this weekend to do two things at once: hand out its 46th annual Book Prizes on April 17 and turn the University of Southern California into a two-day book fair on April 18 and 19. (latimes.com, latimes.com) The prize ceremony at USC’s Bovard Auditorium recognized books in 13 competitive categories and was hosted by Times columnist LZ Granderson. The paper also gave Amy Tan the Robert Kirsch Award and honored We Need Diverse Books with its Innovator’s Award. (latimes.com, latimes.com) The festival followed the next morning on USC’s campus with free general admission, paid special events and reservations for indoor panels. The Los Angeles Times said the weekend lineup included nearly 100 panel conversations, more than 300 exhibitors and more than 500 authors and celebrities. (latimes.com) USC described the event as the country’s largest literary festival and said about 150,000 people were expected over the two days. Campus programming added its own panels on literature, media, health, climate change, food and artificial intelligence. (today.usc.edu, festivalofbooks.usc.edu, sites.usc.edu) This year’s book-prize ceremony doubled as a political stage for writers. Los Angeles Times coverage said presenters and winners spoke about artificial intelligence, book bans and the need for broader representation in publishing. (latimes.com) That focus matched the structure of the honors themselves. We Need Diverse Books was recognized for programs that grew from a 2014 hashtag into mentorships, grants and workshops for writers, illustrators and publishing workers. (latimes.com) The celebrity draw was part of the weekend’s scale, but not the whole program. USC and festival listings highlighted appearances by Sarah Jessica Parker, Lionel Richie, Larry David, Susan Lucci, Tom Selleck, David Duchovny, Jennie Garth, Blair Underwood and Valerie Bertinelli alongside scholars, critics and novelists. (today.usc.edu, latimes.com) The Book Prizes have been around since 1980, and the festival has grown into a yearly April fixture at USC. This weekend’s version kept that formula intact: awards on Friday night, then two days of panels, signings and crowds moving across campus for books, ideas and famous names. (kirkusreviews.com, latimes.com, today.usc.edu)