LA Times Festival of Books Returns

Children's book authors Claudia Maldonado and Guadalupe de Zaghini during Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Saturday, April 18, 2026. This year’s two-day annual festival spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

Author and California attorney J. Thomas Bowne during Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Saturday, April 18, 2026. A literary festival that began in 1996, this year’s two-day annual L.A. Times Festival of Books spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

The name of an attendee written out in Korean characters at the Korean Cultural Center's exhibition tent during Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Saturday, April 18, 2026. This year’s two-day annual festival spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

David Duchovny (R) reads from his book “About Time” at a panel with Patt Morrison (L) at Town and Gown Hall, during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books held at University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

Attendees browse books for sale during Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Saturday, April 18, 2026. A literary festival that began in 1996, this year’s two-day annual L.A. Times Festival of Books spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

Author Sheri Fink (L) during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books held at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Saturday, April 18, 2026. A literary festival that began in 1996, this year’s two-day annual L.A. Times Festival of Books spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

Author Jennifer Irwin signs her book during Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

Violinist Wesley Wang (R) during a string instrument petting zoo from Metzler Violins, hosted by Classical California, during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books held at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Saturday, April 18, 2026. A literary festival that began in 1996, this year’s two-day annual L.A. Times Festival of Books spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

Attendees browse books for sale during Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Saturday, April 18, 2026. A literary festival that began in 1996, this year’s two-day annual L.A. Times Festival of Books spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

A standing display during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books held at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Saturday, April 18, 2026. A literary festival that began in 1996, this year’s two-day annual L.A. Times Festival of Books spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

Indie romance author Kelly R. Nelson holds a copy of her book, "The Devil and the Details," at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Los Angeles, Calif. A literary festival that began in 1996, this year’s two-day annual L.A. Times Festival of Books spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

L-R) Author Jennifer Irwin and book coach Tamara Schweitzer during Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Saturday, April 18, 2026. A literary festival that began in 1996, this year’s two-day annual L.A. Times Festival of Books spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

Children's book author Adam T. Newman (center) during Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Saturday, April 18, 2026. This year’s two-day festival spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

The Los Angeles Times’ 31st annual Festival of Books drew in more than 150,000 eager book lovers April 18-19. Starting at 10 a.m., droves of people stood in the heat for a chance to attend panels and book signings featuring their favorite authors. Local musicians, including Nolan Jack, Late Night Brunch and PonyTrick, performed for the crowd, while California-based businesses and organizations set up booths to sell merchandise and promote their causes.

“Falling for Romance: Loving the Stories That Capture our Hearts” was among the panels that discussed all things romance. Hundreds of fans lined up to hear from authors Hannah Brown, Riss M. Neilson, Joss Richard and Lyla Sage about their work and what the genre means to the literary industry. Many panels were followed by local bookstores selling the featured titles, with signing lines so long they wrapped around a building. 

Among the sea of booths, Reese Witherspoon's Reese’s Book Club made its festival debut, attracting festivalgoers who were eager to get their merchandise embroidered and meet featured authors, including Laura Dave, whose work has been adapted for the screen by her production company, Hello Sunshine. 

“So this is a really exciting milestone for us,” said Justine Sto. Tomas, creative production director at Hello Sunshine. “We are really excited to meet fellow Reese’s Book Club members. I feel like we have such a great online presence, but we see the value in ‘IRL’ experiences and we see that the community is hungry for it.” 

Andrew Tonkovich, editor of the Santa Monica Review, published by Santa Monica College, said that Don Girard, Senior Director of Government Relations and Institutional Communications, was the one who first got SMC involved in the Festival of Books 30 years ago when it took place at UCLA. 

“Don recognized back when this event was young,” Tonkovich said, noting that it was a place to showcase SMC. 

Tonkovich spoke about Girard’s thoughts on how to highlight SMC’s literary arts and creative writing programs established 37 years ago. 

Attendees during the 31st annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books held at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Sunday, April 19, 2026. A literary festival that began in 1996, this year’s two-day event spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

K-USC's Classical California radio personality Alan Chapman wears a sign inviting people to ask him questions while walking through the crowd during the 31st annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books held at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Sunday, April 19, 2026. Chapman said the questions he had been asked so far "tend to be rather predictable." This year’s two-day festival spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

Attendees of the 31st annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, held at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Sunday, April 19, 2026. A literary festival that began in 1996, this year’s two-day event spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

American actress, model, sportscaster television personality Jayne Kennedy Overton (center) stops to sign a copy of her memoir, "Plain Jayne," for Bookstagrammer Grace Lee (R) during the 31st annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books held at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

Attendees line up for food trucks during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books held at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

16-year-old student Gabriel Park holds up his book at the "Lumiere Picture Book by Kids" exhibitor tent during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books held at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Sunday, April 19, 2026. This year’s two-day event spanned eight outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues with author interviews, book signings, panel discussions, artists, live music, cooking demos, and more family-friendly activities. (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

(L-R) Platinum winning musician couple, singer-songwriter Pat Benatar and guitarist-songwriter Neil Giraldo, read from their children's book, "My Grandma and Grandpa Rock!" during the 31st annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books held at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Sunday, April 19, 2026. Benatar and Giraldo, who created two multi-platinum, five platinum and two gold albums along with 19 Top 40 hits, were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 and are public advocates for children. Benatar said, "We're songwriters, so words are everything to us." (Elizabeth Bacher | The Corsair)

“Santa Monica College was the first community college to figure that out and then Pasadena copied us the next year,” Tonkovich said. 

Today, many educational institutions come to the festival for outreach, especially SMC.

“This journal, which is a nationally distributed literary art journal of prose, fiction and nonfiction, is a gift to the community from Santa Monica College,” Tonkovich said.

David Duchovny, known for his role on “The X-Files,” sat down for a conversation with journalist Patt Morrison about his latest release, “About Time: Poems.” 

“I think we get caught up in modern life with things that have utility – things that can get us ahead, things that can make us money,” Duchovny said. “There’s a certain type of freedom that comes from uselessness or non-utility, I find that allows you to sit down and to art or unconsciousness or just the unknown.”