Authors Scheduled to Participate Include Dave Barry, T.C. Boyle,
Ray Bradbury, Taylor Branch, Mary Higgins Clark, Robert Crais,
Billy Crystal, Joan Didion, Larry Flynt, Adam Gopnik, Arianna
Huffington, Erica Jong, Chip Kidd, John Lithgow, David Maraniss,
Frank McCourt, Joyce Carol Oates, Carl Reiner, Dr. Laura
Schlessinger, R.L. Stine and Sarah Vowell LOS ANGELES, April 6
/PRNewswire/ -- The joy, value and impact of the written word will
be celebrated at the 11th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of
Books, which takes place Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 6
p.m., and Sunday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., on UCLA's
campus. Authors scheduled to appear include Dave Barry, T. C.
Boyle, Ray Bradbury, Taylor Branch, Mary Higgins Clark, Robert
Crais, Billy Crystal, Joan Didion, Larry Flynt, Adam Gopnik,
Arianna Huffington, Erica Jong, Chip Kidd, John Lithgow, David
Maraniss, Frank McCourt, Joyce Carol Oates, Carl Reiner, Dr. Laura
Schlessinger, R.L. Stine and Sarah Vowell. The Los Angeles Times
Festival of Books -- the nation's largest public literary festival
of its kind -- was created in 1996 by The Times to promote literacy
and to bring together those who create books with the people who
love to read them. It is presented in association with UCLA. The
two-day celebration features a mix of panel discussions, book
signings, poetry readings, cooking demonstrations and music --
including a performance by the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band that
includes such authors as Mitch Albom, Dave Barry, Kathi Kamen
Goldmark, Matt Groening, Greg Iles, Ridley Pearson, Amy Tan and
Scott Turow. The Festival affords book lovers the chance to meet
best-selling authors, publishers and celebrities. The hundreds of
exhibitor booths, stage events and popular children's characters
offer a cornucopia of choices for all ages. General event
information, including a list of authors, is available at
http://www.latimes.com/events. Information is also available by
calling 1-800-LA TIMES, ext. 7BOOK. Admission is free, but tickets
are required to attend author/panel discussions, lectures and the
April 30 screening of "Peaceful Warrior" because of limited
seating. Free tickets will be available at all Ticketmaster
locations in Southern California starting Sunday, April 23, at noon
until Thursday, April 27, at 5 p.m., or until all tickets have been
distributed. A limited number of tickets will also be available
on-site during the Festival. As part of the Los Angeles Times'
yearlong 125th anniversary celebration, the 2006 Festival of Books
will have panels featuring Times editorial staff and a 125th
anniversary-themed Times Pavilion. Other Festival Highlights *
About 400 authors participating in 97 panels, readings and book
signings * Six outdoor stages showcasing book and poetry readings,
cooking demonstrations, children's storytelling and cartoon
characters, and music, drama and dance performances * 26th annual
Los Angeles Times Book Prize awards ceremony on April 28 * More
than 300 exhibitor booths including specialty booksellers and major
book publishers * Special screening of the film "Peaceful Warrior"
followed by a discussion with "The Peaceful Warrior" author Dan
Millman (Sunday, April 30, 5:30 p.m. in Royce Hall) Panel Sessions
Panel sessions focusing on current affairs include "Iraq: Where Do
We Go from Here?" "The American Identity," "Hip Hop: Today's
Music," "Under Siege: Life in a Culture of Conflict," "Defining
California," "Under a Crescent Moon: The Changing Shape of the
Middle East," "Defining Ourselves: Women, Feminism & Identity,"
and "The Global Becomes Personal." Other sessions will focus on: *
Hollywood -- "Behind the Screen: Hollywood Histories," "From Page
to Screen," "The Outsiders: Independent Film Today" * History --
"Out of the Ruins: The History of Disasters," "Writing Epic
History," "The Old World in the New World," "Legacy of Lincoln,"
and "Memoir: Vietnam Stories." * Mystery -- "Straight Shooters,"
"Page Turners," "The Los Angeles Influence," "Mystery, Mayhem and
Murder," "The Detective Had a Familiar Face," and "Hip Chicks
Packing Heat" Among the authors who will be featured in "In
Conversation with ... " or in solo sessions are Dean Baquet, Ray
Bradbury, Taylor Branch, Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins
Clark, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Joan Didion, Teri Garr, Ray
Harryhausen, Chip Kidd, Frank McCourt, Mike Mignola, Joyce Carol
Oates, David Rakoff & Sarah Vowell, and Carl Reiner. Six Stages
Featuring Celebrities, Discussions, Readings, Family Entertainment
The Target Children's Stage, designed for the entire family, will
feature Peter Abrahams; Angelina Ballerina & Katharine
Holabird; Barney; Lauren Child; Billy Crystal; Julie Andrews
Edwards; Brett Helquist; HI-5; Jolie Jones; the Justin Roberts
Band; David Kirk; John Lithgow; Lori, Lori What's the Story; Megan
McDonald; Ridley Pearson; Rhea Perlman; David Shannon; R.L. Stine;
Valeria Tripp; Rosemary Wells; and Henry Winkler. Canada Presents
the Culinary Stage will serve up a smorgasbord of authors,
including Karen Adler & Judith Fertig, Giada De Laurentiis, Ann
Gentry, Suzanne Goin, Jenny Jones, and Jasmin Kobajica. The ETC.
Stage will feature a variety of speakers and performers including
Kishin Daiko, the Melvin Eddy Blues Band, Kitty Felde, the Flying
Other Brothers, Murphy's Flaw, One Ring Zero, the Rock Bottom
Remainders, Susie Hansen's Latin Band, Marlo Thomas, and WriteGirl.
The Los Angeles Times Stage in partnership with Barnes & Noble
will feature Gloria Allred, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, John
Grogan, A.M. Homes, Erica Jong, Sebastian Junger, Frances Mayes, T.
Jefferson Parker, Carl Reiner, Gay Talese, Sarah Vowell, and Saul
Williams. Gracing the Poetry Stage will be Chris Abani, Ralph
Angel, Sarah Arvio, Victoria Chang, John Fitzgerald, Sesshu Foster,
Dana Goodyear, Eloise Klein Healy, Jane Hirshfield, Ilya Kaminsky,
Dana Levin, Jeffrey Levine, Sarah Maclay, Glyn Maxwell, Gail Mazur,
Christopher Merrill, Gabriel Meyer, Marilyn Nelson, James Ragan,
Donald Revell, Martha Ronk, Kay Ryan, David St. John, Maurya Simon,
Amy Uyematsu, Charles Harper Webb, Terry Wolverton, and Stephen
Yenser. Appearing on the Reading by 9 Storytelling Stage will be
Beethoven's Wig, Gisselle Castellanos, the Children's Museum of Los
Angeles, Eric Drachman, Cornelia Funke, Marie-Louise Gay, Pat
Harvey, Jay Jay the Jet Plane, Sylvia Lopez, "Manners I, Care,"
Marlee Matlin & Doug Cooney, the Ohmies, Jose Luis Orozco,
Elise Paschen, Rachel Payne, Matthew Reinhart, Sally Ride, Adam
Rivera, Robert Sabuda, Glen Walker, and Jim Weiss. Festival of
Books Sponsors Target is the presenting sponsor of the 2006 Los
Angeles Times Festival of Books. Barnes & Noble Booksellers,
Borders Bookstores and Canada are major sponsors. Ticketmaster is
the official ticket provider of the event. The official television
sponsor is KCBS-2/KCAL-9. Supporting sponsors are Chronicle Books,
C-SPAN, Geffen Playhouse and the L.A. Chamber Orchestra. Media
sponsors are Hoy, ESPN Radio 710, KABC Talkradio 790, KCRW 89.9 FM,
KFWB News 980, KJAZZ 88.1 FM, KPCC 89.3 FM, KPFK 90.7 FM and Radio
Disney (KDIS-1110 AM). Los Angeles Times Book Prize Awards Ceremony
The 26th annual presentation of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes
is set for Friday, April 28, at 8 p.m., in UCLA's Royce Hall. The
event's emcee will be Dana Gioia, Chair of the National Endowment
for the Arts, as well as a poet, critic, essayist, translator,
radio commentator and editor. The evening will honor books in nine
categories, and Joan Didion will receive the Robert Kirsch Award
for lifetime achievement. Tickets are required and are on sale at
UCLA's Central Ticket Office (310-825-2101) and online at
http://www.tickets.ucla.edu/. (NOTE: Additional $3 service charge
for online ticket purchases.) Tickets are $16 for a reserved seat
at the awards ceremony and $63 for a package including a buffet
dinner (6-7:45 p.m.) with some of the nominated authors at the UCLA
Faculty Center, a prime reserved seat at the ceremony and
convenient parking at Royce Hall. The Los Angeles Times Book Prize
Awards, established in 1980, recognize outstanding literary
achievement in biography, current interest, history, poetry,
science and technology, fiction, first fiction, mystery/thriller,
and young adult fiction. More information is available at
http://www.latimes.com/events. About the Los Angeles Times The Los
Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing company, is the largest
metropolitan daily newspaper in the country and the winner of 37
Pulitzer Prizes. Celebrating this year its 125th anniversary
covering Southern California, The Times maintains the largest
newsgathering operation in California and publishes five daily
regional editions: Los Angeles metropolitan area, Orange County,
Ventura County, the San Fernando Valley and the Inland Empire of
Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The Times' website,
http://www.latimes.com/, features 50,000 content pages and is
updated continuously with more than 3,000 stories posted daily.
Latimes.com's award-winning arts and entertainment section,
calendarlive.com, offers an extensive range of entertainment news
reviews and Southern California's most comprehensive event listing.
The Times also produces The Envelope, http://www.theenvelope.com/,
the entertainment industry's most comprehensive, year-round awards
show website. Additional information about The Times is available
at http://www.latimes.com/mediacenter. DATASOURCE: Los Angeles
Times CONTACT: Mike Lange of Los Angeles Times, +1-213-237-3848,
Web site: http://www.theenvelope.com/ http://www.latimes.com/events
http://www.tickets.ucla.edu/ http://www.latimes.com/mediacenter
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