March 22, 2012
LOS ANGELES — The 17th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the largest and most prestigious public literary event in the country, today announced its 2012 program schedule. Returning to the beautiful University of Southern California campus on April 21-22, the Festival is an L.A. institution known for its celebration of the written word in all its forms and is expected to draw more than 150,000 attendees.
Beloved American icon Judy Blume will mark the 40th birthday of her cherished “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” with an appearance, alongside such authors and artists as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julie Andrews, Reza Aslan, Michael Ian Black, T.C. Boyle, John Cusack, Ben Fong-Torres, John Green, Florence Henderson, Ricki Lake, Sugar Ray Leonard, Anne Rice, John Scalzi, Molly Shannon, Wil Wheaton, Betty White and Henry Winkler.
Lively panel discussions will be held covering a broad range of thought-provoking and culturally significant topics, from the upcoming presidential election to the anniversary of the Rodney King trials to the future of reading, many involving appearances and moderating by Times writers and editors. The Times’ Hero Complex, the go-to for all things super-heroic, fantasy and sci-fi, will expand to include screenings of genre films at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and Q&As with prominent comic book publishers. Celebrity appearances, live music, cooking demonstrations, book signings and much more will be held on eight outdoor stages surrounded by hundreds of exhibitors and a variety of dining options.
Tickets available today
- Festival general admission is free / panel discussions and lectures have limited seating capacity, and therefore require tickets
- Special advance panel passpackages are available before tickets are offered to the general public. These are $30 and include:
- Reservations for up to eight panel tickets
- Half-price tickets to the 32nd annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes
- Friday, April 20 at USC’s Bovard Auditorium
- Official 2012 Festival of Books’ poster with artwork designed by prominent illustrator Bob Staake
- Option to purchase valet parking passes for an additional $20
- Special advance panel passpackages are available before tickets are offered to the general public. These are $30 and include:
- Los Angeles Times members have the opportunity to purchase panel passes and Book Prizes tickets at a 50% discount while supplies last
- Book Prizes tickets are $10
Individual panel tickets available Sunday, April 15
- latimes.com/festivalofbooks, $1 service fee applies
Please check the Festival’s official Facebook page and @latimesfob Twitter stream for programming updates. To join in the Twitter conversation, use the #bookfest hashtag. The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is presented in association with USC, presenting sponsor Target and major sponsor Chevrolet.
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books was created in 1996 to promote literacy, celebrate the written word, and bring together those who create books with the people who love to read them. More than 140,000 people attend the event annually. General event information is available online at latimesfestivalofbooks.com or by calling 1-800-LA TIMES, ext. 7BOOK. Detailed speaker and event information is available in the official festival program online.
About the Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with a readership of 1.9 million Monday through Saturday and 2.9 million on Sunday, more than 17 million unique latimes.com visitors monthly and a combined print and online local weekly audience of 4.4 million. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Times has been covering Southern California for more than 130 years.
The Los Angeles Times Media Group (LATMG) businesses and affiliates include the Los Angeles Times, The Envelope, Times Community News, LA, Los Angeles Times Magazineand Hoy Los Angeles and reach approximately 5.1 million or 38% of all adults in the Southern California marketplace. LATMG also owns and operates California Community News as well as Tribune Direct‘s west coast division and is part of Tribune Company, one of the country’s leading media companies with businesses in publishing, the Internet and broadcasting.Additional information is available at http://latimes.com/aboutus.
About the University of Southern California
Established in 1880, the University of Southern California is one of the world’s leading private research universities. The university is the largest private employer in Los Angeles — with more than 22,700 employees, and an annual economic impact of nearly $5 billion. USC enrolls 38,000 students at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels, and hosts more international students than any other U.S. university. With a strong tradition of integrating liberal and professional education, USC fosters a vibrant culture of public service and encourages students to cross academic as well as geographic boundaries in their pursuit of knowledge. There are more than 240,000 living alumni in the Trojan Family. While nearly three-quarters of them live in California, USC alumni can be found in positions of leadership all over the world.
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times Media Group
