September 21-22 will mark the 2013 Library of Congress National Book Festival, an annual event full of huge tents, author speaking events, and books everywhere, all taking place on the lawn of the National Mall in DC.

And before you ask, of course I’m going. And no, it’s never too early to fangirl.

Here are some names of interest this year…

In the Junior/YA category, my eyes are drawn to Paolo Bacigalupi whose book Ship Breaker got a 3 canary rating and who might be familiar from titles like The Windup Girl and Zombie Baseball Beatdown. Katherine Applegate will be there – you know, the co-author of Animorphs. And then there’s Susan Cooper. Remember The Dark Is Rising? Nuff said.

Holly Black of Tithe and The Spiderwick Chronicles, will also be speaking at the event, as well as Veronica Roth, the author of the Divergent series. Finally, my little canary heart went into small palpitations of excitement when I saw Tamora Pierce on the list, author of all those books I loved as a kid. I can’t wait to hear some more juicy rumors about she’s working on next. (I hear Alanna’s preggers again. Could it be true? If Tortall had a tabloid, I’d be subscribed) Continue reading →