Latinx/e/a/o Community at the 2022 National Book Festival
On September 3, the Library of Congress National Book Festival returned in person for its annual celebration of books and the literary community. Since I moved to Maryland, near D.C., I have been attending every year — except for those pandemic years. But even then, I enjoyed it virtually.
How could I not?
As a writer and reader, the free literary festival for me is like Comic Con.
This year, The Washington Post published that the festival came back with a vengeance after the pandemic shift due to the variety of programming it presented. The Walter E. Washington Convention Center usually gathers around 200,000 people in one single day.
More than 90 author talks and literary sessions for sure embraced this year’s theme: “Books Bring Us Together.”
As fabulous as all of this sounds — it is impossible to do everything you want in one single day, so I set my goal: go to all the Latinx events and meet as many Latinx writers and community members as possible.
I soon understood that even if I narrowed it down to Latinx events, I wouldn’t be able to do it all, so I switched to my enjoy-the-literary-moment mood — but still, sprint-around-the-convention-center mood.
Trigger warning: I like selfies, so there are tons of them after this section.
The first event on my list was ”Bienvenidos a la Biblioteca,” featuring Public Affairs Specialist María Peña and Music Specialist and Concert Producer Claudia Morales. This is the first event in Spanish in the festival’s history (est. 2001) and served as a crash course on the Library. Even if I didn’t get a chance to make it, I was able to talk to María after the event.
María mentioned, “The Library of Congress is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, so it was important for the National Book Festival to have a Spanish-language presentation for Hispanic audiences. We want to attract more Hispanics to the festival, and for me, it was an honor to be entrusted with the task of preparing a presentation in Spanish to promote the programs, services, and collections at the Library of Congress.”
Next, I headed to the lower level, where laughter and chatter swirled around the area and where the book signing happened. With shaking legs, I met Cuban-American anthropologist and writer Ruth Behar in real life. We met virtually in July during the Macondo Writers Workshop, and I was delighted to share a conversation and a hug. Ruth is a middle-grade and children’s author. I recently read her award-winning book “Lucky Broken Girl” (2017), which warmed my heart. It inspired me to conquer my own demons.
After Ruth, the Main Stage waited for me with Janelle Monáe, Yohanca Delgado, Alaya Dawn Johnson, and Kyle Dargan. You can learn more about the book collaboration here.
I was so proud to see a fellow Latina and friend, Yohanca Delgado, on the Main Stage. The panelists talked about their book “The Memory Librarian” (2022). At the event, Yohanca talked about her own experience in retracing her own ancestors’ memory and history. For Yohanca, D.C. is where she came into her identity as a writer. After living overseas for a long time, she moved to the area to pursue an MFA at American University.
I briefly talked with her to learn about her experience in the Main Stage, “It’s hard to put into words how surreal and electric, and life-affirming it was to participate in the celebration as an author on the Main Stage, alongside Janelle, Kyle, and Alaya, three creators I look up to and admire so fervently. A bucket list experience I hadn’t even dared to dream of.”
Regarding the festival, she mentioned, “I attended the National Book Festival in 2016 and was just blown away. That a celebration of literature could be that big and that varied and that joyful? That I could meet writers that I’d never even imagined existing on my mortal plane, like Kelly Link?”
My next stop after “The Memory Librarian” panel was back to the book signing area in the lower level, where the crowd hadn’t thinned out. My first stop was at the El Tiempo Latino booth with journalist Rafael Ulloa and Chilean-Ecuadorian writer Daisy Novoa Vásquez.
I met other authors thanks to the book signings: Kat Fajardo, Donna Barba Higuera, and Xelena González. Meeting them was unique, and I probably tripped over my words while awkwardly asking for selfies.
Reader, I wish I could tell you I was done, but the National Book Festival had so many more Latinx events. Next, I headed to the panel sessions to see my friend Lupita Aquino in action.
Lupita, better known as Lupita Reads due to her social media platform and advocacy for Latinx books, interviewed Alex Jennings and Nghi Vo. Lupita celebrated her moderated panel on Instagram, “I’m floored. I’m so proud of myself, even though I sometimes do that thing when I go back through the conversation and think of the ways I could have done a better job at moderating. Though this convo couldn’t have been any better.” And I’m so proud of Lupita as well. I met her soon as I arrived in Maryland back in 2018 and was amazed by her passion and commitment to the literary community. And also she is a pretty cool friend. You can follow her here: Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok.
“Is Anything Funnier Than Politics?” was the next panel I attended. Authors Susan Coll, Grant Ginder, and Xóchitl González, in conversation with Library of Congress Chief Communications Officer Roswell Encina, talked about where to find comedy and imposed identities. Xóchitl González book “Olga Dies Dreaming” (2022) is becoming a one-hour drama starring Aubrey Plaza.
“Rebel Historian” featuring Kelly Lytle Hernández was up next. Journalist Rafael Ulloa interviewed Kelly about her book, “Bad Mexicans” (2022). “Bad Mexicans” was longlisted for the 2022 National Book Award for Nonfiction. The book aims to reframe our understanding of U.S. history, focusing on the Mexican Revolution.
Panels and book signings were only one part of the festival. An expo floor showcasing the fifty states was also part of the lower level. The floor was shared with sponsors, a KidLit stage, and a “Please Read Me a Story” section. And, of course, thousands of festivalgoers who were thrilled to be back in person.
Sarita González, a nonfiction writer and a former bookseller in New York, traveled that day just for the event. “This National Book Festival was my first one, and I loved the attendance for the panels I attended. I’ve never seen such a big crowd for an event. I came to support my friends Lupita and Xochitl. Grateful I wore my sneakers! I met Clint Smith for the first time.” Sarita also suggested adding other indie bookstores.
Festival attendee, educator, and author, Delia Ruiz, mentioned, “I saw many kids light up when they were in the book signing lines. I was thrilled to meet Juliet Menéndez, who is an author-illustrator in Kidlit. Her work is truly inspiring. I was able to attend her webinar on Celebrating 40 big dreamers as well as attend her book signing. Having books available for purchase made it accessible and was a great way to support a local indie bookstore. I look forward to next year’s event.” You can follow her on Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok.
Fifteen thousand steps later, I ended the evening on a high note (o cerré con broche de oro) with my writer friend Julián Randall and a final panel, “Jason Reynolds Talks About His Latest Books.”
Even if I sprinted around with my chest pounding (not only from running but from all the emotions), I wasn’t able to see other Latinx writers: Katie Gutierrez, R.M. Romero, David Valdes, Juliet Menéndez, David Bowles, and others. I also did other non-Latinx events, such as “From Mind to Mindfulness: How to Rethink Anxiety” with Tracy Dennis-Tiwary & Ellen Vora, and among others.
I left the convention center with my heart full and my phone out of space, thinking about all the conversations and laughs the 2.3-million-square-foot space held. Earlier that day, while I waited in line for a book signing, I promised myself that one day I would come back as an author. Perhaps not next year or the following, but dear reader, I’m manifesting my future through these words. In the meantime, I’ll keep being a forever loyal festivalgoer who marathons through the center’s hallways, reaching for inspiration and pursuing the Latinx literary community.
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The festival also kept some of the online features. You can watch all the Main Stage events here. You can find several panels here as well.
