Watch The Library of Congress National Book Festival Hosted by Hoda Kotb

PBS viewers believe in the power of literature, and we realize now more than ever our society needs books to fuel our imagination and help explore solutions to our problems.

To this end, PBS Books and Detroit Public TV have collaborated with the Library of Congress to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the National Book Festival, to produce a television special that is sure to inspire and enlighten.

Hosted by Hoda Kotb from NBC's "Today Show", this two-hour program - "The Library of Congress National Book Festival: Celebrating American Ingenuity" - features some of the most renowned authors and literary voices in the country.

It premieres this Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on DPTV (56.1) and many PBS stations across the country.

This powerful television special brings together best-selling authors and thousands of book lovers across the country to celebrate the ingenuity of American authors. It includes a variety of interviews, insights and artistic expressions from some of the nation's most significant and prolific literary voices as they provide a glimpse into their creative processes and environments.

Among THE LINEUP of impressive and diverse group of authors:

Colson Whitehead, 2020 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction winner, discussing his lifetime work

U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo on "An American Sunrise," her stunning new volume of poetry

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham on civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis

Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie

Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state, addressing her memoir, "Hell and Other Destinations"

Melinda Gates on "The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World"

John Grisham exploring his new legal thrillers, "The Guardian" and "Camino Winds"

And many others

Throughout the program, writers Walter Isaacson, Sandra Cisneros and Amy Tan will offer thought-provoking commentary on how American ingenuity has led this nation though the best and worst of times and how that spirit has helped guide our journey toward a more perfect union.

The Library of Congress National Book Festival is an annual literary event that, in the past, has brought together best-selling authors and thousands of book fans for author talks, panel discussions, book signings and other activities. This year, the event, which concludes on Sunday, has been reimagined as a virtual festival. Since its founding in 2001, the National Book Festival has become one of the pre-eminent literary events in the United States. The schedule for this year's virtual festival can be found here: https://www.loc.gov/events/2020-national-book-festival/schedule/

PBS Books was launched by Detroit Public TV as a multi-platform initiative to encourage and foster a love of reading. Through social and digital engagement and live coverage of important literary events across the country, PBS Books celebrates books and writers and works to cultivate a passion for reading among public media viewers and listeners.
In these challenging times, we believe that reading is not only uplifting and inspiring, it's patriotic.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos

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