rice, best-selling author michael lewis and many others. visit booktv.org for complete schedule. also this weekend, radio talkshow host mark levin argues against expansion of the federal government, joined in conversation by south carolina senator jim dement. booktv live on sunday for our in-depth program with. radio talkshow host eric metaxes, author of if you can keep it and many other books. he will discuss his life and career and answer your social media questions from noon to 3:00 eastern time. on monday, labor day, another full lineup of programs. watch re-airs of the national book festival and the mississippi book festival as well as an encore presentation of our recent program with just a physicist -- astrophysicist

neil degrasse tyson. 72 hours of nonfiction authors and books. booktv, television for serious readers. for complete television schedule visit booktv.org. >> carla hayden, give us a preview of the book festival. >> it is going to be one of my favorites because i am a big nonfiction fan and the types of authors we will have from david mccullough to jd vance whose book is on every reading list you can imagine in every book club. i am thrilled. >> host: how many offers do you invite? >> guest: when you think about a one day festival, the national book festival and you have over 100 authors from children's authors, illustrators, graphic

novelists, all these different authors, 100,000 people come in and celebrate books and reading, you can't have a better time. i'm prejudiced because i'm a librarian but any reader or anybody that wants to get inspired, the book festival is the perfect place. >> host: the seventh the book festival, your second, your personal your second? >> guest: is my second. i was sworn in and one of the first things i had to do was go and be at the national book festival last year and it was so inspiring. this year we have even more activities for young people in particular, children, activity stations and things that i you know about. we will have live from our main stage, nonfiction authors like

david mccullough. >> host: tom friedman, condoleezza rice, booktv will be live. >> guest: michael lewis whose books have been made into very popular movies. that is something people should think about when they read a nonfiction book, who is going to be in the movie? >> what do you spend your day doing? are you a tourist at that point? >> guest: i will be opening the book festival and that will be something because people will be lined up and it will be great and i will be introducing some, participating in some workshops and a poetry slam and i get to be a judge. i will be all around and soaking it all in and getting a sense how much people enjoy because it

is palpable. >> host: is this a creation of the library of congress? >> it is a partnership that started in a wonderful way. first lady laura bush, the librarian, started a texas book festival when she was first lady in texas and when she became first lady of the nation she approached the library of congress and other literacy partners to start a national book festival and it has been going ever since. >> host: does your predecessor have any involvement? >> guest: what we talk about is their legacy and the fact that it started with doctor billington, and laura bush, the first lady at the time, really emphasizes the prominence of the

joy of reading and actually was on the ball, it was outside. there was some concern, if it gets rained out, there you are, it is moved to the convention center in washington dc so you don't have to worry about that. it is bigger and there are all kinds of venues and it has that mall feeling, you walk around and there are all types of things. and have your books autographed by the authors and that is always a thrill. >> host: wind is planning for the start? >> guest: it starts as soon as one festival is over, literally within a week, we are assessing what worked, what didn't work, what we want to do and start working on it right away. >> host: do you have direct involvement? do you get updated? >> guest: i have to tell you i

have more involvement probably than you might think because this is the essence of what we are about at the library of congress, being involved is making sure we have a balance of types of offers and programming so i get my hands in there. >> booktv will be live at the history and biography counter as well, call ins from our set. >> that is what is so wonderful to have the call ins, people can actually participate. everybody can't make it physically in washington dc but to view and participate with authors live while it is happening, that adds so much and gives everybody that experience. >> host: what are the pro-plaps and cons of opening it? >> guest: the last days of summer before school is kicking

in, some schools start before labor day. i'm old enough and you might be when everybody went to school, the last weekend. to have books and reading and that type of activity is something you can do the saturday of labor day weekend. when having your cookouts, school supplies and all of that is a great way to get the mind working again but in a fun way. >> host: who are some of the partners? >> guest: the library of congress, one partner, a person who has been so supportive is mister rubenstein, david rubenstein. he has been a major major supporter of this effort. when we look at the literacy groups and other groups that are

partnered including c-span it really adds to what we can have. >> for a while it was two days. >> we thought about it and wondering if we can do it. having one day especially with live capacity so people don't miss out, it might be good to think of having it in this concentrated day at the festival so people have been asking. we will look into it. >> is a costly undertaking? >> mister rubenstein has been one of the major funders of the festival and that has helped quite a bit and it helps with being able to provide a lot of the support. a lot of staff is involved.

people see folks with t-shirts and head phones and making sure everything is okay and really making sure we have the security, we have all the things you need to make a festival. >> host: have states approached you about the book festival wanting to create their own? >> guest: yes. i am attending the mississippi book festival and understand it is the third year the state of mississippi is having its book festival and other states, texas is one of the biggest, wisconsin also, we are trying to reach out as library of congress and support that. >> host: booktv will be live at the 17th annual book festival at washington dc convention center saturday, labor day weekend, live with arthur eveneds and call ins, both schedules available at booktv.org.

welcome to the washington dc convention center, the 17th annual national book festival. booktv on c-span2 will be live with others all day. he will hear from condoleezza rice, pulitzer prize-winning columnist tom friedman, best-selling authors jd vance and michael lewis the master not leland melton and many others. for complete schedule visit booktv.org, follow us on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes videos. on facebook, facebook.com/booktv,@booktv is our twitter handle and on instagram we are at booktv. this year's festival kicks off with library of congress carla hayden making opening remarks followed by pulitzer prize-winning author and

historian david mccullough. you are watching booktv on c-span2 live from the 17th annual national book festival. [applause] ..