Image by Barbara K.

The ever popular National Book Festival, sponsored by the Library of Congress and now in its eleventh year, has plans to expand to two days this year. On Saturday and Sunday, September 24-25, the festival will be on the National Mall with author talks, book signings, kids activities, and – given that this year’s theme is “celebrating the joys of reading aloud” – lots and lots of readings. Notable names include:

World-renowned authors David McCullough, Russell Banks, Dave Eggers, Terry McMillan, Pulitzer Prize-winners Siddhartha Mukherjee and Jennifer Egan, Garrison Keillor, Amy Chua and Nobel- and Pulitzer Prize-winner Toni Morrison will be among more than 80 writers speaking at the 11th annual National Book Festival.

Also of note: Joel Achenbach (I recently enjoyed his work on the BP oil spill), Neal Stephenson and Sarah Vowell, to name a few of my favorites. In addition, a “Pavilion of the States” will feature works from each of the 50 states, D.C. and U.S. territories. Kids will be able to hang out and get their pictures taken with PBS characters (it’s never Oscar the Grouch, but we’ll keep hoping). And in a nice inclusion, the festival will feature two new genre tents for Urban Fiction and Graphic Novels.

The event is free and will go on rain or shine.