On April 25-26 every publisher, bookstore and literary organization in the United States will be converging on the gorgeous UCLA campus for a weekend celebration of books and readers. I am talking about the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, presented in association with the university.

140,000 people are expected to attend this year’s installment of the fair, which will count with 450 authors, 100 panel and speaker sessions, as well as hundreds of exhibitors. This is by far the most amazing and the largest book festival open to the general public in the United States.

The scheduled book signings include author John Stickler and illustator Soma Han, who will be signing copies of Land of Morning Calm (featured here) and Tigers, Frogs & Rice Cakes: A Book of Korean Proverbs (both by Shen’s Books), 10:00am-11:00am at the East West Discovery Press, Booth # 845. There are many other authors and books worth checking out, and the reason I mention these two in particular is simply because they relate to our current theme of Korea and the Korean diaspora in children’s books” (if you haven’t read our current issue yet, please hop on over to the website).

There’s plenty at this festival to inspire and entertain kids and adults, including an entire section for children’s books and book-related fun, and “The Comix Strip,” an area dedicated to comic books, graphic novels and manga, where fans have access to exhibitors and industry legends. If you’ve never been to the LA Book Fest and have a chance to attend this year, don’t miss the opportunity. It makes for a weekend very well spent.

For more information about this free event, please visit the festival’s website.

An exciting multicultural literature event takes place this weekend in Mesilla, New Mexico – the 14th Annual Border Book Festival . Started in 1995 by a group of writers, artists and community people committed to celebrating literature and the art of storytelling in the southern United States-Northern Mexico border region, the Border Book Festival began as a one day book fair and has since turned into a major literary festival, and resulted in the foundation of The Cultural Center de Mesilla.

Here are a few words from the festival director, Denise Chavez:

“We believe that literature and the arts can bridge the many boundaries –– racial, ethnic, generational, cultural, socio-economic, and gender-based –– that divide our community. Ours is a grassroots organization that impacts its community by offering programs that are blueprints of positive communication, interaction and connection between people in our borderland region.”

In conjunction with the yearlong events held at the Cultural Center de Mesilla, the Border Book Festival now brings the best of international literature, literacy and storytelling (with a focus on Mexican and Latin American writers) to audiences in the borderland region, including cities and towns in West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Northern Mexico.

From April 18-20 the historic Mesilla, New Mexico town plaza and surrounding sites will become the focal point of the festival, brimming with events for children and their families. The theme this year is “Return.” “A return to community, a return to family and the things that made us start the festival and the things we love about living here,” says Chavez. ” We want to bring the best of the world to where we are and take our energy out to the rest of the world. With this year’s theme we have invited extraordinary writers and artists who tell and sing the story of our world.” Participating writers and artists such as Cristina García, Quincy Troupe, Perla Batalla, Amy Costales, Xavier Garza, Alex Espinosa, Adalucía Quan and more will offer panels, workshops and readings throughout the festival and will take part in school outreach visits in the days leading up to the festival.

Special themed-tents will be set up in the plaza and offer free events for all. In the “Tent of Wonders”, for instance, children’s authors and storytellers Amy Costales, Adalucía Quan and Sudeshna Sengupta (festival poster and bookmark artist) will be telling all kinds of stories, from places far and near.

The “Lucha” tent, a bona fide wrestling ring, will feature “Lucha for Literacy,” where the audience will be able to see famous
Mexican wrestlers and listen to readings by author Xavier Garza, Griselda “La RaNa” Muñoz, recognized slam poet and Osvaldo Ogaz, a Mexican lucha poet.

“Libros y Más,” the festival trade show (one of New Mexico’s longest running book trade shows and one of very few in the larger region) will offer great selection of books and other literary goodies, but the festival organizers also thought of a little something anyone can take home for free: beautiful bookmarks with quotes from each artist. “These bookmarks will give beauty in a tangible way, and with corazón,” says Chavez. Indeed an idea (and a festival) full of heart.

(Click on event name for more information)

19th Annual Children’s Books Illustrated Exhibit~ ongoing until Apr 25, Hayward, CA, USA

Bologna Children’s Book Fair~ Mar 31 – Apr 3, Bologna, Italy

Awards and Artistry Exhibit: Celebrating the Children’s Book Council of Australia ‘Books of the Year’~ ongoing until June, Dromkeen Museum, Australia

Kiriyama Prize Winners Announced~ Apr 1, USA

International Children’s Book Day~ Apr 2

Seattle Rainbow Bookfest~ Apr 5, Seattle, WA, USA

The Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Youth ~ Apr 10 – 11, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

14th Celebration of Children’s Literature~ Apr 12, Berkeley, CA, USA

ALA National Library Week~ Apr 13 – 19, USA

14th Annual Border Book Festival~ Apr 18 – 20, Mesilla, NM, USA

Brighton Children’s Book Festival ‘Leaping From the Page’~ Apr 19 – 20, University of Brighton, UK

World Book and Copyright Day: Sponsored by UNESCO ~ Apr 23

Camara Chilena del Libro Book Fair~ Apr 23 – 30, Santiago, Chile

Buenos Aires Book Fair~ Apr 24 – May 10, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Américas Award Winners Announced~ Apr 25

13th Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books~ Apr 26 – 27, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Winners Announced~ Apr 28, New York, NY, USA

2nd Marathon In Storytelling~ Apr 28 – 29, Quito, Ecuador

El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros (Children’s Day/Book Day)~Apr 30, USA