Tens of thousands of people gathered at the 30th Los Angeles Times Book Festival at the Campus of the University of Southern California on Saturday, packing exhausted panels and waiting on large lines to obtain the signatures of their favorite authors.
The annual festival presents readings, projections and panels with authors and other speakers. This weekend, it is expected to gather more than 550 storytelling narrators in seven outdoor scenarios and 15 interior places.
It was too early to know how many people attended the event at noon on Saturday. But the sun shone after a rainy morning, and an organizer said that the festival looked “super full”, estimating that more than 85,000 people would attend at the end of the day.
More than 100 people gathered within the Eileen Norris Cinema Theater at noon on Saturday to listen to the authors EA Hanks, Laurie Woolever, Sloane Crosley and Kareem Rosser discussing the pain of writing and processing with moderator Elizabeth Crane.
The authors reflected on the nature and stages of pain during the one -hour panel. Many experienced dual losses, entering their writing process thinking that they would reflect on a loss, just for another to occur.
“Even if those five stages exist, it is so non -linear,” said Crane, who has written numerous fiction works, as well as a debut memory.
There were humorous moments in the midst of the stories of the tragedy of the writers. The crowd laughed while Crosley and Hanks joked about good Spotify reproduction lists to listen to writing on suicide.
In “Pain is for people,” Crosley regrets the jewels he loses in a robbery, until he is forced to consider the loss of her best friend and suicide mentor.
Hanks is the author of “The 10”, a memory that follows on her trip traveling alone in the interstate 10 while trying to process the life and death of her mother, as well as the death of a close friend. She is the daughter of Tom Hanks and her first wife, Susan Dillingham, who used the artistic name Samantha Lewes.
Hanks also shared an idea of his process by writing about pain.
“If someone is out there and trying to write, know that he improves,” Hanks said “suffocation” after receiving his first book. “This book took a decade, so the catharsis of the publication … it was about my creative recovery.”
The Festival began on Friday night with the 45th awards ceremony of the Los Angeles Times book at the Bovard Auditorium of the USC. The awards recognize outstanding literary achievements and celebrate the highest quality of the writing of the authors at all stages of their careers.
The winners were announced in 13 categories for works published last year. Find a complete Winners list here.
In addition, the award -winning Pico Iyer received the Robert Kirsch award for life achievement, and the held poet Amanda Gorman received the innovative prize for his work promoting literacy, empowering young people and raising awareness of important issues.
The ceremony was opened with comments from the executive editor of Times Terry Tang and was presented by the Times columnist Lz Granderson.
“In a world that now feels so confusing and distressing, this weekend gives us the opportunity to find a sense of unity, purpose and support,” Tang said.
