LA Times Festival of Books, a Wonderful Free Event

Every year, the Los Angeles Times sponsors the LA Times Festival of Books. The event this year is scheduled to take place Saturday and Sunday, April 12th and 13th, on the University of Southern California campus.

Since 1996, the Festival is a free, public festival celebrating the written word featuring vendors, authors and publishers. Events include author discussion panels, storytelling and performances for children, and the LA Times Book Prizes.

Although the event is just 40 days away, there is yet to be an announcement of this year’s panelists or events. The Festival has a Facebook page, which is a great place to keep track of developments that will be appearing soon.

The TimeOut Website describes the event as follows:

For now, Bibliophiles flock to the USC campus each spring for this annual two-day event. The outdoor book fair of sorts features stalls from a variety of booksellers as well as author readings, signings and culinary demos. It’s impossible to understate the sheer variety and quality of talent the festival attracts, with past appearances by anyone from Dave Eggers and Batman comic book writers to Margaret Atwood and the late Ray Bradbury. Bring the kids and spend the weekend discovering new titles, watching screenings and enjoying live music and cultural entertainment.

Last year 153,800 people attended the Festival, which runs on volunteer power. In general, the Festival says of volunteers:

Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older. You cannot bring children under the age of 18 with you during your shift.
Volunteers will receive free parking, shuttle service from the parking lot, and lunch.
We will provide t-shirts for volunteers to wear and keep after the event. (Please wear khaki, or beige pants or shorts.)
The majority of volunteer activities require being on your feet for most of your shift. Please wear comfortable shoes.
Volunteer shifts last 3 – 4 hours, and you may sign up for as many shifts as you wish for one or both days. You may sign up for overlapping shifts and work the duration of the hours for those shifts.
If you’re flexible as to when you can work, when you sign up online, indicate which shifts you could work, and check the box indicating you’ll work any ONE of the shifts indicated. If you’d like to work multiple shifts, check the box indicating you’ll work ALL shifts selected.
Most volunteer positions are assigned when you check-in on the day of event. There are a few assignemnts with special time requirements (author escorts, registration, etc.) that you can express interest in as part of the online registration process.