The Library of Congress National Book Festival is one of the best events in Washington, DC. It’s a Mecca for book nerds that also happens to be a fantastic event for kids.

This year marks the 14th year of the festival (that was originally founded by Laura Bush) but the first year that it won’t be held outdoors on the National Mall. Having the festival on the Mall was always a mixed bag. On the one hand, the location can’t be beat. Checking out your favorite authors in the shadow of the Smithsonian and Washington Monument is just awesome.

However, you also have to compete with the weather. Sometimes it rains. More often than not, it’s just ungodly hot and humid (this is DC, after all). This year, the event will be held indoors at the Washington Convention Center. Ahh, air conditioning.

It’ll be interesting to see how it compares to previous years, but the Library of Congress website still includes mention of different tents, so I’m curious to see if they’ll actually erect tents inside the exhibit hall.

Like every year, the author lineup is just phenomenal. Of particular interest to those of us with kids, the following authors are all scheduled to present and sign:

• Andrea Beaty
• Jeffrey Brown
• Dav Pilkey
• Cokie Roberts
• Kate DiCamillo
• Gene Luen Yang
• Judith Viorst
• Jules Feiffer
• Jeff Smith
• Raina Telgemeier
• and many, many others

Check here for the full author list and schedule. There are also a lot of kid-friendly activities and events, in addition to the authors. Storytimes, Kids Create crafts, PBS character meet-and-greets, etc.

This year, we have several 5 Questions from a 5-Year-Old interviews lined up. Stay tuned next week for chats with Judith Viorst, Kate DiCamillo, Jeff Smith, Jeffrey Brown, and Gene Luen Yang!

See you at the festival!

With Mark Teague at the 2013 Festival