The National Book Festival and a book to represent Washington State
In September of 2001 the first National Book Festival was held in Washington D.C. Laura Bush, a retired librarian, then First Lady of the United States, worked with the Librarian of Congress to launch this new event to encourage a lifelong love of reading. James Billington, then Librarian of Congress, said, “We must all try, in every way we can, to send the message that reading is critical to our lives and to the life of our nation.” (1) In…