Saturday, May 5, 2007

Nation's Largest Literary Festival Breaks Book Sales Records

In its 12th straight year the The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books drew between 130,000 and 140,000 people and featured the largest number of writers, panel discussions, exhibitors, and activities in its history. Held on the beautiful UCLA campus on Saturday, April 28th and Sunday, April 29th, the event drew higher than expected attendance and drove record book sales for sponsors.

"It was inspiring, moving and exhilarating to celebrate reading and writing with over 130,000 of our friends and neighbors at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books," said Publisher David D. Hiller.

The Festival brought together its largest and most eclectic gathering of literary stars thus far, including Dr. Phil McGraw, Tim Gunn, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julie Andrews Edwards, Walter Mosley, Arianna Huffington, Ellen Burstyn, T.C. Boyle, Mary Higgins Clark, Gore Vidal, and Ray Bradbury.

463 authors participated in book readings and signings and made appearances on one of the 100 discussion panels. latimes.com was also an integral online participant in the 2007 event, hosting web chats with several celebrity authors who took live questions from the public throughout the weekend.

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