1. National Book Festival
The nation’s eighth annual literary festival, coordinated by the Library of Congress and Event Strategies Inc., will be held on the National Mall on September 27. Hosted by First Lady Laura Bush, the 2007 event brought in more than 120,000 literature fans for readings by best-selling authors such as Joyce Carol Oates, David Baldacci, and Jodi Picoult.
2. Scripps National Spelling Bee
This once-obscure event now draws a dedicated national following and live coverage on ABC. The five-day contest takes place at the Grand Hyatt Hote in the last week of May. Paige B. Kimble serves at the contest’s director—she also happens to be the 1981 champion—and organizes the event with project manager Carrie Loeffler.
3. Washington Life’s “The Young and the Guest List” Party
One of the year’s must-attend parties, the third annual “Young and the Guest List” issue was feted with a roving three-part bash on January 31 that bused 350 guests from the St. Regis hotel to Halcyon House to a late-night after-party at Josephine Lounge. Planned by André Wells and former Washington Life editorial director Katie Tarbox, the event featured circus performers and burlesque mannequins.
4. The Week Opinion Awards Dinner
The 5th annual Opinion Awards, selected by a panel of 25 judges and given out by The Week magazine and the Aspen Institute, honored Ruth Marcus of The Washington Post as columnist of the year and Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo as blogger of the year. The winners were honored at an April 8 dinner at the Four Seasons that also featured a panel discussion moderated by Sir Harold Evans, the magazine’s editor at large.
5. The PEN/Faulkner Awards for Fiction Gala
On May 10, Kate Christensen was chosen from among five finalists as the winner of the prestigious prize from the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. Program coordinator Tina Poole plans the event with executive director Jessica Neely. The 29th annual ceremony will take place next May.
