Washington’s Top 100 Events 2017 - Literary & Publishing Events

#1 Literary & Publishing Event
A capacity crowd of nearly 100,000 again gathered at the National Book Festival, produced by the Library of Congress, on September 2. Spread across 10 stages at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, the 17th annual edition garnered over one million impressions on Twitter. The main-stage, which was bookended by a pair of literary Davids—McCullough and Baldacci—was livestreamed throughout the festival for the first-time on Facebook and Twitter, bringing in approximately 1.3 million views. Debuts by authors Margot Lee Shetterly, Michael Lewis, and others, as well as book launches by eight writers, also took place. Denis Johnson, who died in May, was honored posthumously with the 2017 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. Next: September 1, 2018

#2 Literary & Publishing Event
Heralding Washington’s top dishes, as named by the Washingtonian, the AT&T-sponsored party brought 77 restaurants to the National Building Museum on June 1. About 2,000 attendees enjoyed bites and sponsor activations, including a 180-degree photo booth and a boozy root-beer float bar from BMW; green cotton candy and a photo booth from Geico; a driving simulator and a money machine from AT&T; a candy bar and money machine from PenFed; and a V.I.P. lounge from the American Beverage Association—decked out with food and cocktails, along with henna artists. The affair’s theme was 1960’s California Vibes, which was executed with a Beach Boys cover band and an interactive surfboard game. Next: June 7, 2018

#3 Literary & Publishing Event
The winner and finalists read from their award-winning novels at the May 6 event at the Folger Theater. Top honors this year went to Imbolo Mbue for her novel Behold the Dreamers. Finalists were Viet Dinh, After Disasters; Garth Greenwell, What Belongs to You; and Sunil Yapa, Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist. While they are Americans, most of the winners have roots in other countries, prompting the Washington Post to praise the selections. Noted critic Ron Charles, “These writers are the United States.” Selected from 2,000 submissions, the winner receives $15,000 and four finalists each receive $5,000. Next: May 5, 2018

#4 Literary & Publishing Event
More than 75 local and national authors participated in the 40th annual fair on November 10, including Sally Quinn, Deborah Tannen, Greta Van Susteren, and scores of others. Attendees discussed current events, history, politics, and culture with the writers. Once again hosted in partnership with Politics and Prose, the event raises money for the National Press Club Journalism Institute’s programming and mission. That effort includes a scholarship program devoted to promoting diversity among the next generation of journalists, and training programs focusing on high standards, ethical conduct, and best practices. Next: November 2018

#5 Literary & Publishing Event
Possibly putting an end to tied winners, which is how the bee concluded for the last three years, the 90th annual competition, held May 29 to June 1 at National Harbor, saw the introduction of a tie-breaker test for remaining spellers on finals night. It was taken by 15 competitors, but ultimately, the contest was won in the 36th round by Ananya Vinay. The bee continued its tradition of holding a Memorial Day picnic at Nationals Park. Televised on ESPN, the event garnered about 605,000 viewers and was seen in-person by about 2,000 attendees. It was number six on the Nielsen Social Content Ratings for the week, and on social media the finals had 172,000 interactions. Next: May 27-31, 2018