Chef Jose Andres headlines day of readings, panel discussions, Beer and Rose` Garden, music, and activities for children
Acclaimed chef/restaurateur Jose Andres will headline the third annual Books in Bloom book festival, hosted by the Downtown Columbia Partnership, Sunday, June 2, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., at Merriweather Post Pavilion.
Andres is the author of the New York Times bestseller, We Fed An Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time, a chronicle of his humanitarian efforts after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island.
The festival features more than 20 of the country’s best and brightest authors and includes readings, panel discussions, culinary offerings, a Rose‘ and Beer Garden, live music and a Busboys & Poets pop-up bookstore.
In addition to Andres, award-winning chefs Kwame Onwuachi, author of Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir and Edward Lee, author of Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine, will be telling their stories during the thematic conversation, “From Knife to Pen.â€
Other panel discussions include “Rising Up + Speaking Out: Black Feminism Today†with Feminista Jones and Brittney Cooper , “Looking for the Rainbow: Celebrating Pride 50 Years After Stonewall†with Matthew Riemer and Leighton Brown and Charles Kaiser, “And You Don’t Stop: The Birth and Rise of Hip-Hop†with Vikki Tobak and Geoff Edgers, “Documenting Immigration: Sharing Perspective with the Next Generation†with Laura Wides-Munoz and Nadia Hashmi, and “Graphic Memoirs + POC Voices: The Surprising New Narrative†with Malaka Gharib and Mira Jacob.
Featured authors also include Bob Yule, author of Spirits, Sugar, water, Bitters: How the Cocktail Conquered the World, Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman, authors of The Hill to Die On: The Battle for Congress and the future of Trump’s America, Maurice Jackson, author of DC Jazz: Stories of Jazz Music in Washington, DC, Scott Crawford, author of Images and Stories from the 1980s Washington, DC Punk Scene, and Abby Maslin, author of A Memoir of Marriage, Brain Injury, and Reinventing Love. Novelist Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek, and memorist Nicole Chung, author of All You Can Ever Know, will also read from their works.
Young Adult writers include Carmen Rorigues, author of The Universal Laws of Marco, Kathy MacMillan, author of Dagger and Coin, and Jessica Spotswood, author of The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls. Children’s activities include face painting, puppet shows, glitter tatoos, story time and more.
The festival is free and open to the public of all ages. More information and the developing author lineup is available at http://5zq.d7f.mywebsitetransfer.com/booksinbloom/ . Registration is requested at http://www.booksinbloom.eventbrite.com .
Schedule
STAGE 1
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM
Abigail Maslin, Love You Hard: A Memoir of Marriage, Brain Injury and Reinventing Love
12:30 PM – 1:15 PM
DOCUMENTING IMMIGRATION: SHARING PERSPECTIVES WITH THE NEXT GENERATION
- Laura Wides-Muñoz, The Making of a Dream: How a Group of Young Undocumented Immigrants Helped Change What It Means to be an American
- Nadia Hashimi, The Sky At Our Feet
- Moderated by Sarah Wildman, Foreign Policy
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM 
LOOKING FOR THE RAINBOW: CELEBRATING PRIDE 50 YEARS AFTER STONEWALL
- Charles Kaiser, The Gay Metropolis: The Landmark History of Gay Life in America
- Matthew Riemer and Leighton Brown, We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power and Pride in 
the History of Queer Liberation
- Moderated by Michael K. Lavers, Washington Blade
2:30 PM – 3:15 PM
Nicole Chung, All You Can Ever Know
- In conversation with Tonya Kennon, Howard County Library System
STAGE 2

11:30 AM – 12:15 PM
Angie Kim, Miracle Creek
12:30 PM – 1:15 PM
GRAPHIC MEMOIRS + POC VOICES: THE SURPRISING NEW NARRATIVE
- Malaka Gharib, I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir
- Mira Jacob, Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations
- Moderated by Ruth Tam, WAMU
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM

RISING UP AND SPEAKING OUT: BLACK FEMINISM TODAY
- Feminista Jones, Reclaiming our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World 
from the Tweets to the Streets
- Brittney Cooper, Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower
- Moderated by Adrienne Green, The Atlantic
2:30 PM – 3:15 PM
Bob Yule, Spirits, Sugar, Water, Bitters: How the Cocktail Conquered the World
- In conversation with Brad Blackwell, Lost Ark Distilling Company
9:32 STAGE
12:00 PM – 12:45 PM
Maurice Jackson, Bridget Arnwine, Blair A. Ruble, DC Jazz: Stories of Jazz Music in Washington, DC
1:00 PM – 1:45 PM
David Weigel, The Show That Never Ends: The Rise and Fall of Prog Rock
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
AND YOU DON’T STOP: THE BIRTH AND RISE OF HIP-HOP
- Vikki Tobak, Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop
- Geoff Edgers, Walk This Way: Run-DMC, Aerosmith, and the Song that Changed 
American Music Forever
- Moderated by Darin Atwater, Soulful Symphony
YA Stage

1:00 PM – 1:45 PM
Kathy MacMillan, Dagger and Coin
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
Carmen Rodrigues, The Universal Laws of Marco
MAIN STAGE
12:00 PM – 12:45 PM 
FROM KNIFE TO PEN: TOP CHEFS SHARE THEIR STORIES
- Kwame Onwuachi, Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir
- Edward Lee, Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot 
Cuisine
- Moderated by Bonnie Benwick, The Washington Post
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM
Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman, The Hill to Die On: The Battle for Congress and the Future of Trump’s America
- In conversation with Kaitlan Collins, CNN
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM
Chef Jose Andres, We Fed An Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time
- In conversation with Tim Carman, The Washington Post
