Festival of Books
Bibliophiles flock to the USC campus for this L.A. Times-curated event, where you can roam stalls from booksellers and catch readings and panels from some of the most recognizable names in literature on April 20 and 21. In addition to the 300-plus exhibitors, this year’s event includes an always-impressive lineup of more than 500 speakers: Jose Andres, Ed Begley Jr., Sophia Bush, Jon Favreau, Max Greenfield, Tiffany Haddish, Tamron Hall, Mark Harmon, RuPaul, Kerry Washington, Henry Winkler and more, plus a cooking stage with Nancy Silverton, QCP and Tiffani Thiessen, among others. Admission to the festival and its seven outdoor stages are free, though admission to indoor talks come with a small ticketing fee. Reservations for those aren’t available until April 14 but if you want to secure a spot now, you can purchase a “friend of the festival” package, which lets you reserve up to 20 panel tickets (plus some other perks) for $85.