Artist Peter de Sève Creates 2015 Library of Congress National Book Festival Poster
Peter de Sève, an illustrator and character designer for feature films, is the artist for the 2015 Library of Congress National Book Festival poster. De Sève is perhaps best known for his many cover illustrations for The New Yorker magazine, but he has also designed characters for such popular animated films as "The Prince of Egypt," "Mulan," "Ice Age" and "Finding Nemo." In 2000, de Sève received the National Cartoonists Society Magazine Illustration Award. His book festival poster features a young girl intensely absorbed by her book while assuming several contorted positions on an overstuffed chair.
"The poster is absolutely inspired by my two daughters, Paulina, 14 years old, and Fia, 9 years old," said de Sève. "They are both voracious readers and, frankly, my heart swells every time I see one of them curled up with a book, which is basically always. More specifically, the girl on the poster is Fia, whom I have found reading in almost every position you see on the poster. For her, reading is practically an Olympic sport."
De Sève will appear at the festival and will discuss and sign his book "A Sketchy Past: The Art of Peter de Sève." The festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 5, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
The poster can be seen and downloaded at the National Book Festival website. Also today on the website, the Library is kicking off a new National Book Festival blog, which will feature author interviews, schedule updates and other festival news.
This year’s festival will be bigger than ever, with more than 150 authors, poets and illustrators participating. Ten authors will launch their books at the festival, and a new International pavilion will feature a session with three contributors to the "Norton Anthology of World Religions." Another session, "Reading Latin America," will celebrate the excellence of Latin American literature and culture.
The National Book Festival is funded by private donors and corporate sponsors who share the Library’s commitment to reading and literacy. Since 2010, National Book Festival Board Co-Chairman David M. Rubenstein has been the festival’s lead benefactor and has pledged funding for the festival for five more years. Charter Sponsors include AARP, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, The Washington Post and Wells Fargo; Patron sponsor, the National Endowment for the Arts; the Contributor-level sponsors are Jacqueline B. Mars, National Geographic, Scholastic Inc. and WAMU 88.5 FM; and, in the Friends category, C-SPAN2’s Book TV, Georgetown University’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, The Hay-Adams, Susan C. Lehrman, the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute with support from board chair Roger A. Strauch, Mensa Education & Research Foundation, the Mexican Cultural Institute, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Embassy of Peru, and Small Press Expo. The Junior League of Washington will also return as the Library’s primary partner for volunteer support, a role the organization has played since 2003. Those interested in supporting the National Book Festival can contact the Library at devofc@loc.gov.
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs, publications and exhibitions.
The Library’s Center for the Book, established by Congress in 1977 to "stimulate public interest in books and reading," is a national force for reading and literacy promotion. A public-private partnership, it sponsors educational programs that reach readers of all ages through its affiliated state centers, collaborations with nonprofit reading promotion partners and through the Young Readers Center and the Poetry and Literature Center at the Library of Congress. For more information, visit www.Read.gov.
