Annapolis Book Festival: 3 Pulitzer Winners, 60 Authors, What to Know

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The Annapolis Book Festival, a dream-come-true for readers and authors, will celebrate its 14th year this Saturday, April 16.

The festival brings nationally renowned authors to The Key School in Annapolis to discuss their books and the craft of writing. The Festival also features Annapolis Town Crier Squire Frederick, children's activities, live music, refreshments, and new and used book sales.

»Find a rundown on all 60 festival authors here.

Highlights of authors to look for this year, from the festival website, include:

WAMU’s Diane Rehm: An appearance by the long-time host of WAMU's Diane Rehm Show and author of On My Own, which chronicles the protracted death of her husband John due to Parkinson's Disease, and her struggles as she found herself alone. His decision to refuse food, water and medicine in an effort to end his life moved Rehm to make a stand for the right to die movement.

Amy Ellis Nutt: Author of Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family. Ellis Nutt is a science writer at the Washington Post. She was formerly a reporter at the Newark Star-Ledger, where she won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in feature writing for her article "The Wreck of the Lady Mary."

David E. Hoffman: Author of The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author, is a contributing editor at the Washington Post. This is a true story that reads like a fictional thriller featuring a Soviet engineer who delivered top secret military information to the CIA in Moscow in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Tim Weiner: The author of One Man Against the World: The Tragedy of Richard Nixon has published five books. Legacy of Ashes, his history of the CIA, won the National Book Award. His journalism on secret government programs received the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting. As a correspondent for the New York Times, he covered war and terrorism in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Sudan, and other nations.

Washington Post news aide Jake Russell and Orioles reporter Dan Connolly: They will be talking about the 100 things Orioles fans and the 100 things Nationals fans should know and do before they die.

Canden Schwantes (Wild Women of Washington, D.C.) and Lauren R. Silberman (Wild Women of Maryland): The pair will discuss fiery suffragettes, unconventional first ladies, spies, rebellious socialites, and would-be queens at the Festival on April 16. Judge Lynne Battaglia will be moderating.

Festival favorites Brigid Kemmerer, author of "Thicker than Water," and T. Michael Martin, author of "Mr. Fahrenheit," will be back, each with an action-packed coming-of-age novel infused with the supernatural. From a flying saucer to a mysterious stranger, these books take their readers on a search for answers and a race against time. A. Lynden Rolland, author of "Of Delicate Pieces," will moderate.

Sixty authors will be on hand. Families will enjoy dozens of activities ranging from Star Trek stomp rockets, to Shakespeare karaoke, to comic book swaps, to face-painting, magician acts, live music, used book sales, and more.

ComicKey, a family-friendly comic convention, will feature a Third Eye Comics pop-up shop, a comic book swap, a comic creator space, and workshops run by Art Way Alliance artists. Learn animation, design your own sci-fi character, and get tips on using stop-motion animation.