Nikole Hannah-Jones Headlines Books in Bloom Sunday in Columbia

The Downtown Columbia Partnership (DTC Partnership) and The Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC) have announced that award-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones will headline the Books in Bloom (BIB) Festival back for its fifth year on Sunday, Oct. 10, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., in Color Burst Park in Merriweather District of Downtown Columbia.

Books in Bloom is one of the region’s most progressive community events, bringing together some of the country’s best and brightest authors for a free one-day outdoor festival. This year’s event will continue the Books in Bloom tradition of activism through literature by encouraging open dialogue on themes of diversity, racism, inequality and culture.

Nikole Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine who rose to prominence as the creator of the landmark 1619 Project, a long-form journalism initiative launched in 2019 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the beginning of slavery in what would become the United States. Hannah-Jones's lead essay, "Our Democracy's founding ideals were false when they were written. Black Americans have fought to make them true," was awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.

During the festival, Hannah-Jones will discuss her new book The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story and The 1619 Project’s Born on the Water co-authored with Renée Watson and illustrated by Nikkolas Smith, both scheduled to publish November 16, 2021.

Joining Hannah-Jones as part of this year’s lineup are notable authors and journalists including:

● Jake Tapper - Lead Washington Anchor for CNN and author of The Devil May Dance

● Laura Lippmann - New York Times bestselling author of Lady in the Lake and newly released Dream Girl

● Stacey Vanek Smith - co-host of NPR's “The Indicator from Planet Money” and author of Machiavelli for Women

● Maureen Corrigan - book critic for NPR's “Fresh Air” and author of So We Read On

● Amy Argetsinger - Washington Post reporter and editor, and author of There She Was: The Secret History of Miss America

● Ram Devineni (Augmented Reality) , Ashley A. Woods (Art), Yusef Komunyakaa (Story) - Authors of the augmented reality comic book Jupiter Invincible

● Aparna Verma - Author of The Boy with Fire (The Ravence Trilogy #1)

Books in Bloom events are free, but registration is required. Register here. For more information, see here.