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The festival featured more than 80 authors, who signed books and participated in lectures and moderated conversations.

Among them was D.C. native and debut novelist Bsrat Mezghebe, who had attended the festival as a reader for years and was there for the first time as an author.

鈥淚 am thrilled. I am honored,鈥� Mezghebe said.

Her debut novel, 鈥�,鈥� is fictional but draws on her life in the area.

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely inspired by my experiences here in the D.C area as a D.C. native and by the kind of real-life characters that I was raised by,鈥� she said.

Mezghebe said the festival’s atmosphere was also inspiring.

鈥淚t鈥檚 high, it鈥檚 infectious, it鈥檚 positive,鈥� she said.

The sight of long lines for author talks, she said, offered an encouraging counterpoint to the idea that smartphones and social media are pulling people away from long-form storytelling.

鈥淲e鈥檙e all still here,鈥� Mezghebe said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all still reading. We all still care about ideas and about spending time developing our ideas in long form and spending the time, not like rapid, quick, little sound bites.鈥�

For Michael Feinstein, the festival was an opportunity to discuss a book that is part of a broader mission: preserving American cultural history.

Feinstein, a renowned interpreter of the American Popular Songbook, is the co-author of He said his work, whether onstage or on the page, is ultimately about preserving the past.

鈥淓verything to me is about preservation and continuum,鈥� Feinstein said.

That philosophy was shaped in part by his relationship with lyricist Ira Gershwin. Feinstein met Gershwin when he was 20 years old and spent six years working for him, eventually caring for his archive.

鈥淓verything to me is about preservation and continuum,鈥� Feinstein said, 鈥渂ecause I was lucky enough to meet many people who are now legends when I was young.鈥�

Among the artifacts he encountered were personal belongings that helped bring legendary composer George Gershwin, Ira’s late brother and songwriting partner, to life.

鈥淗e had his little black book with the names and numbers of all of his girlfriends in it, and his tie clip 鈥� when there鈥檚 physical objects, you feel a sense of that person,鈥� Feinstein said.

That same commitment to preservation informed his work with Minnelli. After years of encouraging the reluctant performer to share her story in book form, the longtime friends spent years recording conversations that ultimately became her memoir.

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 write a book, your story, your perspective, your point of view will never be told,鈥� Feinstein said he told her.

For Feinstein, the enduring power of books is their ability to carry those stories forward.

鈥淭he wonderful thing about a book is that it can last a long time,鈥� he said.

A recent visit to Berlin included a stop at a site commemorating Nazi book burnings during World War II.

鈥淎nd yet, these books survive,鈥� Feinstein said. 鈥淪ometimes, there’s one surviving copy of something that has somehow made it past destruction.鈥�

British author Sunyi Dean was attending the National Book Festival for the first time.

鈥淚 wish we had something like this in the UK,鈥� said Dean, author of 鈥�.鈥�

Dean said the festival showed what can happen when a country makes a public celebration of literature.

鈥淚t鈥檚 eye-opening,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like a view of what it could be if the right people cared about literature.鈥�

Seeing tens of thousands of people gather around books was “incredible,” Dean said.

“I think it鈥檚 really heartening to see other people who love books and to remind that you鈥檙e part of a community, even if you don鈥檛 see them with you all the time,” she said.

For Mezghebe, that sense of community was also meaningful.

鈥淪o much of book writing is solitary, so it鈥檚 nice to be able to look people in the face, to sign their books, to maybe have a conversation about what they, you know, if they鈥檝e read the book,鈥� she said.

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