Page(s) Count

My heart skipped a beat with an email I received from the Ohio Center for the Book back in May.

“Congratulations! Your book, Virginia Hamilton: America’s Storyteller, has been chosen by the Ohio Center for
the Book to be included in the “Great Reads from Great Places” list for the 2025 National Book Festival of the
Library of Congress!”

Wow.

What an amazing and validating honor, I thought.

And, truly full-circle. The National Book Festival was established by former First Lady Laura Bush. Mrs. Bush also founded the Texas Book Festival, which served as inspiration for the creation of our Claire’s Day in honor of our little reader gone too soon.

Even crazier, this was the 25th annual National Book Festival.

Claire’s Day will celebrate 25 years this coming May.

I continued to read the invitation.

And then my heart sank.

The National Book Festival was scheduled for September 6 in Washington, D.C.

Ugh.

That was smack-dab in the middle of when I was to be teeing it up with my besties up in Northern Michigan for our sacred annual ladies’ golf trip.

I couldn’t imagine missing the National Book Festival, but just as equally, I would have been heartbroken to miss time with my dear friends.

I reached out to my friends and explained the dilemma.

Without hesitation, these seven other ladies rearranged their schedules so that I wouldn’t miss this presumed once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

And of course, my husband Brad, also jumped on board to join me for this exciting trip to D.C..

In the meantime, the Ohio Center for the Book reached out and shared that they would love to feature me in their podcast, Page Count.

Laura Maylene Walter, Fellow with the Center, served as the on-air hostess. Laura, also an author, did an excellent job conducting the interview. If you missed it, check it out here.

The entire weekend in D.C. was everything I could have hoped for. From a fantastic dinner on Thursday at the Iron Gate restaurant (our waiter, Joey, proclaimed the night “all about Julie” and took such good care of us, even ending the evening with a complimentary glass of champagne!), to touring the Washington Monument, the Natural History Museum, and the National Museum of African American History on Friday.

Friday evening, we were hosted at a reception for all of the Library of Congress affiliates and honorees at the James Madison Building. Don Boozer, the coordinator of the program for the Ohio Center, was kind enough to meet us in the lobby, usher us to the reception, and then introduce us to key Library of Congress staff members. Such a thrill.

The sun filtered through our curtains at the historic Morrison Clark hotel on Saturday morning. I was already awake, so excited for the day. It did not disappoint.

The National Book Festival was like any other book festival I’ve either participated in as an author or simply gone to as a reader. But on steroids!

As pictures speak volumes, here is the highlight reel from my experience…

From left to right: Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, meeting a young fan, hanging with Don Boozer at the Ohio booth, fan-girling over Newbery Medal (twice over!) Erin Entrada Kelly.

And finally, my book was featured among all the honorees.

Pinch me.

Brad and I flew home, did laundry, repacked, and prepared for leaving the next day.

Me for that ladies’ golf trip, Brad to a family gathering in North Carolina.