Literature to Life to Perform at the National Book Festival, Presented by the Library of Congress
Literature to Life (LTL) is performing for the third time at the prestigious National Book Festival, presented by the Library of Congress. The 24th Annual National Book Festival will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. on August 24, 2024. LTL will be debuting an excerpt of their newest title, Erika L. Sánchez’s award-winning YA novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, which is directed and adapted by Ana Maria Jomolca and performed by Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez.
See press release below:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2024
CONTACT:
Alyssa Monte, Marketing and Outreach Manager
Literature to Life to Perform for the Third Consecutive Year at the National Book Festival, Presented by the Library of Congress
Festival to take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center
in Washington D.C. on August 24, 2024
NEW YORK, NY— Literature to Life (LTL), which presents professionally staged verbatim adaptations of award-winning American novels, is set to perform for the third time at the prestigious National Book Festival, presented by the Library of Congress. The 24th Annual National Book Festival will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. on August 24, 2024. LTL will be debuting an excerpt of their newest title, Erika L. Sánchez’s award-winning YA novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, which is directed and adapted by Ana Maria Jomolca and performed by Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez.
The Library of Congress National Book Festival is an annual literary event that brings together best-selling authors, poets, and illustrators with thousands of readers for book talks, panel discussions, book signings, and other engaging activities. Over the course of its 20-year history, the Festival has become one of the most prominent literary events in the nation.
Among the many talks and interviews, LTL is providing the only performance-based offering at the Festival, presenting a story that focuses on finding one’s own identity, and breaking free from societal, cultural, and familial expectations. LTL’s performance will begin at 5:30 PM in Room 209 on Level 2 of the South Building. All events at the National Book Festival are free and open to the public. More information can be found on the Library of Congress’ National Book Festival’s website.
In LTL’s Signature Performances, one actor tells the story, performing all the characters and transforming an important work of contemporary American literature into a live theatrical experience shared as a community. The audience then engages in a pre- and post-show discussion about the story and performance.
Director/Adapter Ana Maria Jomolca will be in attendance and engage in the audience discussion. Jomolca, a Cuban American actress, writer, director and producer, has been a pivotal LTL company member. For many years, she was the performer for the LTL stage adaptations of Sandra Cisneros’s novel The House on Mango Street and The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. She has been a Teaching Artist for several LTL titles, and producer for Kao Kalia Yang’s The Latehomecomer.
Performing at the Festival is LTL’s newest company member, actor Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez. Ramirez is a proud Hispanic actress from San Antonio, Texas. Her credits include In The Heights at Oklahoma City University and two award-winning shorts, Most Likely To and Dream Carriers. She is most known for her contribution to the HBOMax documentary Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020, produced by Tony Award winner Laura Benanti.
“I am so incredibly excited to be bringing the world of Erika L. Sanchez’s hilarious and heartbreaking novel to life,” says Ramirez. “It’s a world so close to mine in so many ways and I am honored to be telling this story. I can’t wait for people to smile, laugh, and cry along with me come show time. Most of all I hope everyone falls in love with this story just like I have!”
Lisa Beth Vettoso, LTL’s Executive Director, says “We are thrilled to be returning to the National Book Festival for the third year in a row. We love working with the Library of Congress, as there are so many natural intersections between the work that we do. They are a valued partner, and we are so grateful that they keep bringing us back to this incredible event!”
Among other Festival highlights, this year's featured authors include Sandra Cisneros, Tamron Hall, James Patterson, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Max Greenfield. The National Book Festival will take place from 9:00 AM until 8:00 PM. Festival goers will be able to buy books by the featured authors from Politics and Prose, the official bookseller of the festival.
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is being co-produced with Freedom Reads. Founded by Reginald Dwayne Betts, Freedom Reads is the only organization in the nation dedicated to transforming the experience of incarceration by opening libraries in cell blocks. LTL will be partnering with Freedom Reads to bring I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter into correctional facilities across the United States.
To learn more about Literature to Life, visit literaturetolife.org or find LTL on social media @lit2life.
ABOUT LITERATURE TO LIFE
Literature to Life (LTL) is a performance-based literacy organization that presents professionally staged verbatim adaptations of American literary classics. Initially conceived as the educational program of the renowned American Place Theatre, LTL is now an independent organization with a mission to perform great books that inspire young people to read and become authors of their own lives.With a roster of books by authors such as Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Junot Díaz, Kao Kalia Yang, and more, LTL performs nationally in performing arts centers, schools, libraries, and correctional facilities. Our programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. To learn more about Literature to Life, visit literaturetolife.org or find LTL on social media @lit2life.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Alyssa Monte
Marketing and Outreach Manager, Literature to Life
Email: alyssa.m@literaturetolife.org
Note to editors: High-resolution images and additional information about Literature to Life's performances are available upon request.