Coming to the L.A. Times Festival of Books: Buzz Aldrin, Padma Lakshmi, Kwame Alexander and more

Today, the roster of the 21st annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books has landed. It includes:

• Astronaut Buzz Aldrin
• Prizewinning children's book author Kwame Alexander
• U.S. poet laureate Juan Felipe Herrera
• "Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi
• Long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad

Author James Patterson (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Writers

•  James Patterson
• Susan Orlean
• Joyce Carol Oates
• Jonathan Lethem
• T.C. Boyle
• Alexander Chee
• Michael Connelly
• Heather Havrilesky

Commentators

• Tavis Smiley
• Reza Aslan

Author Michael Connelly (Mark DeLong / Little, Brown and Company)

(Mark DeLong / Little, Brown and Company)

Actors

• Rainn Wilson
• Alison Sweeney

Poets

• Jorie Graham
• Luis J. Rodriguez
• Douglas Kearney
• David St. John

YA writers

• Ally Condie
• Ransom Riggs
• Marie Lu
• Melissa de la Cruz
• Zac Brewer
• Margaret Stohl

Actor Rainn Wilson (Michael Lamont)

(Michael Lamont)

Chefs

• Duff Goldman
• Alice Waters

Festival events are free, with a $1 processing fee per ticket. Times subscribers can buy festival passes and other tickets starting today; tickets are available to the general public March 11.

In two separate, ticketed events that are part of The Times' Ideas Exchange, commentator and Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington and musician, actress and memoirist Carrie Brownstein will appear to talk about their latest books and creative lives.

In all, there are more than 400 authors coming to read, discuss and sign books. There are open stages where attendees might pass a poetry reading or musical performance; a kids' stage full of family-friendly programming; demonstrations on cooking stages; hundreds of booths, food trucks and more. This year, attendees can get tickets to see podcasts recorded live at the festival, including Jonesy's Jukebox and Nate Corddry's Reading Aloud.

The 2016 Festival of Books will take place April 9 and 10 on the USC campus. The book prizes — which include awards for James Patterson and Juan Felipe Herrera — will take place Saturday evening. More information about attending the Book Festival and Book Prizes can be found at www.latimes.com/festivalofbooks.

Book news and more; I'm @paperhaus on Twitter

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