You don't have to be literary to attend this book festival.
The Brooklyn Book Festival announced its lineup of events this week, with panels, talks and readings covering a whole gamut of subject matter — from politics to food to sex to science.
The Brooklyn Heights festival, which started in 2006, is the largest free literary event in New York City. Participating speakers and moderators represent authors from all stages of their careers, from on-the-rise to star status.
Below are a few events taking place on Sunday, Sept. 18 that caught our own bookish eye:
► Best of Brooklyn: Jacqueline Woodson
Where: St. Francis College Auditorium, 180 Remsen St.
When: 11 a.m.
YA author Jacqueline Woodson, winner of the National Book Award in 2015, discusses her work and the influence Brooklyn's literary heritage has had on it with New York Times film critic A. O. Scott. Woodson's first adult novel in 20 years, Another Brooklyn, came out earlier this month.
► A Conversation with Margaret Atwood
Where: St. Francis College Auditorium, 180 Remsen St.
When: 12 p.m.
Beloved Canadian author Margaret Atwood, best known for the dystopian novel "A Handmaid's Tale," talks about her first graphic novel, "Angel Catbird."
► Poet Laureates Past and Present Reading
Where: Brooklyn Historical Society Library, 128 Pierrepont St.
When: 1 p.m.
Enjoy a healthy portion of poetry at this reading by Brooklyn Poet Laureate Tina Chang, former Queens Poet Laureate Paolo Javier and New York State Poet Laureate Yusef Komunyakaa. It's good for you, we promise.
► Of Folklore, Fantasy and the Human Soul
Where: TBD
When: 2 p.m.
Three authors discuss their imaginative narratives at this afternoon talk. The selling point here is Salman Rushdie, a terrific public speaker with a great sense of humor. The novelist will speak about his new book, "Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights."
Where: Brooklyn Historical Society Library, 128 Pierrepont St.
When: 4. p.m.
Astronomer David J. Helfand and essayist and one-time New York Times ethicist Chuck Klosterman will take the festival in a STEM-y direction, conversing about the long-term value of contemporary scientific ways of thinking and the role that humor can influence them.
