National Book Festival in Washington, Sept. 26 WASHINGTON (AP) — A slew of celebrity writers from John Irving to Jodi Picoult are scheduled to take part in this year's National Book Festival in Washington, scheduled for Sept. 26. Other famous authors expected to participate include James Patterson, Marilynne Robinson, Judy Blume, John Grisham, Junot Diaz, Colson Whitehead, Jeannette ...

Rickey Henderson, baseball's all-time stolen base leader, headlines the 2009 Hall of Fame ballot released on Monday. Henderson is one of 10 first-time candidates on the ballot, whose 23 players is the smallest number ever. Others eligible for the first time are David Cone, Ron Gant, Mark Grace, Jay Bell, Jesse Orosco, Dan Plesac, Greg Vaughn, Mo Vaughn and ...