Quinn Miller Murphy‘s What Did My Ancestors Eat? and Tessa Hulls‘ Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir are representing Washington state at the 2025 National Book Festival!

Click on the links above for downloadable posters and click on the links below for downloadable double-sided bookmarks.

The Washington Center for Book has selected one youth book and one adult book by Washington authors to represent the state at the 2025 National Book Festival: What Did My Ancestors Eat? by Quinn Miller Murphy (Simon & Schuster) and Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls (MacMillan Publishers).

Both titles will be part of the National Center for the Book’s Great Reads from Great Places program. Great Reads from Great Places features books and authors representing the literary heritage of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and Northern Marianas. For over 20 years this program has included a highlighted youth title from each affiliate center. In 2022, “Great Reads from Great Places” began including titles for adults for the first time.

“We are honored to highlight these wonderful books by Washington authors at the 25th Annual National Book Festival,” said Washington State Librarian Sara Jones. “What Did My Ancestors Eat? and Feeding Ghosts both explore themes of family history, identity, and the rich cultural heritage to be found in our state and nation.”

This year’s National Book Festival on Sept. 6 will be held in-person in Washington, D.C., but will include many livestreamed and recorded virtual programs celebrating books and authors.

About the Books:

What Did My Ancestors Eat?
A beautifully illustrated and inclusive board book that celebrates the magic of family recipes and their rich cultural heritage.

Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir
An astonishing, deeply moving graphic memoir about three generations of Chinese women, exploring love, grief, exile, and identity.

The National Book Festival Roadmap to Reading is made possible by the generous support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities with additional support from Chief Officers of State Library Agencies.