BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Book Festival returns to downtown Baton Rouge next weekend and is free and open to everyone.

The event takes place Saturday, Oct. 31, at the State Library of Louisiana, Capitol Park Museum and the surrounding area. Doors and tents open at 9 a.m. and run until 4 p.m.

The festival is the state's signature celebration of books and draws around 20,000 people and more than 200 authors to the Capitol Park area.

It brings together readers and writers for author talks, panels, book signings, children's activities, food and book sales across the State Library and Capitol Park.

The schedule includes more than 100 book talks and panels. The event is an easy outing for families, students and anyone who loves a good story.

This year's festival will feature a central book club discussion on Louisiana native Anne Rice's seminal "The Interview with the Vampire" for the novel's 50th anniversary.

You can view the full schedule here.