Two-time Olympic gold medal-winning football player Julie Foudy, the forthcoming author of "Choose to Matter: Being Courageously and Fabulously YOU", will be among those present at the University of Southern California from April 22 to 23.

She will be joined at the event, which is free and open to the public, by the likes of Olympic gold medal-winning swimmers Donna De Varona, John Naber and Shirley Babashoff.

De Varona is the author of "More Than a Game: One Woman's Fight for Gender Equity in sport", while Naber wrote "Awaken the Olympian Within: Stories from America's Greatest Olympic Motivators".

Babashoff is the co-author of "Making Waves: My Journey to Winning Olympic Gold and Defeating the East German Doping Program".

Olympic gold-medal winning discus thrower Olga Connolly, the author of "The Rings of Destiny", and former Olympic figure skater Gary Visconti, the author of "Falling For The Win", will also be in attendance.

The LA84 Foundation, a legacy of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, is known as the House the Olympics Built and for more than three decades has maintained close bonds with Olympians and Paralympians.

It is claimed the line-up of authors is a result of combining these bonds with LA84's world class library and archives containing more than 90,000 documents, and with the Olympians and Paralympians actively involved in Los Angeles' bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

"LA84's partnership with LA 2024 at the Festival of Books is another great example of our #PlayingForward the Olympic spirit that inspires us all," said Renata Simril, the LA84 Foundation's President and chief executive.  

"Everyone knows the impact that the LA84 Foundation makes in changing the lives of youth through sports.

"But not everyone knows what historians, researchers, journalists and students are aware of; that LA84 is also the steward of one of the largest sport heritage, Olympic memorabilia and digital sport history collections in the world.

"Our electronic library at la84.org had six million downloads last year, and countless articles and at least 175 books have been written using those free-of-charge archives."

Others due to be present at the Festival of Books are Cindy Whitehead, author of "It's Not about Pretty: A Book about Radical Skater Girls", Molly Schiot, author of "Game Changers: The Unsung Heroines of Sports History", and George Hirthler, author of "The Idealist: The story of Baron Pierre de Coubertin".

David Davis, author of "One Golden Moment: The 1984 Olympics Through the Photographic Lens of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner", and Chris Epting, co-author of "Making Waves: My Journey to Winning Olympic Gold and Defeating the East German Doping Program", complete the list.

Sam the Eagle, mascot of the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics, is scheduled to make an appearance as well.

"On behalf of LA 2024, we are proud to join the LA84 Foundation at the Festival of Books," LA 2024 chairman Casey Wasserman said. 

"The festival-like atmosphere on USC's campus will be a preview of the excitement that the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games would bring to our community.

"That's why we at LA 2024 are so passionate about bringing the Games back to LA for a third time - the Games have the power to bring our city together and inspire the next generation.

"I'd like to extend a special thanks to the Angelenos who will bring their Olympic spirit to the event, and we hope to have the honour of standing alongside you to warmly welcome the world to the City of Angels in 2024."

Los Angeles is bidding to host the Olympics for the third time having also staged the Games in 1932, as well as 1984. 

It faces competition from Paris with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to make a decision at its Session in Lima on September 13.

However, there is increasing speculation that the IOC may award the 2024 and 2028 Games at the same time.

Both candidates have stressed that they are only interested in the earlier edition, however.