2nd Annual Newark Book Fest

 

I was a signing author this past weekend at the 2nd annual Newark Book Festival in downtown Newark, Ohio. The weather was perfect outside of the wind. Authors were having to hold down their books every time a gust kicked up.

 

The festival's goal to celebrate literature and connect readers with local authors. This year there were over 100 authors set up on Canal Street with their books. It was the perfect opportunity for readers to meet authors and get signed copies of their books.

 

In order to have as many authors as possible participate, most authors shared a table with another author. Luckily, the tables were eight feet long, so I had four feet to try to fit all my books. From experience, I know four feet is the minimum I need to fit all my titles. By the time I laid all my books out, my business cards, and a little stand with a QR code to sign up for my newsletter, I  had just enough space for my cash box.

 

There were plenty of books and bookish things for all ages. Near me was a woman running a summer reading program for kids, a mystery author, a woman selling book shaped vases, a children's book author, and an author who writes romantic thrillers. Then, of course, there was me, who sells steamy and spicy romance. If there was a type of book you were looking for, chances were good you could find it at the Newark Book Festival.

 

They also had face painting for the kids, and one table was handing out peacock feathers. By the end of the day, the feathers were everywhere. I think some of the kids lost control of them because of the wind. It really was quit strong.

 

The highlight of the day, though, was when one of our local meteorologist, whose and avid reader, stopped by my table. She ended up buying a copy of my office romance, Strictly Professional.

 

Newark has consistently been very supportive of my books. I need to get busy on my writing, though. I had some ladies stop by my table and ask if I'd written anything new since last year. Unfortunately, I hadn't, but hopefully my next year I'll have at least one, if not two new books for readers.

 

Newark Book Festival

 Saturday I participated in the first annual Newark Book Festival. You never know how an event's going to go, especially if its the first year they're doing it, but the event organizers did it right.

 

We arrived at the location around 9am and people were already starting to set up their tables. My table mate had her books laid out and ready to go.

 

 I was working with a shoulder injury, so it took me a little longer than normal to set up. Plus, I only had 4ft to work with. But by 9:45 I was all set up and ready to go.

 

They had water and donuts for all the authors and their assistants. I didn't have a donut, but my husband said they were really good.

The day started out strong right off the bat. Within minutes of the event starting, we had people checking out the author tables.

 

They had an open mic for the authors to use, but it ended up not being as good of an idea as it sounded on paper. Most of the authors who used it couldn't be heard over the noise and the few authors who could be, ended up making it hard to hear the people who were actually at your table.

 

That, however, was the only hitch in an otherwise amazing event. Readers all over the area came to visit the 98 author and vendor tables. 

 

And to make the set up even better, they had the authors separated by genre. All the non fiction and memoirs were at one end and the fiction was at the other. For the most part, they kept the steamy stuff together and mixed in the non author vendors where it made sense.

 

The crowd stayed consistent until about 20 minutes before the end of the event. It was truly a place for book lovers and I can't wait to do it all over again next year.