Support Local Authors!
Posted By Vonna on December 28, 2009
Over the past year I have attended several local author events. Some were at independent bookstores, one was at a library, two were held at school auditoriums, one was at a chocolate bar (!) and a few were at Barnes and Noble (the nearest Borders to my house closed this year). Except in the cases where the event was so huge it had to be held in a school auditorium such as the standing-room-only appearance by Rick Riordan, I was frequently disappointed by the turnout. And if I, a mere book lover who was not even related to the author, was disappointed, imagine how the author felt. 
Part of this problem is communication. I live in a big city, so our SCBWI members are spread over many miles. It’s not that we don’t want to support our fellow writers, but it’s hard to keep track of who is signing books where. So to get the New Year off to a running start, I have agreed to write a monthly newsletter for my regional SCBWI chapter. One of my main goals is to let our members know when and where one of our own is having an event. It won’t be possible for every one of us to turn out for every book launch, but with a little effort we can greatly increase the crowd that shows up for these events.
Those of you who are not writers, but enjoy reading and wish to support authors and bookstores, please subscribe to your local indie bookstore’s newsletters, as well as the newsletters from the Big Book Stores, and mark all the upcoming author appearances on your calendars. Come and bring a friend!
If you are an SCBWI member from another region who will be appearing in Houston, check out our website http://www.scbwi-houston.org/ (information coming soon) to find out how to get your event included in our newsletter. Please note, only SCBWI members may have their event listed in our newsletter.
Happy New Year, everyone! And Happy Book Events!
That sounds like you’re off to a great start this year!! Houston is lucky to have you!
Thanks, Madelyn; I’m glad you stopped by!