Bibliophiles
had a sense of deja vu as they approached The Collingswood Book Festival this
year.
It appears that Mother Nature
firmly believes that books are meant to be indoors.
Although New Jersey avoided
a hurricane, the day was drizzly and windy enough to require the book festival
to be indoors, just like last year.
There were plenty
of books for sale, both used, and new
,but it seemed that the threat of ominous
weather scared some of the used vendors away.
Loompaland
was a big hit with the kids. The giant bubble wand,
brought by the Garden State Discovery Museum, was pretty cool.
Also pretty
cool, was South Jersey Writers’ Group member Laura J. Kaighn.
She was in
Loompaland selling her books (Earth Child:The E.D. Piper Chronicles and Rabbit's Tale & Other Rites of Passage) and entertaining the kids with her storytelling.
The SJWG had
a table shared with publisher, Hypothetical Press. Copies of Tall Tales and Short Stories, and
Reading Glasses, waited to be brought home by eager readers.
SJWG President Amy Hollinger
did a great job organizing the group’s table. Members John Farquhar (What toExpect When You’re Dead) and Gregg Feistman (The War Merchants) were hard at work selling
books and talking to potential group members.
Many SJWG members came throughout
the day to volunteer at the group table.
With all of
the various meetings and groups within the group, it's difficult to know everyone in the SJWG, so the SJWG buttons and t-shirts were a great
way to spot fellow members.
New group
member, Peter N. Milligan, had copies of his book, Bulls Before Breakfast, for sale.
Peter is an energetic guy.
I could see him hosting his own travel show someday.
Of course no
book event would be complete without Steampunk Granny, Marie Gilbert. Group
member/writer Dawn Byrne kept Steampunk Granny company since she was oh so far away
from the SJWG table. Marie had an impressive table that was stacked with
copies of Roof Oasis, and the newly released Saving Solanda, the second book in the Roof Oasis series. I also think she
wins the prize for best author outfit.
Representing
the Young Adult genre, was group member Randy Ribay. His book, An InfiniteNumber of Parallel Universes, was recently featured on Barnes and Nobles’ Most
Anticipated YA books coming out in October.
In addition
to striking some great signing poses,
Randy participated in a YA Panel Discussion,
Realistic Fiction: Navigating the Teen Years.
It was an interesting mix of authors, and the discussion ranged from the
authors’ personal writing methods, to what types of books they read as kids. It
was such a good panel, everyone had to be kicked out to make way for the next
panel.
All of the volunteers, did a great job organizing The Collingswood Book Festival, especially
with the last minute venue change due to the weather. It was a great time for the writers and the
readers, though I still think it’s more alive and vibrant when it is held
outdoors. Hopefully Mother Nature will grant the festival beautiful sunny skies
next year.
Now comes
the most difficult task faced by all attendees on the day after The Collingswood
Book Festival, what to read first.
