Summertime Book Fairs and Book Festivals Authors Should Attend

By Scott Lorenz
Westwind Communications
Book Marketing

Summertime is the perfect time of year for book fairs and festivals. It’s a great way for authors to combine a little vacation in with a little book marketing and book promotion. Book fairs are wonderful places to interact with fellow authors, publishers, network with book industry leaders, locate a book publicist or book editor, and learn what’s new in the marketplace.

The major book conferences and conventions involve travel expenses such as airlines and hotel lodging, and a week’s investment of your time. But book fairs can be found close to home, easily accessed by car and are often only one or two days. A typical regional book fair will have 1,000 or more attendees and 100 or more exhibitors, providing a realistic exposure of 300 visitors a day. Why would an author not want to spend a Saturday and Sunday within 100 miles of home to meet 600 readers or a reporter, editor or book reviewer?

Book fairs are often attended by best-selling authors who will be willing to spend time with you sharing tips on writing, on how to be successful, and advice on where to find the help you need. For more information about book marketing visit http://www.book-marketing-expert.com and for upcoming book events on C-SPAN2 visit: http://www.BookTV.org

Here’s a list of summertime book fairs and book festivals worthy of your attendance

1. American Library Association Annual Conference, June 24-29, 2010, Washington, D.C. http://www.ala.org/ala/conferencesevents/upcoming/annual/index.cfm, some 2,000 seminars and events plus a huge trade show
2. Leimert Park Village Book Fair, June 26, 2010, Leimert Park, Los Angeles, http://www.leimertparkbookfair.com, attended by more than 5,000 people, more than 200 author appearances.
3. International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) June 27-30, 2010 http://www.christianretailshow.com/ Considered the best show for Christian authors according to Sara Bolme author of Your Guide to Marketing Books in the Christian Marketplace http://www.marketingchristianbooks.com
4. Ventura Book Festival, July 17, 2010 Ventura Beach, CA http://www.literaryarts-ca.org
5. Harlem Book Fair, July 17-19, 2010, New York City, http://www.qbr.com/page18993.asp
6. The Atlanta Black Book Expo, August 7, 2010 at the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park, GA. http://www.abbexpo.com
7. Los Angeles Black Book Expo, August 21, 2010 at the Sheraton Gateway LAX Hotel. http://www.labbx.com Featuring authors, storytellers, spoken word and poetry performances, musicians, exhibitors, children's book authors, emerging writers, publishers, booksellers, panel discussions, editors, book reviewers, and others.
8. Decatur Book Festival, Sept. 3-5, 2010, Decatur, GA, http://www.decaturbookfestival.com/Community/index.php largest independent book festival in the country. Since its launch, more than 600 authors and 190,000 attendees have attended this event in downtown Decatur.
9. Carolina Mountains Literary Festival, Sept. 10-11, 2010, Burnsville, N.C., http://www.cmlitfest.org sponsored by North Carolina Arts Council, events held throughout the town of Burnsville.
10. Fall For The Book Festival, Sept. 19-24, 2010, George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus, Fairfax, VA., sponsored by George Mason University, Fairfax County Public Library, and Barnes & Noble., http://www.fallforthebook.org attended by more than 150 authors.
11. Baltimore Book Festival, Sept. 24-26, 2010, Mount Vernon Place in Baltimore, http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com more than 100 celebrity and locally known authors to attend.
12. National Book Festival, Sept. 25, 2010, on the National Mall between 3rd and 7th Streets, Washington, D.C., http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/ charter sponsors are Target and the Washington Post, attended by hundreds of prominent authors.
13. Queens Book Fair, September 25, 2010, York College, Jamaica, N.Y. http://www.queensbookfair.com sponsored by C&B Books Distribution.
14. Sonoma County Book Festival, September 25, 2010, Old Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa, CA. http://www.socobookfest.org attended by thousands of book lovers.
15. West Hollywood Book Fair, September 26, 2010, at West Hollywood Park, http://www.westhollywoodbookfair.org, more than 180 exhibitors expected.
16. Wyoming Book Festival, September 29, 2010, Lions Park, and Community House, Cheyenne, WY, http://www.wyomingbookfestival.org.

The bottom line: Make it a priority to visit a summertime book fair in the coming weeks and months. You’ll be glad you did!

About Scott Lorenz
Book publicist Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that has a special knack for working with authors to help them get all the publicity they deserve and more. Lorenz works with bestselling authors and self-published authors promoting all types of books, whether it's their first book or their 15th book. He's handled publicity for books by CEOs, Navy SEALS, Homemakers, Fitness Gurus, Doctors, Lawyers and Adventurers. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC Nightly News, The New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Family Circle, Woman's World, & Howard Stern to name a few. Learn more about Westwind Communications’ book marketing approach at www.book-marketing-expert.com or contact Lorenz at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090.