Last updated on September 15, 2023
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| Author Lorilyn Roberts |
Saturday’s inaugural Sunshine State Book Festival hosted by WAG (Writers Alliance of Gainesville) was a resounding success. I learned a lot about the rich literary history of Gainesville. World-renowned poet Robert Frost and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings once called Gainesville home. Today, over two hundred authors live in the Alachua County environs.
My book table was at the exhibit entrance; I was thrilled to greet book dabblers and story lovers, but no homeschoolers stopped by to check out my books. In hindsight, I should have reached out to that audience on social media before the fair. WAG promoted extensively on television and radio, but most homeschooling families don’t watch TV or listen to the radio.
The books I sold included three copies of my memoir Children of Dreams, one copy of my children’s picture book The Donkey and the King, and two copies of my cookbook Food for Thought. I also gave away dozens of postcards to download Seventh Dimension – The Door for free from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
I connected with a librarian who invited me to speak at a local school, and I helped an elderly couple who locked their keys in their car to call for roadside assistance using my AAA card. Most of all, I enjoyed mingling with the authors and learning about their writing pursuits.
If you have an opportunity to visit a book fair, don’t miss out.
Click to tweet: Reading is a pleasurable pastime and print books are making a comeback—especially among young adults and teens—as the most eco-friendly, sustainable form of entertainment on the planet.
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