The skies stayed clear, and the sun
stayed hot this year at the Decatur Book Festival. The Southern Breeze SCBWI
booth, in the children’s zone on Sycamore Street, was staffed by a baker’s
dozen of brave and cheerful authors and illustrators including Kim Sullivan,
Jodi Wheeler-Toppen, Jill Dubin, Janie Watts, Vickie
McEntire, Andy Klein, Alayne Smith, Linda Hodge-McLoud,
Susan Allen, Lucyann Wagner, Laura Freeman, Morgan
Young, and me.
While we didn’t sell as many books as
we would have liked, we talked with dozens of families, teachers, librarians,
and grandparents. We handed out fliers about SCBWI to aspiring
authors/illustrators, and made some contacts that hopefully will result in school
visits and other opportunities.
Plus, the Festival itself was
fantastic! There were booths featuring everything from yummy foods to MFA
programs. And well-known authors gave talks and signed books in about a dozen
venues throughout the weekend. There was no charge for festival visitors,
including attending any and all of the speakers’ programs. (I think this
festival is Atlanta’s best-kept secret!)
This year marked the first time in a
number of years that Southern Breeze had a booth presence at the festival, so
it was a bit of a learning experience. I hope we’ll have a booth again in 2019,
and make some changes so we can reach even more people (and sell more books).
So whether you’d like to be involved
in planning, staffing the booth, or simply as an attendee, pencil in Labor Day
weekend. I know I’ll be looking forward to this festival each year from now on.
A big thanks to the Breezers who
staffed the booth, the Breezers who stopped by to say hello, and to Ivan Pegram
(Sharon’s husband) for shooting photos.
~Lisa Lowe Stauffer
About Lisa Lowe Stauffer
Lisa Lowe Stauffer’s debut book is TWO
BY TWO (Zonderkidz), a playful, rhyming story about animals rocking the boat on
Noah’s Ark. Her twenty-year journey to publication was helped by the
encouragement of many, many critique partners, including lots of fellow
Breezers. LisaLoweStauffer.com
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