Sun staff
The Clermont County Public Library is hosting a networking event for authors on Oct. 1 at the Union Township Branch.
The Author Next Door festival, which will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., is aimed at bringing together published authors, aspiring authors and book lovers.
“The Clermont County Public Library supports people who are beginning authors or who are thinking about writing,” Theresa Herron, communications manager for the CCPL said. “This is one of the ways we can support published authors as well as those looking to break in.”
The free event will feature 64 local authors of adult, young adult and children’s fiction, non-fiction and academic writing who will be available to answer questions and promote and sell their work.
“I feel this event is important because as a library, we’re all about words, and authors write words,” said Union Township Branch Adult Services Librarian Phyllis Goodman, who has been planning the event since January.
She added, “When we sent out an email blast asking for authors to feature, we thought we might get responses from 25 authors; we got 77.”
A range of activities are planned for the day, starting with a 9:30 a.m. discussion by author and publisher Rebecca Benston about the ever-changing world of authoring and what to do when what an author’s been doing isn’t working, according to a press release from the library.
At 11:05 a.m., 16 of the featured authors will take turns reading from their works, and at 12:35 p.m., a six-author panel will present on their writing experiences and hold a Q&A session.
Throughout the day, attendees are invited to use one of the many available tables that will be scattered around the library to talk one-on-one with authors.
“There are a lot of local authors here,” Goodman said. “Sometimes, as the public, we don’t even know who those authors are, but they could very well be our neighbors.”
She added, “I’m very excited about the event, and the response has been positive.”
Pre-registration for The Author Next Door festival is not needed. For more information about the event, visit www.clermontlibrary.org or call the Union Township Library, located at 4450 Glen Este-Withamsville Road, at 513-528-1744.