Our first Author Book Fair, chaired by Guild member George Gurney, was a real success.
Fifteen authors participated, and I heard we sold some books! Many thanks to the Diamond Valley Arts Center for a great setup. Feedback from authors and visitors was overwhelmingly positive, with frequent comments on the ambiance of an art gallery as the backdrop for a book fair. George handed out evaluation forms and the board (and company) will be reviewing those in the days ahead.
Thanks to all who participated, and to all who came out and supported our first fair. Special thanks to George Gurney for leading this effort, to Marj Charlier for creating and printing the book catalog, Wendy Knepp for taking pictures, Cindy and Larry Finkelstein for publicity, Mike Buckley for transporting the tables, and Jerry Prager and Arch Font for the super help in cleaning up afterwards.

MJ Kruty, Eve Gaal, Suzanne Saunders, Rose Baldwin, Judith Fabris, and Larry Finkelstein (l to r).

Author Ashley Sant, with Valerie Eitzen and LJ Gurney (facing away)

An example of good salesmanship by Eve Gaal. Also, a beautiful backdrop.

Poet Richard Harry’s deep voice and powerful delivery made for a compelling reading.

Dave Putnam spoke of his Bruno Johnson series and shared writing tips with fellow authors.

Jenois Harris, with her popular zines, featuring original artwork depicting the stories.

Rose Baldwin (l) and Judith Fabris

G.L. “Jerry” Pregar brought his experience as an actor to his reading.

John Hoddy signing for Ellyn Wolfe

Judy Mare’ with her books against an artful backdrop.

Author Marj Charlier (c) flanked by Cindy Finkelstein and Marj’s husband, Ben.

Patricia Wilson, DVAC Docent, wrapping up the day with announcements of coming events. Earlier, Richard Leitz welcomed us to the DVAC at the start of our event.
GUILD ANNOUNCEMENTS
We are about to celebrate the last meeting of our program year. As you know, we meet from January through October.
On October 28, 2017, we’ll be honored to welcome Brooke Warner, publisher of She Writes Press, president of Warner Coaching Inc., author of What’s Your Book? and How to Sell Your Memoir, and co-author of Breaking Ground on Your Memoir. She is also a regular Huffington Post blogger and a master teacher of memoir who co-leads the popular course “Write Your Memoir in Six Months.”
Her expertise is in traditional and new publishing. She sits on the boards of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IDPA), the National Association of Memoir Writers, and the Bay Area Book Festival. Her website has been named by The Write Life as one of the Top 100 Best Websites for Writers.
Brooke, who lives in northern California, will be chatting with us about building our author platform. We look forward to learning about this critical aspect of author success from her expert viewpoint.
ELECTION NOTE: Preceding Brooke’s talk, members will vote for five Board Members who will serve in the upcoming term. I’ll send out an email reminder in early October.
See you Saturday, October 28, 2017, at the Hemet Public Library, 300 E. Latham Street, Hemet CA 92543.
This blog post was prepared by Lynne Spreen, President of the DVWG. Lynne writes midlife fiction, because she believes we learn and grown continuously throughout our lives. You may access her website here and her books here.