Next weekend (June 10-12), Barnes and Noble bookstores across the nation will be holding a teen book festival. The event will involve a few hundred YA authors taking part in workshops, readings, giveaways, and games. One of those authors will be me.

I learned about the book festival when my publisher asked me to find the names and e-mail addresses of all the community relations managers for all bookstores in my area. When I sought that information from the Lennox Town Center Barnes and Noble in Columbus, I mentioned that I had written a YA novel. The bookseller who took my call seemed interested. What was the book about? Who was the publisher? Where is it available? And finally…Would you like to participate in the store’s upcoming teen book festival? I readily accepted.

My presentation will take place at 1 pm on Sunday, June 12. I will focus on the steps I took to write and publish Fast-Pitch Love. That will include looking at the inspiration for the story, the obstacles I encountered, and the process of moving the book through multiple drafts and finally into publication. If time permits, I will do a couple of readings and conclude with a Q&A session. 

At this point, I don’t know in what kind of room I will be speaking, whether there will be programs running concurrently with mine, or how many participants are expected. To give people an incentive to attend my session, I may have a drawing for one or more Barnes and Noble gift cards. One thing I am likely to do is stop by the festival on Saturday and get a feel for the event’s atmosphere. If possible, I’ll also introduce myself to the organizers and attend some of the programs being held that day.

I am looking forward to this opportunity to give Fast-Pitch Love more exposure to the very people for whom it is intended. My next blog (June 19) will discuss my experiences at the book festival and how they may help me prepare for similar presentations in the future.