The Louisville Book Festival

This was my, and the Junior Rangers Investigative Club’s, first Book Festival! And I regret that, only because it was awesome! Two days later, let’s discuss:

The day started out foggy. And not just because I woke up early to set up my table (and make rounds with other authors.) My maps app was telling me where to go, but the path was not so clear. Fortunately I had a navigator, supporter, and hype-master in my passenger seat. Kara lives in Louisville. We’ve been friends for a long time, and her kids are some of my favorite beta-readers. Things would not have gone nearly as well without her, even though I’d been planning to attend the festival for the better part of a year.

Started out a foggy day! (Turned into beautiful weather!)

The Louisville Book Festival seemed like an awesome experience. I’d been following the social media accounts, checking out pictures of the previous festivals, and following all of the steps necessary to attend. I’ve been doing my best to promote the festival and my attendance on social media and my website for a while. I brought books. I printed free bookmarks and stickers to give away, and I planned my layout for my table and prepared for the day. I thought I knew what to expect and, in a way, I did.

I’d been told that the atmosphere of the Louisville Book Festival was very good. I expected an opportunity to both sell books, but also to meet with other authors and discuss the experience. I’d been informed that a cool guy named Mychal Threets was going to guest star. (At the time he was known to be an awesome advocate of Libraries who has a lot of enthusiasm for reading and a growing social media following.) And, all in all, I anticipated a really cool book themed day.

I got all of that, but elevated beyond my expectations. After being announced as the guest, but before the Festival, Mychal Threets became the new host of Reading Rainbow! (LeVar Burton approved) Which is great for him, but also something which made me really happy when I learned that the show was coming back. (New Episodes on Youtube now, go check them out!) Before the event, I got to join an online information session with a bunch of other Authors, some were veterans, some were new like me, and that made me even more excited to meet them all. Meeting them in person, and learning about their books, their process, and their passion, was far better than seeing them onscreen and researching their work.

And, of course, there were the many, many people who came to attend the Book Festival. Lifelong book lovers of all ages, parents, educators, and an awesome assortment of young readers looking for the next books to inspire and entertain. There were even few other future writers who have not yet published but are interested in the craft. So many people stopped by my table! All of them were awesome to talk to, and some were gracious enough to listen to me pitch my books. (Some even bought them, and I hope that they enjoy!)

Speaking of tables, I got to share mine with another author Wayne D. Kramer who writes fantasy and also a series of books for younger children. He and his assistant were fun to talk to, and it was interesting to hear about their experience and hear them pitch their books. I’m currently reading the first book released in his Heroes of Time Series. It was one of two recommended starting points, and I wanted to learn more about the “feisty red panda.” His Penny Pangolin series seems pretty cool to. Pangolins are interesting animals, and critically endangered, so the more people who learn about them, (or from them in the books,) the better.

Wayne wasn’t the only author I had the opportunity to meet. I walked away with a few new books of my own, and several more that I intend to buy. (You’ll see a few of the authors and their books in the photos.) Unfortunately, if there was only one complaint about the entire festival it would be this: I did not have time to wander the entire floor myself and meet with every author there. I encourage you, if you are interested in any type of book, to scan through the list of authors in the Louisville Book Festival program. You will definitely find more than a couple books in any area of interest. And while I can personally vouch for about half of the people there, (that’s all I met,) I bet my statement extends to the rest of the authors as well: They were all very cool and very much worth supporting.

(Table Setup was a lot of Fun! Bailey couldn’t make it (wrong side of the Mississippi, so I didn’t even ask) but her art was on full display)

As for the readers, they were super rad! From people who had come to visit specific authors to those who simply wanted to browse the floor, it seemed like everyone was having a good time! (And judging by the lines at the book shop, lots of people found lots of books worth reading.) I hesitate to highlight any one visitor to my table, because I appreciate everyone who stopped by. It’s always fun to meet more people who will take time out of what became a very beautiful day, to browse through a collection of books and stop to talk to the authors who wrote them.

There were also presentations. Unfortunately, I was at my table so I don’t know much about them. (A heard that Mychal Threet’s was a whole lot of fun)

Of course, behind all of this were the people who make the festival happen. Carmichael’s Books set up the bookstore. The Convention Center hosted us. And there was a team of volunteers who have been working on the Book Festival throughout the year. It’s almost impossible to give the team behind the Louisville Book Festival enough credit! Everything came together, I got to meet other cool authors, and we all got to sell our books because of their hard work!

So, The best possible summary of the entire event is simply: If you missed it this year, think about putting the Louisville Book Festival on your list for next year. It was incredibly awesome, and I’m sure that will be true in 2026 too. Maybe I’ll be there.

Nov. 1st: Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Lexington Kentucky!

But if you missed the Louisville Book Festival, but still want an opportunity to see me setup a table and sign books. I will be attending another festival soon. The Kentucky Book Festival will be hosted at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, in Lexington Kentucky, on November 1st, from 9am - 3pm, and I will be there, with the Junior Rangers Investigative Club Novels.