Thursday at the new local independent bookstore, a fellow writer and I went to the Kindling Words Caravan, where a bunch of the authors who are in town for the Kindling Words Retreat gathered together to meet with local people. There is forty-some odd writers and illustrators, and a good number of them were at the bookstore. One highlight was meeting Jane Yolen, and the downside was that Gregory Maguire didn’t make it, (although I left my books there and he signed them )

It was a very odd experience for me. For one thing it was kids and YA authors, most of whom I was not familiar with, Yolen and Maguire being the exceptions. and there was so many people all about. Plus, many of the authors hadn’t seen each other in a while so they were all excited and talking. A good comparison would be my first MFA residency, where I kind of hung around on the outskirts as all these people knew each other and were excited to see each other, even though they weren’t excluding me, I felt a bit out of the “aura” heh. Where as the next time I went, for my second residency, (event though I was sick as a dog!) I knew people and milled about and was a part of it. The event was definitely a meet and greet, not necessarily a good time to ask questions, or have long conversations.

On the organization level, (this would be the little bit of type A I  have coming out) one thing that would have been easier for all involved would have been more specified places for the authors to sit, with their books readily accessible. I got the feeling that some of the authors really weren’t sure what they were supposed to do, and therefore that led to them wandering and/or looking as if they felt out of place.

But I did learn some things by going there that I am tucking away in my little writer’s brain. Jane Yolen was awesome. She went right in, found a place to sit, and sat herself there, very comfortable and confident. She was really nice and talked to everyone whose book she signed, and was definitely comfortable in her space. She had done this before, and it was obvious. Later, I was looking through the books by the authors, and one lady goes ooh! You’re looking at my book! it was rather cute, and I purchased the book for my daughter. I actually bought two books for my daughter, and had them both signed, and in both cases they authors gave me bookmarks with their websites. The first woman said that she has a sequel coming out and that my daughter could go to the website and find out about it, and the second told me that when my daughter was done reading it she could email and tell her (the author) what she thought about it.

I would have felt a bit more in my element if it had been fantasy, sci-fi or mainstream adult authors, but I’m really glad I went, partially from meeting the writers, but also because I got a feel for these events from this side, and I could watch how the different writers acted and interacted, and so when I am in that position, I will have a little bit of a head start on what to expect, and an idea of how to act