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Update on LA Times Festival of Books
Three words for it: Hot. Crowded. Overwhelming.
Hats, water bottles and sun screen were necessities of life as the mercury went way over 90. Vendors selling water, lemonade and ice-cream – they were everywhere – probably made tidy sums. I don't know what the official count is, but it seemed as if all of Los Angeles came to the grounds of UCLA on Saturday, the day I was there. Were they buying books or just gawking at sweating writers touting them? I don't know. People seemed to be toting book bags stuffed with something or other. I hope it was books! You needed tickets to get into some of the panel discussions and special presentations; I didn't try this year.
There were lots of parents pushing kids in strollers or carrying them in backpacks (In this hot weather? Ouch!) And lots of face-painted kids and panting dogs. That seems like a happy omen to me. Future readers! Pet lovers! Memo to self: Put more dogs and kids into the stories I write.
The three-sided canvas booths for vendors seemed hotter than outside, especially if you stood under the trees. UCLA has a lovely, well-landscaped campus, and I enjoyed strolling around before my stint and after – until the sun became too much and a headache drove me home. I spent a quarter at UCLA years ago on a post-graduate fellowship, and it feels like my west coast alma mater. But it's huge, and even if you manage to park near the booth you're signing in at the beginning of the day, you can guarantee it will be the furthest away from you after you've finished browsing around at the end of the day.
The people who hosted me, the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society, were nice enough to improve on the lame PR poster I'd provided ahead of time, and they kept me supplied with cold water. I sold half a dozen books in an hour and a half. And I got to talk to a lot of neat people, including a couple of my former students, one whom I hadn't seen in years. But it seemed like there were four people who wanted to talk about their own writing ambitions for every one who was interested in buying a book.
So was it worth it? I guess so. Since it's the biggest book festival on the west coast, it's easy for a midlist genre writer to get lost. The energy of the festival was uplifting – and if I hadn't been there I'd have probably been at home grousing about the heat and getting very little done anyway.
Whar's your experience of events like this?
Hats, water bottles and sun screen were necessities of life as the mercury went way over 90. Vendors selling water, lemonade and ice-cream – they were everywhere – probably made tidy sums. I don't know what the official count is, but it seemed as if all of Los Angeles came to the grounds of UCLA on Saturday, the day I was there. Were they buying books or just gawking at sweating writers touting them? I don't know. People seemed to be toting book bags stuffed with something or other. I hope it was books! You needed tickets to get into some of the panel discussions and special presentations; I didn't try this year.
There were lots of parents pushing kids in strollers or carrying them in backpacks (In this hot weather? Ouch!) And lots of face-painted kids and panting dogs. That seems like a happy omen to me. Future readers! Pet lovers! Memo to self: Put more dogs and kids into the stories I write.
The three-sided canvas booths for vendors seemed hotter than outside, especially if you stood under the trees. UCLA has a lovely, well-landscaped campus, and I enjoyed strolling around before my stint and after – until the sun became too much and a headache drove me home. I spent a quarter at UCLA years ago on a post-graduate fellowship, and it feels like my west coast alma mater. But it's huge, and even if you manage to park near the booth you're signing in at the beginning of the day, you can guarantee it will be the furthest away from you after you've finished browsing around at the end of the day.
The people who hosted me, the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society, were nice enough to improve on the lame PR poster I'd provided ahead of time, and they kept me supplied with cold water. I sold half a dozen books in an hour and a half. And I got to talk to a lot of neat people, including a couple of my former students, one whom I hadn't seen in years. But it seemed like there were four people who wanted to talk about their own writing ambitions for every one who was interested in buying a book.
So was it worth it? I guess so. Since it's the biggest book festival on the west coast, it's easy for a midlist genre writer to get lost. The energy of the festival was uplifting – and if I hadn't been there I'd have probably been at home grousing about the heat and getting very little done anyway.
Whar's your experience of events like this?
I do enjoy the Festival of Books though. I haven't really gone for the panel discussions in the last couple of years, but I know some of those can be interesting. I do find that I come away with at least one treasure. It's usually something I've stumbled upon while wondering aimlessly. It makes dealing with the crowds worthwhile.
Baci seemed to have a good time too. We'll probably go next year again!