OAKHURST – The Community Room was packed with people and papers, as scribes and others brought their books and expertise to the Author’s Day event at the Oakhurst Library on Saturday, Sept. 27.
Friends of the Branch Library (FOBL) helped prepare the room and Librarian Dale Rushing greeted people as they arrived.
The event was well attended, with many literary professionals talking to the public and exchanging ideas with one another.
Registrants sat at tables greeting book lovers, would-be writers and other published authors. There were 25 authors, 2 illustrators, a publisher (Oak Tree Press in Hanford), and 5 coaching groups looking to enroll new members.
Anne Driscoll from Branches Books & Gifts was busy greeting current and future customers, not far from local screenwriter Carol Wolf, who conducts screenwriting classes in our foothills.
The O’Dell family from North Fork arrived in style, sporting period Western costumes to promote Casey’s series of western fantasy. Representatives from Sierra News Online were present to help local authors discover how to connect with their communities
Also present was Jean Werly, who wrote her first book at the age of 95, filled with stories about being a ranger’s wife and living in Yosemite Park from 1936 to 1946.
The published authors represented all genres: children’s fiction, fantasy/sci-fi, historical fiction, mystery and non-fiction. The public was invited to mill around, talk to the professionals, and ask questions about their books and their writing experiences.
Author’s Day was was such a success, that the Library is planning on repeating the event in 2015.
Future plans include perhaps using the outdoor area and inviting some speakers to address specific questions about getting an agent, finding time to write and how to interest a publisher in your work. If this event was any indication of the level of interest, next year’s event will be even more exciting.
Here’s a list of those who participated:
Andrew J. Stillman, Author, Immortality Awaits (Fantasy/Sci-Fi)
Bill Schoettler, Author, Alaska and Back on a BMW 1600 (Non-Fiction)
Bob Williams, Author, T.Y.M.E. Interrupted (Fantasy/Sci-Fi)
Carol Wolf, Author, Summoning: Book One of the Moon Wolf Saga (Fantasy/Sci-Fi)
Casey O’Dell, Author (Fantasy/Sci-Fi)
Daniel D. Davis, Author, From Ancient Aliens to the Shift: Grand Unified Theory (Non-Fiction)
Doug Hansen, Author, Mother Goose in California (Children’s Fiction)
Flora Beach Burlingame, Author, Charcoal and Chalk (Historical Fiction)
Frank Ignagni III, Author, Riding the Apocalypse (Fantasy/Sci-Fi)
Garner Scott Odell, Author, Sir David: the Life and Loves of a Welsh Knight (Historical Fiction)
Gayle Taylor Davis, Author, Grief Sucks, But Love Bears All Things (Non-Fiction)
Glenna Jarvis, Author, Sandman Mystery
Grace Hudlow Odell, Author, What Color Is a Butterfly? (Non-Fiction)
Hans Berger, Author, A Bridge to Cross (Non-Fiction)
Jean Werly, Author, A Tent by the Creek (Non-Fiction)
Jennifer Moss, Author, Town Red Mystery
Jerry Guibor, Author, A Split Second (Non-Fiction)
Karen Moore, Author, Journey of the Knight (Children’s Fiction)
Lucille Apcar, Author, Shibaraku: Memories of Japan, 1926-1946 (Non-Fiction)
Marcia Freedman, Author, Willow Creek History: Cow Camps, Shake Makers, Basket Weavers (Non-Fiction)
Paul Henry Abram, Author, Trona, Bloody Trona (Non-Fiction)
Rich Jackson, Author, Beyond the Mast (Mystery)
Sandra Lee Scott, Author, Bloomin’ Boomers: Pop Culture of Baby Boomers (Non-Fiction)
Virginia W. Pilegard, Author, Grandfather Ratoncito Perez (Children’s Fiction)
Steve Riley, Author/Illustrator, Little Ty Cooney – Yosemite Race (Children’s Fiction)
Anne Driscoll, Branches Books and Gifts, books on the craft of writing
Joyce Stuhr, Group, Class
Ruth Rosenthal, Group, Class, Days of Together
Arthur Murata, Group, Critique
Sandra Masters McCart, Group, Critique
Gina Clugston and Kellie Flanagan, News Source, Sierra News Online
Billie Johnson, Publisher, Rocky Bluff PD Series
