Tent of Exhibiting Authors - Gaithersburg Book Festival

The weather wasn’t great, but that did not keep people from turning out in record numbers (18,000 strong)  for the fourth annual Gaithersburg Book Festival on Saturday May 18th. I was one of many authors who inhabited the “Hall of Exhibiting Authors.” Okay, it was actually the “Tent of Exhibiting Authors.” But I’m not complaining. Everyone was in good spirits because the rain held off, giving us a chance to chat up festival goers in hopes of selling a book or two.

My spot in the tent (space HA-32, to be exact) was directly across from the  Gertrude Stein Pavilion. What an honor to be so close to literary greatness. Unfortunately, Ms. Stein was a no show, as was Rachel Carson who failed to appear at the pavilion named in her honor. I did have a chance to mingle with still living, future literary greats, however, including Nadia Kim (Reflection, Love Curse) who was selling books at the table to my left, and Raven A. Nuckols (Had The Queen Lived: An Alternative History of Anne Boleyn) who shared a table to my right.  Although Ms. Stein and Ms. Carson may not have made it, Jimmie Walker of Good Times fame spent a considerable amount of time at Nadia’s table, which she shared with author John Debellis (Stand Up Guys:  A Generation of Laughs). Mr. Walker was at the festival selling copies of his book Dyn-O-Mite!: Good Times, Bad Times, Our Times, and graciously took time to talk to everyone who sought him out.

Many thanks to Nadia for including me in her blog Secret Tips To Writing Novels and Sylvia Carignan of the Gazette Newspapers for mentioning me in her article about the festival. Thanks also to Steve Quinn (the publisher at Huntington Park) for stopping by, and author Paul Dickson for the shout out during the Baseball and Society discussion.