SBPL Invites You to Our Local Author Book Fair

Santa Barbara Public Library (SBPL) will be hosting local authors, particularly independent authors, to participate in this year’s Local Author Book Fair, taking place in the Faulkner Gallery at the Santa Barbara Central Library on Saturday, December 2 from 2-4 pm. The public is cordially invited to come, meet the authors, browse a selection of original works by local writers, and celebrate Santa Barbara’s diverse and thriving literary landscape. 

This event series began in 2016 when Indie Author Day was first celebrated in Santa Barbara and across the country. A team of SBPL’s librarians organized a day for writers that included a panel discussion about paths to independent publishing, featuring two authors, a librarian, a bookseller, and two publishing professionals. After the discussion, the community participated in a speed-dating style networking opportunity to meet others working on independent publishing projects. 

The following year Indie Author Day 2017 featured a discussion with a local independent author, morning breakout sessions on writing for various audiences and genres, group sessions on how to get your independently published book into bookstores and libraries, as well as marketing and design tips from book cover to page layout. 

After a brief hiatus, this event returned in January of 2020 with a new name, SBPL Local Author Day, which included a panel discussion titled “Art & Craft of Writing” as well as “Nuts & Bolts: Get Your Book into the Hands of Readers.” Participants at all three of these in-person author events particularly enjoyed the ability to network with each other and participate in a book sale at the end of the day, where they were invited to sell their work to the public. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Local Author Day went online in 2021 with a fully digital event that spanned two weekends planned by two SBPL Librarians. For those looking to hone their writing skills, a presenter-led “Writing the Compelling Opening” had participants engaged in developing and critiquing the opening sentences and paragraphs of narrative pieces they were working on. Authors who wanted support on the publishing side of things joined two local authors for a workshop that covered the process of approaching literary agents, from developing a savvy pitch, to crafting a compelling and professional query letter. Participants received immediate feedback on their drafts of a query letter to refine their pitch. 

2022 marked a big construction year for the library, resulting in another year without Local Author Day. Staff have had time to reflect on some of the takeaways and lessons of past local author events and are looking forward to a new iteration in our upcoming Local Author Book Fair, on Saturday, December 2, from 2-4 pm in the Faulkner Gallery at the Santa Barbara Central Library. 

This year, SBPL is hosting local authors again to participate in a Local Author Book Fair, offering these authors the chance to network, meet a community of readers and writers, talk about their work, and offer it for sale. In the past, authors have really enjoyed this particular element of the Indie Author Day and Local Author Day events, giving writers a platform to share their books with the public. 

We very much look forward to gathering this wonderful community of local authors and readers together for this celebration at Santa Barbara Public Library’s Local Author Book Fair!

List of SBPL Local Author Book Fair’s participating authors: 

Ana Ellickson, Annette Bletcher, Avrom Altman, Becky Brown, Bee Bloeser, Betsy J. Green, Betty Fussell, Bonnie Runjavac, Brooks Firestone, Bryan Snyder, Cameron Walker, Caryl and Jay Casbon, Cecilia Aguirre, Cheri Rae, Chryss Yost, Cynthia Hamilton, Cynthia Waring, Dale Figtree, Dale Zurawski, Darrell M. McNeill, David Starkey, David Unger PhD, Diana Raab, Elayne Klasson, Elizabeth Foscue, Elizabeth Morse, Eric von Schrader, Erin Graffy, Evelyn Ruiz, Gary Delanoeye, Genevieve A. Antonow, George Yatchisin, Gillian Osborne, Jack Reed, James Buckley Jr., Jane Hulse, Jenifer Sanregret, Jenny and Harry Bruell, Jess Johnston, Jessica Winters Mireles, Jinny Webber, John Perlin, John Holman, John McKinney, Karen Telleen-Lawton, Katelyn Yates, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Leanne Roth, Lisa Angle, Lorissa Rinehart, Marc McGinnes, Marilee Zdenek, Max Talley, Melinda Palacio, Michelle Detorie, Nikki Barthelmess, Patrick Shattuck, Perie Longo, Rachel Corry, Ralph Chapek, Rodney H. Chow, Shauna C Murphy, Shirley Lim, Stephen Figler, Sue Perry, Susan Read Cronin, Victoria King Kondos, Vince Burns, W. Royce Adams, William (“Bill”) MacKinnon, William R. Johnston