The invitations go out, posters get placed around town, the word travels on the Internet, but still, or perhaps because of the method, you just don't know who will turn up in person. With every seat filled at 6:55 p.m. for a 7 p.m. event, and cars circling the neighborhood to find parking it was soon obvious that both authors and neighbors were in the house. A full house!
The first "Ballard Authors & Neighbors" event at Sunset Hill Community Club last night was not only fun, but a success in that it allowed for writers to meet one another, aspiring writers to connect with others, and frankly a community love fest of readers.
As Nicole Aloni told me afterwords, "It made me proud to be a Ballardite."
Author Rita Bresnahan shared this by email, "The space was so abuzz with literary and neighborly energy that it was tingly! Sunset H C C was bursting at the seams, a community truly coming together in a way beyond what any of the founders could have envisioned for that space."
One writer (Liz Gallagher) got stuck at her day job otherwise it was a feast of authors from A-W (still looking for Z). Part of the fun was watching the serendipity of mixing all genres, from comic books to historical fiction, by last name. A food writer next to crime fiction, poet next to young readers.
The panel moderated by Erica Bauermeister was of interest to everyone. I got to study the faces in the audience; rapt and smiling.
Above Carl Deuker, Christy McDanold, Michael Schein, Nina Laden, Janna Cawrse and moderator Erica Bauermeister.
Meanwhile at the Secret Garden table, participants were buying books, from self-published to those published by Simon & Schuster. it was a fabulous, exciting, obviously superlative-laden evening all around.
Along with everyone else I am astounded by the talent in our midst and delighted that at least 100 people will no longer be strangers to one another. I've discovered new authors myself...and I'm going to plead my case with Secret Garden to do a window display of books that they had ordered for last night's event. "After the event?" Suzanne questioned.
Why not? I didn't get enough time to see the books written by neighbors last night. Why not take Buy Local to another level, being able to buy books locally written by locals?
Last night was a beginning; who knows where it will lead? I hope it will allow us to harness all that talent and do more with the energy that was in the clubhouse last night. More readings, workshops, some sort of collective? People left contact information to learn about other events and suggesting other writers. I've got names to enter and business cards to sort but for now I'm perfectly content. Content to relive last night because it was beyond amazing.
An earlier post included links to author sites; the complete list of authors was in this post.