Reaching Readers: Book Festivals

As a writer of children’s literature, I’ve been frequenting book festivals for some time. Locally, we have the Orange County Children’s Book Festival every October. And just a short drive away is the LA Times Festival of Books in April. Both of these book festivals are FREE and jam packed with authors, illustrators, entertainment and tons of books. 

The Orange County Children’s Book Festival has a number of stages for all ages. There’s the Main Stage, which usually features a celebrity author. Past years have featured Jamie Lee Curtis, Holly Robinson Peete, James Doti, Buzz Aldrin and Kareem Abdul-Jabar. In addition to the main stage, there’s a storyteller’s stage, a Middle Grade Stage, a Young Adult stage, an illustrator’s stage, as well various other stages featuring pets, puppet shows, and even cooking demonstrations for kids. The LA Times Festival of Books is an even larger event, featuring hundreds of authors and illustrators. This festival includes a large Children's stage and a huge bookstore sponsored by Target. Both festivals are packed every year with thousands of kids eager to find new books to read. 

These types of events are such awesome opportunities to expose kids to new books and new authors. They are great for families. And the energy is so amazing, kids can’t help but to get excited to read! Plus, there's usually the opportunity to purchase books, both used and new. A few years ago, I won a basket of books. And last year, I won a new Kindle e-reader at one of the booths in a raffle. The opportunities are endless. 

Books festivals like these can be found around in most cities around the country, so do a Google search for one close to you today!