How to Go
What: Books by the Banks: Cincinnati USA Book Festival
Where: Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202
When: October 20, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Cost: No admission cost
More Info: www.booksbythebanks.org
The Books by the Banks Festival is taking place for the sixth time this weekend.
In the past, the festival has attracted best-selling authors such as Augusten Burroughs (“Running with Scissors”). How does our little corner of flyover country attract such big-name talent?
“Cincinnati is the seventh most literary city,” said Michael Link, Publisher Relations and Events Manager for Joseph-Beth Booksellers. “We have the largest-circulation public library, a strong, nationally recognized bookseller. It just makes sense to have a (local book) festival. We work year-round to recruit authors for it. I’m in New York multiple times a year keeping it on publishers’ radars.”
The day-long event will feature highly interactive discussion panels and author signings representing a wide variety of genres, mediums, and localities. The bestselling fiction authors this year include Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”) and Katherine Howe (“The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane”). On the children’s front, bestselling duo Andrea and Brian Pinkney will be promoting “Hand in Hand: The Black Men Who Changed America.”
Ann Byrn, the nationally recognized “cake mix doctor” will be offering cooking demonstrations while promoting her latest book, “Unbelievably Gluten-Free!” John and Sherry Petersik will introduce their first book, “Young House Love,” based on their popular home improvement blog of the same name. Husband-and-wife design team, Robert and Cortney Novogratz, will be promoting “Home by Novogratz,” based on their HGTV show. If you remember Springboro native Laura Vikmanis, who made headlines in 2009 by becoming the oldest NFL cheerleader when she made the Ben-Gals squad at 40, she will be on hand with her memoir, “It’s Not About the Pom-Poms.”
Other local and regional talent will be represented as well, including Dayton’s own Sharon Short, Kristina McBride and Martha Moody. The Kids’ Corner will provide little readers with storytime, costumed characters, arts and crafts, games, balloon animals and face painting.
Link said that festivals like this are important because even devout readers are reading less than they might. Publishers and physical booksellers have long lamented that the online purchasing experience blunts the time-honored practice of browsing, the opportunity to stumble upon new and interesting authors by chance.
“When you walk into a brick-and-mortar structure that houses books, you’ll be exposed to thousands of titles,” he said. “You come to a festival and you’re exposed to 100 authors and multiple titles from those authors, and not always in the same genre that you’ve read before, which is perfect for those who like to read across categories.”
Link also stressed the critical importance of author-reader interaction, for both parties.
“There’s so much competition for peoples’ mental landscapes,” he said. “It’s never been more important for people who love books to reach out to each other. You can bring in kids to see the incredible diversity of topics and books being published. Local people writing about their own region provides a personal connection to the topic as well as the book. Making connections with your favorite authors can really invigorate a reader. So far, the Internet does not provide one-on-one interaction with your favorite authors.”
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