I always look forward to Wordstock, the largest literary festival in the Pacific Northwest held annually in Portland. And this year did not disappoint.
I’ve been an attendee, volunteer, an exhibitor through Friends of the Multnomah County Library, and the official bookseller of children’s and young adult books through Green Bean Books.
An upside of working at a bookstore, especially ours, is that authors randomly stop by, not only to browse but buy books. It’s always interesting to me what they get and what they recommend. And I definitely want to read their books more when they shop at our store. Not only do I get excited when I meet writers even when I hadn’t read any of their books but apparently I also get excited when I find out they’re related to a writer (and/or illustrator) I like. That’s what happened last Friday!
The downside of having to work during the festival is that I didn’t have time to visit other vendors or attend any workshops or readings. But, again, since I was manning our YA area, I got to talk to lots of authors. It’s fascinating to see how they act. Being nice to people and being understanding of the fact that a small independent bookstore can’t carry more than a few titles of your book will earn you points. But the majority of them were friendly. I’m still kicking myself that I didn’t introduce myself to Gene Luen Yang even though he kept walking past our table!
Here are some highlights that made me glad I was at Wordstock!
1) A store customer recognized me and complimented my recommendation skills. She has a niece she sends books to once a month and I’m thrilled I can help them bond over books!
2) Another person walked up and said her cousin (who’s a regular at our store) recommended she talk to me to find some books for her daughter. I’m hoping I’ll be able to help them when they come in to Green Bean Books!
3) Another customer came up and told me his daughter was excited to meet Kristen Kittscher because I had recommended The Wig in the Window. (She had even bought another copy as a gift!) I’m always telling people that we’re so lucky to live in such a book loving city like Portland where readers have opportunities to meet the writers they love!
4) I got to talk to Kristen Kittscher and tell her about the girl. Turns out it was a moment for the author as well since (as a new writer with her book fairly recently published) hardly anyone has had a chance to read the book before meeting her!
5) I’m not an animal person at all but I ended up petting a therapy dog named Lovey, who is part of Read to the Dogs. I love this approach to build a child’s confidence in their reading skills!
6) I loved talking to other readers. And, two of them were currently reading a couple of my favorites- Anne of Green Gables and Letters to a Young Poet. Kindred spirits!
Wordstock is going through some changes and I hope they can figure out ways to revitalize themselves. There are connections between writers and readers that only happens at Wordstock and it’ll be a shame if those get lost.
The Chronicles Of A Children's Book Writer - Earl Dizon 