The Worlds of Michael D'Ambrosio

Hello, friends and fans;
Just returned from an exciting weekend in Winston Salem. The festival was very successful despite the thunderstorm that rolled through a little after 3 pm. The event was well attended and book sales were very good.
The Bookmark Festival in Winston Salem, North Carolina, is a one day event from 11 to 5 where the city ties up a few city blocks for publishers, writers and dealers of related services can purchase a booth and sell their books and other book related goods. I took the drive down from Philadelphia on Friday and spent the evening at Barnhill’s Books & Gifts. They held a pre-festival party at their store with myself and a few other authors on hand to talk with the attendees. They also set up a wine tasting to give the store a relaxed atmosphere. It was well attended and I had the opportunity to speak to several new and newly published writers about their careers.
On Saturday, I arrived at the Barnhill’s booth early and was pleased at the number of early birds who were anxious to see the vendors. Sherilynn Kenyon had a booth there which drew quite a crowd. Several groups from the local colleges put on plays on the main stage to display some of the cultural arts of the area. The shops across the street were convenient and very pleasant to all of us. One shop served breakfast items, frozen drinks, lattes and other goodies. The Fruit Smoothies were great on a hot day like today. Two restaurants were also located nearby as well. It was nice to walk into a shop for a bite to eat or a cold drink whenever I wanted without wandering too far from the booth.

The attendees consisted of local folks, students, travelers from various countries including Argentina, Scotland and the Ukraine, as well as various areas of the United States. More impressive was the number of books that were sold. Our booth did very well and I noticed other authors signing and selling books on a regular basis. A few I spoke with were very pleased. This is very encouraging considering the economy has hit many people very hard. For those of you considering a trip to the Winston Salem area, there is a nearby airport, affordable hotels and I recommend coming in early Friday, joining Barnhill’s for their Friday night pre-party and then spending the day at the festival. After that, there are lots of other things to do in the Winston Salem area. For more information and details, check out their website at www.bookmarksbookfestival.org .
This Saturday, Sept. 15th, I’ll be in historic Smithville, NJ for their Authors’ Day event. Smithville is about eleven miles from Atlantic City.
They have a great collection of shops and restaurants which make for a relaxing and enjoyable day. I hope to see some of you there. Join me next week for a wrap up and some words about Jerrol LeBaron’s Pitch Summit in Burbank.