Ellis
Many years ago, when I was younger and more inclined to stand in lines, I hopped in a car with my buddy Julia and traveled to Charleston, South Carolina for an amazing event called YallFest.
The city would fill with booklovers for the two-day festival, giving avid readers the opportunity to meet some of their favorite authors. It was a program that supported literacy but also supported the city of Charleston — encouraging attendees to explore as they moved to different locations for the author events.
I stood in alleys, boutiques, donut shops, historic parks and libraries, bouncing from area to area to add another author signature to my list, making friends with the other readers in line. I very rarely had anything inciteful to say to the authors — always becoming tongue-tied at the very last second — but there was something special in just being able to tell them that I loved their books.
Last year as we were wrestling with our strategic plan, we wanted to develop a program centered on those very same priorities. How do we support our readers, build opportunities for connection, while also highlighting the awesomeness of Old Town Greenwood?
And that’s how Readers Weekend was born! We knew we wanted a theme for the event, so we picked a beloved genre that is having a “moment” in the publishing world and among readers on social media: romance.
We brainstormed authors that we thought might be a draw, and we managed to find two that are having their very own “moments” of popularity — Ashley Poston and Abby Jimenez. And then we decided to tie it all together with the Readers Market, an afternoon of activities that gets our neighbors involved so that our readers can meet some of our Old Town and greater Greenwood friends.
Amy Barile with the Teal Canary will be offering a decoupage heart craft at the Market. Lauren Ashby with Board & Brush is opening for our readers to create their very own personalized art pieces. Vino Villa will be serving wine at our VIP author event. Sarah Nilsson with Bella Rose Design will be selling romance-themed swag. And our readers will be visiting the local breweries and bars for a Saturday night pub crawl.
We hope this is just the beginning for the Greenwood Public Library in planning dynamic, large-scale bookish events. We’re always dreaming and scheming up new ways to find new readers and make new connections.
Johnson County residents are super blessed to have so many author visits to choose from each year. Both Wild Geese Bookshop in Franklin and the Johnson County Public Library system are doing amazing programming that connects readers to the authors they enjoy. We do truly believe that literacy can change lives. And if you find a few new friends along the way, even better.
Emily Ellis is the Assistant Director at Greenwood Public Library. GPL staff members share in writing this twice-monthly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].
