Over thirty Guelph-area authors gathered this October to meet readers and prospective writers and celebrate the power of telling a story.
The occasion was the Guelph Book Bash Festival, an annual event hosted by the local Vocamus Writers Community. Showcase Books included legendary children’s author Robert Munsch’s ‘Bear for Breakfast’, Chris Sanagan and Jason Lapidus’s ‘Group of 7’ #5, and the 2019 edition of ‘ETCH Anthology’, the result of the Guelph Public Library’s annual contest for teens.
Visitors could purchase books direct from the source, chat with authors and get autographs. The event was free, but donations were collected for Action Read Community Literacy Centre, a local literacy program.
Many of the books came directly from the author’s life experience, like Linda Kenyon’s ‘Sea Over Bow’, about sailing around the world following her divorce. Even if it isn’t commercially published, writing like this can be cathartic and help writers deal with traumatic experiences. Many authors turn to self-publishing and find themselves faced with unanticipated challenges like typesetting, copyediting and graphic design. Local Print shops and presses often offer help with self-publishing.
The 2019 edition of the Book Bash took place on October 21 at Harcourt Memorial United Church. Vocamus runs weekly events that help local writers and would-be writers meet up and work together, like their Monday morning ‘writers room’ program. It also advertises and organises book signings and readings.Get a Free Quote for Print Get a Free Quote for Books
