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166 Book Festivals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I haven’t participated in many book festivals. I’ve done a few, but every time I look at the long list of marquee writers who are appearing , I get a bit depressed just imagining trying to compete with the rock stars of literature. Also, the size of these festivals can be daunting , and I don’t do well in crowds. (I was trampled at a U2 concert in Iowa City in the late eighties. Seriously. Ever since, I get a little panicky in huge crowds.) Nonetheless, I have been assured by other writers that book festivals are worth a writer’s time. A few of the largest and most well-​ known festivals are the Miami Book Fair International, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, and the Texas Book Festival. Fiction writer Lynne Barrett says of the Miami Book Fair International, “It’s a great place for selling books, it’s good for networking, and it is a lot of fun. It is also a way an attendee who is not yet a published author can get a look at a tremendous number of published writers and their ways of interacting with the public. Our MFA students at Florida International University go and envision themselves representing a book there—which many of them have gone on to do.” These festivals typically feature author readings, a variety of panels on writing and publishing, book signings, and a book fair. It’s not easy to get booked into the larger festivals, however, even when your publicist is pulling the strings to get you in. And, as I suggested above, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd if you’re not a marquee name. I participated in the ChicagoTribune’s Printer’s Row Book Festival one year, and the panel that I was on was scheduled at the same time as an appearance by Chuck Palahniuk, who read his short story “Guts,” a story that’s so disgusting it’s become famous for making people in the audience sick whenever he reads it. Yes, this was our competition .The turnout for our panel was decent enough, but I signed probably only three books afterward. Bear in mind that, unless you are Chuck Palahniuk or Toni Morrison or another Big Gun, the book festival won’t be paying for your transportation, accommodations, or food. Unless you live nearby or can talk your publisher into footing the bill, the cost-​ benefit analysis won’t likely be in your favor. On the Publicity 167 other hand, you may have a good time and meet some interesting people, so long as you’re not getting sick at a Chuck Palahniuk reading or getting trampled when the doors open for a rock star like Joyce Carol Oates. ...

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