Derry author fest to celebrate the art of writing
DERRY — Writers who are hobbyists, published, and anywhere in between will have a day dedicated to them at the Derry Public Library next weekend.
The Derry Public Library, 64 East Broadway, is hosting a full day of lectures for writers of all levels at the Derry Author Fest at 10 a.m. on April 6.
Erin Robinson, a librarian and the organizer of Author’s Fest, said it began in 2015 as a way to offer a high-quality, free lecture series to writers of all calibers.
The theme this year is 1, 2, 3 Grow! While many of the lectures are from children’s book writers and young adult authors, the theme is meant to be more broad than looking at stories about growing up, said Robinson.
“Whether it’s growing a profession, growing a platform, growing your craft, or growing your artistry, it’s just very open and meant to be that way,” Robinson said.
The lecture series will have discussions about what makes picture books marketable, what ideas are good for nonfiction picture books, and how to market young adult books with multiple themes.
“People who are working on a particular thing, it’ll help them think if they have it or if they need to dive back in and make some changes,” Robinson said.
The speakers are all published authors, and the keynote speaker is Virginia MacGregor, who has had her debut novel “What Milo Saw” translated into 12 languages.
While there isn’t a critique set up, the scheduled lunch will have themed tables writers can sit at. Whether they prefer writing fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, Robinson said they’ll have a chance to discuss their work and be among similar minds.
“It’s nice, you get to see people tucked in corners on lunch and breaks chatting about their works,” said Robinson.
This is the second year Robinson has organized Authors Fest since the Covid-19 pandemic. The original founder was Elizabeth Ives, a member of the library’s Board of Trustees before she died in 2016.
Robinson said she always thinks of Ives whenever it comes time to plan the event, and is happy to continue this piece of Ives’ legacy.
“She wanted to have a day where there were Masters of Fine Arts style lectures for free and have it be open to the public,” Robinson said. “To make it a program that is an MFA caliber and not have a cost, that is quite rare. Often people have to pay registration or membership fees and having (Author Fest) be accessible is really the biggest value.”