Indie Author Book Festival 2024

Come and enjoy our annual Indie Author Book Festival at the George W. Hawkes Downtown Library November 2, 2024, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. This festival is held to celebrate and encourage self-published authors and those looking to become an author themselves to never give up on their dreams of writing. We will have workshops, bookish activities, free giveaways, an author alley and more. View all the authors who will be attending and their bios here. See below for the full schedule:

Schedule:

Workshops:

11 a.m. - Richard Gonzales

Title: Nurturing Creativity

Description: Creativity is vital to keep your stories entertaining and appealing. This session will talk about how to develop a creative mind for your story-telling. We will engage in a few exercises as examples.

12 p.m. - Eric Hamilton

Title: Design Your Personal Success Blueprint: Building Foundations for Achievement

Description: Join Eric Hamilton, author of "The Sales Blueprint: What Winners Do Differently," for an inspiring 20-minute workshop where you'll learn how to craft your own blueprint for success. This session is designed for individuals from all walks of life who are eager to achieve their personal and professional goals. 

12 p.m. - Helen Dent

Title: Enchanting: Writing Characters Who Could Walk off the Page

Description: In this workshop, you’ll gain tools for developing memorable characters through several writing activities. We’ll focus on brainstorming hyper-specific details to create vibrant, unified characters as well as describing characters through what they notice.

12:30 p.m. - Lee Carver

Title: Passing on Your Heritage

Description: Passing on Your Heritage directs helpful information toward two target audiences: toward writers to record their lives using everything they've learned writing fiction, and also to nonwriters to encourage them to record their most significant events and life lessons.

11:30 a.m. - Rosie J. Pova

Title: Find Your Perfect Match: How to Identify, Query, and Choose the Right Literary Agent for Your Children's Book Career

Description: Unlock the secrets to landing the ideal literary agent for your children’s book journey! In this comprehensive workshop, you'll learn how to create a targeted list of agents, prepare a standout submission package, and navigate the querying process with confidence. Discover how to assess if an agent is right for you and get the inside scoop on the 7 crucial questions you must ask on "The Call." 

1:30 p.m. - Harry Hall

Title: Your Press Kit, the Media Conversation Starter

Description: Most authors have heard of press kits, but unfortunately, few have them. A good press kit adds to your professionalism and can help you get on television or radio or became the subject of a print article. But what goes into a press kit? In this session, attendees will come away with tips/strategies to make a positive first impression with that media representative.

12: 30 p.m. - Ariel Slick

Title: Plot Perfect: How to develop a character-driven story

Description: In this workshop, you will learn how you can write a short story, novel, or screenplay from the very beginning of an idea to a fully formed outline. Ariel will show you step by step how to outline, how to fuse character motivation with plot, and how to amplify your theme.

1 p.m. - Yolanda Wilson

Title: Write, Speak, Sell: How to Monetize Your Book and Build Your Brand

Description: A simple, practical workshop that teaches authors how to make money from their books in different ways. You’ll learn how to sell products like mugs, get speaking gigs, and promote yourself to grow your brand and income. It's a helpful guide to turning your book into more than just a one-time sale.

A special thank you to our Friends and Foundation of the Arlington Public Library for their constant support and funding that assists the Arlington Public Library in bringing these amazing programs to the community of Arlington, Texas.