MidAtlantic Book Publishers Association

On Saturday, April 8, Toni Albert and I attended the CityLit festival at the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore, and manned a table on behalf of MBPA. Treasurer Donna Wessell was there, as were several other members past and present.

Our goal at the festival was to spread the word about the MidAtlantic Book Publishers Association, to find new members, and to make contacts that would be beneficial to the organization. In that, I think that we were very successful.

Unlike the Baltimore Book Festival, which has a more commercial/entertainment-oriented feel, the CityLit festival seemed to be much more of a gathering of the Baltimore-area literary community, which I think was its purpose. In spite of the rain, there was excitement in the air at this intersection of literary people. Almost everyone that I talked to at the festival was a serious book person, or involved in the literary community in some capacity. From what I saw, it was much more about networking than about sales. The people that were there selling books did make some sales, but more important were the contacts that were made. Everywhere you looked there were people connecting and talking about books, literature, poetry, and the book business in general. You can read more about the festival here:

http://www.citylitproject.org/?q=node/122

Many thanks to Gregg Wilhelm and everyone else involved for organizing the event!

Some of the interesting people that we talked to included:

Maryland Center for the Book

I talked with Natalie Weikart of the Maryland Center for the Book. We discussed ways that MBPA and the center might possibly work together. The Maryland Center for the Book offers a variety of interesting programs, including a Speakers Bureau and grants for literary activities through the Maryland Humanities Council. To read more about the center, visit their web site:

http://www.mdhc.org/programs/mdcenterforbook/index.htm

Maryland Writers' Association

I met Denise Camacho with the Maryland Writers' Association. Her husband Austin S. Camacho, author of the Hannibal Jones Mystery series, is the current president of the association. Their annual writers' conference will be held on May 6 this year, in Brooklyn Park, MD:

http://www.marylandwriters.org/conferences.html

AuthorsBookshop.com

I finally got to meet Brad Grochowski of AuthorsBookshop.com in person. Brad is rapidly becoming known as an advocate for small and independent presses. Using the indie music and film movements as a model, he wants to generate the same kind of excitement about independently published books. His online bookshop is a sort of "anti-Amazon," selling books by independent publishers in an environment that encourages communication between publishers, authors, and readers:

http://www.authorsbookshop.com/

You can read an interesting interview with Brad here:

http://smallpress.typepad.com/index/2006/02/brad_grochowski.html

and

http://smallpress.typepad.com/index/2006/02/brad_grochowski_1.html

Maryland State Poetry & Literary Society

The Maryland State Poetry & Literary Society is dedicated to supporting literature and poetry in Maryland. They are currently accepting submissions for the second edition of the literary journal, Attic. Writers may send up to five poems, one short story, or one essay (up to 2000 words). Please include a cover letter with writer's bio and a SASE. On each piece, please also include all personal information: full name, address, email address, and phone number. Previously published work and simultaneous submissions not accepted. The submission deadline is June 1, 2006.

Attic
c/o MSP&LS
Drawer H
Baltimore, MD 21228
attic.online@gmail.com

Topics

• Networking
• MBPA
• Marketing