The Augusta Literary Festival – Postscript!!

On March 7, 2015, I attended the 4th Annual Augusta Literary Festival in Augusta, Georgia. We had a great time! We enjoyed our stay. Before I talk about the Festival, though, I want to talk about Augusta. Wikipedia says Augusta is the second oldest city in Georgia. Only Savannah is older. James Oglethorpe, founder of the British colony of Georgia, directed Augusta’s founding. Oglethorpe sent troops to build at the head of the navigable section of the Savannah River. He named to town Augusta (after the wife of the Frederick, Prince of Wales).

Other interesting facts about Augusta:

• Augusta was the capital of Georgia twice during the American Revolution
• Prior to the Civil War, Augusta was a leader in the production of textiles, gunpowder, and paper
• in 1845, the Southern Baptist Convention was founded in Augusta
• Augusta is the home of the Medical College of Georgia
• Georgia Pacific was founded in Augusta
• James Brown (the Godfather of Soul) grew up in Augusta in the 1930’s and 40’s
• The Savannah River Site is located near Augusta (and is the source for tritium for nuclear weapons)
• EZ – Go and Club Car (the world’s largest golf cart manufacturers) are located in Augusta
• The Masters Golf Tournament held annually at Augusta National Golf Club

Speaking the the Masters, I keep applying for Masters tickets in the ticket lottery. Despite my many attempts, I haven’t won any, but hope springs eternal! I apply each year in May and get the results in July. One day, I hope I’ll get the tickets!

There you have a quick list of facts about Augusta. Interesting place and one I am going to have to take some time to learn more about. However, now on to the Augusta Literary Festival and my experiences there!

Augusta Literary Festival:

We (the lovely and adorable Lana accompanied me – see the picture below), arrived Friday afternoon for the Festival. We attended the Author’s Reception at the Library. The highlight was the winner of the Yerby Award. Amanda Kyle Williams won for her book Don’t Talk to Strangers.

Saturday got the ball rolling. The event started at 10 am and there were visitors aplenty! Before it started, we got to interact with the other authors. I made a couple of new author friends! I decided to do a giveaway with each book purchased. For Book One: The Carnelian, we gave away carnelians. Book Two: The Amethyst buyers received amethysts. Not a bad bonus for buying a book!

I also participated as a panelist for a self publishing discussion. My fellow panelists were fantasy writer Alicia Michaels, and Hasheem Francis, bestselling author and businessman. We spoke about the self publishing process and our own lessons learned during our independent author journey. About 40 people attended our session. I hope we gave useful advice! Who knows, we might have spoken to a future Yerby Award winner!

By the end of the day, we met some really great people. I gained new author friends, too. And, we sold a few books! Overall, we had a wonderful experience. I’ll Look for my invitation to next year’s Augusta Literary Festival!

Did you attend the Augusta Literary Festival? What about book festivals in your area (if you don’t live in or near Augusta)? Do you enjoy interacting with the authors and finding new books? What is your favorite part of a festival? Leave me a comment and let me know!

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Connect with me! I’m on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads. Otherwise, just drop me a line at bill@williamlstuart.com! Stop by and say hi! If you’ve read any of The Gemstone Chronicles, thanks! If not, what are you waiting for? And please consider leaving a review. I love to know what you think of the books!