Perhaps you have already experienced the sheer power of the author community. When authors see a need in the world of books and readers, we have the ability to find a way to fill that need. We did that when the pandemic shut down the world and readers still wanted to find books and chat with authors. Many authors led the way and created author/reader communities online.
For a couple of years after the pandemic, it seemed like most authors and readers had learned to connect online and in-person events were a thing of the past, like landlines and fax machines. However, over the last few years, some authors have noticed that readers (and some authors) wanted a return of in-person events. Authors, especially indie authors, have met this need by creating events that are localized, inclusive, affordable, and author friendly.
If you have come across social media for one of these events, you may have thought, “I wish I had known about it, I would have liked to participate.” That happened to me in late 2023, when I saw a notice about the Bangor Authors’ Fair that was scheduled near me in mid-December. On an impulse, I reached out to the organizer, Christopher Packard, author of Mythical Creatures of Maine: Fantastic Beasts from Legend and Folklore, and got on the notification list for the 2024 event.
In December of 2024, I was lucky enough to join 200 other authors for the event at the Bangor Public Library in Bangor, Maine (yep, Stephen King’s old stomping grounds). It was everything my introverted self feared—and hoped for—in the aftermath of a world brought to a total shutdown of public life. Chris, as organizer, seemed to be everywhere, speed walking around the library, checking in with everyone. This matched his pre-conference energy, as he had reached out to authors through email and the dedicated Facebook group.
I shared a table with a Maine photographer who was new to publishing but experienced at showcasing the beauty of the Maine coast in her photographs. I walked around talking to some of the other authors, taking photos of the beautifully put-together tables, and marveling at the many different writers, and stories, that our area of Maine has to offer. The author community was alive and well post-pandemic, and it was lovely to be a part of it. I even sold a few books.
The library was open to the public during the event, and patrons kept saying, “I had no idea. How fun.” There were many great conversations, echoing, “I had no idea our area had so many authors.” Some authors sold well, but most of the public walking through had not heard of the event before they walked in the library doors, so this event functioned more as a meet and greet.
I signed up again for 2025 and was astonished at how the energy around the event had grown. The Facebook group conversation had a lot of posts about getting the word out to the public, as well as ways for authors to talk to their local audiences as well. There were graphics to share and some fun ideas like author trading cards. My experience with many author events pre-pandemic were that they were generally expensive, and the organizers run themselves ragged and eventually run out of steam. But I could see that Chris had more energy in 2025 than he had in 2024 (and the event had grown by 100 authors). I was curious.
As I sat in the author green room taking a break, I looked at the pile of homemade goodies donated to sustain the participating authors and helpers and I realized that the community itself was in favor of live events like this making a comeback. Chris happened to come in and I mentioned this. As we chatted about all the people who were helping behind the scenes, I realized I needed to know more. He’d found a formula for organizing a true community event that could sustain itself year after year.
I walked through the library—a historic Bangor building in itself—checking out the other authors and tables. I nodded at the proprietor of our local downtown bookstore, The Briar Patch, who was handling sales for authors who did not have the capacity. I caught a reading or two in the live reading area to get a feel for how I should do my own live reading, which I had signed up for on impulse. It was run by an experienced community group, with volunteers on hand to help transition authors on and off stage, as well as handle any microphone or sound glitches. There was a small group of chairs set up facing the stage to encourage the wandering public to sit and listen.
Chris shared that one important goal of the event was to allow authors in the local area to join in without having to pay a table fee, so that newer and more niche authors could participate. His personal networking ability allowed him to build a community network and find backers that have allowed him to meet this goal several years running.
More importantly, he acknowledged that a sustainable event could not be managed by one person, and so he founded The Bangor Authors’ Collaborative and gave over responsibility for the event to a group of authors with diverse talents. Chris is the acknowledged rainmaker, but everyone on the committee takes responsibility for different aspects, which was why the reading area setup was so vibrant and organized in 2025. One of the collective members, author Morrigan Gaines, is responsible for author outreach for the 2026 event, leaving Chris more time to find new community backers and connections.
For anyone reading this thinking, “How can I start, find, or support an event like this in my local area?” you should know that Chris started his first event in a church basement. He invited a few area authors to join him in launching his book, and found his first backer in an unusual place—his employer. Those two things changed his first event from a solo event in a church basement to a community event that has only grown and gotten better every year since.
Chris is the kind of person who can bring others in on the fun, and then let those who are able and willing take charge of their focus area, so when he invited a few other authors to join him, he found, and nurtured, true enthusiasm. After the first year’s success in the church basement, they were able to move to the Bangor Public Library, and solicit support from the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance.
Collaborative member Morrigan Gaines, inspired by Chris’s example, just finished up her first Downeast Authors’ Book Fair at the Schoodic Gateway Event Center. She plans to make this an annual event.
Chris and the Bangor Authors’ Collaborative have specific goals for their event: the first one is that there are no table fees, which means seeking backers as well as donations. The second is to make plenty of room to include newer authors and authors with niche readerships. This means that patrons walking through the table displays will meet local authors like the one at the table next to me in 2025: Bill Gerencer, a former fisherman who retired and now does talks and readings that showcase his book about his life as a Maine fisherman. He was a fascinating storyteller, and his table included show-and-tell objects from the life of a fisherman. So many kids who walked through were drawn by the show and tell, while several parents walked away with the book.
As I told other authors about my experience, I started hearing about other local book festivals that were thriving. Several were in Canada, California, and Minnesota. I also started looking online, but couldn’t easily find them. This tends to be an ongoing hurdle for authors who want to participate but don’t find out about the event until it is too late to apply. In general, Chris suggests asking your local author network for in-person events they know about. Or consider starting one yourself.
Morrigan has some advice for others who want to investigate the possibilities of starting an authors’ book fair in their own local area that does not charge authors a table fee. “At the event, we’ll have a donation jar. Hopefully readers and authors can donate a little to help them keep the building open, because they did let us use it and there’s still the electricity and all that cost. It’s not free for them to give you the venue.”
Backers are another possibility to cover all or part of the venue cost. Morrigan worked with the Frenchman’s Bay Library, a local school district, and the Schoodic Gateway Event Center to keep the venue cost free for authors in her inaugural year. Creative thinking, as well as understanding what is important to the local area, is necessary here. Morrigan and her team considered using merchandise to raise funds, but as that requires up-front funds, she did not. Chris found his first backer funding from The International Cryptozoological Museum, for which he is assistant director.
“It came down to those community connections again,” Morrigan said, things like having existing connections to the local newspaper, a volunteer who had experience writing press releases, and a connection to a publicist through a prior visit with a book club.
Community. This was the feeling I had experienced growing stronger in 2024 and 2025. Besides Chris, the rainmaker, there was Gibran Vogue Graham, the local bookseller, who runs weekly community events for authors in the Bangor area (and also for visitors). Not everyone was enthusiastic at first, of course. Gibran said, “I was a little skeptical because of the timing of the year and how busy everybody is at that point in time doing their holiday shopping and they’re going to things like Nutcracker.” But after experiencing the event, his tune changed to, “I would say that the majority of the authors who participate are small press or self-published authors who individually don’t have a lot of marketing available to them, so this is definitely an opportunity for them to get their work and their face in front of people.”
I’m mentioning the library last, but it is not least. According to Shavaun Rigler, director of Development and Public Relations, it takes a lot of librarian magic behind the scenes to fit 300 authors into the Bangor Public Library. “The best thing about putting something like this on is the people who find the library for the first time,” she said. New discovery—and rediscovery—of the library by community members is a wonderful benefit for the library itself. Her one word for the event—which brings in around 1,000 or so readers—is “intense.”
Communities are ready for events like this, so if you’re interested in participating, start asking your local author friends, librarians, and booksellers if they know of one coming up. Keep in mind the advice echoed by everyone I talked to: your expectations of a local event should not be making large sales, but instead letting your community know who you are and what you write.
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Kelly McClymer enjoys writing stories in many genres inspired by her lifelong love of fairytales.