2020 Sunshine State Book Festival Presentation

Sunday, January 13, 2019, Sunshine State Book Festival chair, Mallory O’Connor, assisted by Richard Gartee, presented plans for the festival to WAG members and guests.

“The Sunshine State Book Festival is the largest project WAG has ever undertaken,” Mallory told the audience. “To be the huge success we want it to be, we need participation from the entire WAG membership.”

Three days of events are planned for January 2020, beginning with an opening reception Friday, January 24, the Book Festival January 25, and ending on Sunday, January 26, with a caravan tour of sites associated with Gainesville’s Literary Heritage.

WAG, which is producing the festival, has received support from Santa Fe College and the SF Foundation, who are giving us use of the beautiful Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall to hold Saturday’s Book Festival. The Matheson Museum will host the Friday night reception and is planning an exhibition on historical Gainesville literary figures.

WAG authors will have first opportunity to register for festival exhibit space where they can sell and sign their books. Richard stated that online registration would open to WAG members February 1, 2019, and then to authors statewide a few weeks later. He urged those who want to sell books to claim their space as soon as registration opens.

Mallory gave audience members an idea of the scope of the undertaking as she presented a list of the various committees needed to pull off a book festival. “These are not one-person jobs,” she noted. “Nearly every committee needs multiple volunteers.“ She listed committees where WAG members are needed and invited members to pitch-in:

• Funding: writing grants, recruiting sponsors and community partners
• Publicity and marketing
•  Social media
• Outreach: promoting the festival to book clubs, schools, teachers, etc.
• Author registration
• Book raffle: (festival door prizes)
• Printer coordinator (manage festival printing needs)
• Day of festival volunteer facilitator/ trainer
• Children’s book area, (storytelling, craft activities)
• Festival set-up and take-down
• Festival follow-up/survey evaluation committee

Please select a committee where you can contribute your talents, and contact Mallory to volunteer.

Richard concluded the program with a demonstration of the festival website, which is now up and running. For more festival details, members were encouraged to visit www.sunshinestatebookfestival.com.