Sunday, November 14, 2004
There is something about this time of year — just after the leaves have fallen and just before Thanksgiving — that is essentially perfect for the Kentucky Book Fair in Frankfort.
It fits as comfortably in this seasonal window as a favorite woolen sweater, a cup of hot cider, logs crackling on the fire and a good book.
Carl West, editor of the State Journal in Frankfort, and other visionaries who organized the Kentucky Book Fair in 1982 brought 40 to 50 authors together for the first fairs at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives.
"They did start out small," West said. "Then all of a sudden we jumped to 100 authors, then 150, then one year close to 180. We started out selling $40,000 or $50,000 worth of books. ... Then we jumped to $100,000, and last year it was almost $170,000."
More than a book sale
Regional media publicity, a partnership with Joseph-Beth Booksellers and an ever-growing Internet influence have helped the Kentucky Book Fair become something more than just a book sale for the estimated 5,000 people who attend the Saturday event.
"It just became a tradition of November," West said. "People began to look forward to it. It was always at the same time of the year — in time for Christmas shopping. I've been told that many people now come to it not so much to buy books but to schmooze with politicians, journalists and writers."
As the event has grown to fill the arena of downtown Frankfort's Farnham Dudgeon Civic Center, it has welcomed many celebrity authors from around the nation who join many of the best authors from Kentucky and the region to chat with book browsers as well as to sign their works.
This evening at 7, a number of Kentucky authors in town for the book fair will gather for readings, music and refreshments at the Kentucky History Center in Frankfort. Proceeds from admission donations will benefit a coalition of environmental organizations.
A mix of writers
The weekend fair will include book signings by popular American broadcaster and Louisville native Bob Edwards; fellow Kentuckian and former network correspondent David Dick, who just completed a biography of Jesse Stuart; New York Times Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg; internationally popular Kentucky essayist Wendell Berry; poet Frank X. Walker; Associated Press political writer Walter Mears; Newsweek's Eleanor Clift; political commentator Jack Germond; Kentucky historian laureate Dr. Thomas Clark; novelist Bobbie Ann Mason; and more than 150 other regional and national authors.
"People are so loyal to the regional authors, and I think that will always been a mainstay," said Leila Salisbury of the University Press of Kentucky. "The national figures sort of change more from year to year, so it helps give a different flavor to personality and augments a nice mix. I think a lot of what we've been able to increase is the interaction between patrons and authors."
Hours for the Kentucky Book Fair are 9 a.m. to 4:30p.m. tomorrow at the civic center at the Capital Plaza. For more information on authors and events, check online at www.kybookfair.org.
