I don't even know how to start describing what the last 3 days have been like. I knew that the event, put on by Kathy Patrick who started the Pulpwood Queen book club (now over 500 chapters strong), was going to include authors, tiaras, leopard print everything, and hot pink, glued together with lots of southern flamboyance and women ready to play. I expected that almost all the featured books and authors would be fluffy romance stuff, which is not the kind of thing I enjoy reading. But I also knew that my favorite author, Pat Conroy, would be there, and so I bought the ticket and showed up. What actually happened was far above and beyond my expectations.
First of all, there was a wide spread of book types and authors. (I came away with a fairly long list of books that I'm really looking forward to reading.) Although there is a heavy emphasis on southern authors (many of them first-time authors), there was a good smattering of authors from other places too. And a healthy dose of well-known, award-winning authors too. For 2 long days, we listened to panels of 4 or 5 authors tell about themselves and their latest book -- a different panel every hour, and that's a lot of authors. Plus a different keynote speaker every morning. And every author was available for book signing. Plus a silly-fun dinner theater thing Thursday where the authors were in the play and served dinner, a talent show Friday night where several authors joined in the fun (talents ranged from genuine talent to bouncing a ball on a racket), and the Big Hair Ball on Saturday night, which is a costume event for which everyone goes all out.
On the more serious side, it was an amazing experience to meet so many authors all talking about their backgrounds, how they got started writing, and their paths to publishing. Kathy Patrick really showcases new authors and some of those books look very interesting and are not necessarily books that I'd know about otherwise. Not only are the featured books for sale at the event (Barnes and Noble set up a mobile shop), but publishers were giving away advance reader copies of several of the books and also provided a bunch of other giveaway books to entice us to give them a try. We kept getting so many free books that by the end, I ended up with 17 books (only 4 of those were ones I purchased). Of course "free" means that I end up paying money to have them shipped home, but it is still amazing. Apparently the publishers recognize that Kathy Patrick has created a large network of readers -- many of the authors stated that this was unlike any other book event they have ever been to. Even the Dallas Morning News prints the Pulpwood Queen book selection list along with the New York Times bestseller list. And Kathy Patrick single-handedly has gotten more than one first-time author recognized by publishers. As a side note, Pat Conroy told us that he wrote his latest book, My Reading Life, because of the delightful time he had at a previous Girlfriend Weekend event, after seeing how important reading was to so many people.
I think it would be hard to create a similar event in California, in part because it has such a southern regional flavor. But also, this event hinges entirely on Kathy Patrick's ability to create relationships between authors and authors, and between authors and readers. And also because she is able to talk people into doing things they would not ordinarily do. And the result is pure magic.
So I'm coming home with an armload of books I'm dying to read, and a list of even more books that I'm going to download onto my Kindle ASAP. And I've discovered some authors that are wonderful. It's worth being tired to the bone.
Sounds like a once in a life time extravaganza that will be repeated next year. What a fine way to launch your retirement voyage. Thanks for sharing something I would never think of attending. My wife, Ann, is the big reader. I'll ask her to read you post. Cheers
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