Local authors and book enthusiasts gathered on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the Hotel Bellwether for the annual Books by the Bay Book Fair.
The fair was held as part of the final day of the Chanticleer Authors Conference, a collaboration between Village Books and Chanticleer Book Reviews, a Bellingham-based book review service.
Chanticleer offers “editorial book reviews, manuscript overviews, editorial services, writing contests, book awards, an author conference, workshops and book marketing opportunities to help authors achieve their publishing goals,” according to the service’s website.
The three-day conference, which is held annually, featured panels, presentations on writing and the publishing industry, guest speakers, awards competitions and social events to connect local authors.
The fair included books from authors around the Pacific Northwest and the country. It also featured a panel on writing for children, middle-school readers and young adults, with authors Denise Ditto, Peter Greene, Gloria Two-Feathers and Murray Richter. A full list of authors on display at the book fair can be found at the Chanticleer Book Reviews website.
The conference “has just been amazing,” said author and conference participant J.G. Schwartz. “Everyone here has the same common theme — we love to write. We’re all storytellers, we’ve been telling stories all our lives and it’s a joy for all of us.”
Schwartz, who has been attending the conference for the past three years, expressed great appreciation for readers at the fair.
“We all fall in love with our books, and a joy for us is to have people purchase them or read them so that they can enjoy them the same way we do,” she said.
Kiffer Brown, president and founder of Chanticleer Book Reviews, said the conference has been held in the Bellwether Hotel for 10 years.
“What we’re trying to do is just help authors get started,” Brown said.
The Chanticleer Authors Conference was originally scheduled for April but had to be postponed to accommodate Canadian authors who, at that point, were unable to cross the border due to COVID-19 restrictions, Brown said.
Although Chanticleer is Bellingham-based, Brown said the conference regularly attracts authors from across the country and the world.
“They come here from all over,” she said.
