The Children's Book Fayre
- Kim Hunter
- Sep 30, 2017
- 3 min read
Approximate Reading Time: 3 minutes
What a successful inaugural event! Self-published children’s book authors came together to meet their fans, make new ones and sell their books. And sell they did! My sources tell me that over R10 000.00 worth of books were sold on the day. Congratulations, everyone!
The event was opened by Nonala Tose, a radio and tv personality, who is passionate about reading and encouraging youngsters to read. It was a pleasure to host this beautiful, vibrant and invested lady. Nala took the time to meet each author to find out about their books and have a quiet word with each of them. The event was closed by author and event organiser Jann Weeratunga who, with the help of author Ashleigh Giannoccaro (who mentors and coaches many self-published authors) not only thanked everyone but did the raffle draw. BTW – congrats to the winners!
From a visitor’s point of view (putting myself in my 10 year old shoes) there was so much to see and do. I was able to talk to real-life authors and find out about them and the stories they have written. There were also things for me to do– I got to decorate and eat a cupcake, there were pictures for me to colour, I tried to do yoga and best of all, I got to listen to authors tell stories. I even bought some books which the authors signed with a special message just for me. I had so much fun.
From an organiser’s point of view (as part of the team) wow! Just wow! Days of meetings, planning, chatting with authors, sponsors and other potential participants took days of time; but it was so worth it! Self-published authors were invited to participate. The terms were that they should pay a small refundable deposit (to ensure their participation on the day) and then the cost for participation was 10% of books sold on the day. This made it easily accessible to all authors. The organisers worked diligently behind the scenes to ensure that there were simple activities for children of all ages. As this Fayre was organised for children’s authors, many schools were approached to advertise the event to the parents – some did but regrettably, many did not – and to have the opportunity to advertise at the event and be present to chat with prospective parents. Of course much advertising was done via social media which has a great reach if everyone shares on their channels.
I believe that the authors (21 of them) present on the day had a successful and enjoyable day. Some were unable to attend, but gave us their books to sell and this pushed the number of authors represented to over 30. The venue was suitable for this number – it kept the authors on their toes as visitors travelled from one table to the next. Food and drink was available from the centre. The layout of the venue was such that we were able to split the authors into two groups and place them in adjacent rooms. The first room had the majority of authors and the second had the balance with an area for storytelling. The third room was used for the yoga sessions and had tables for colouring. Cupcake decorating was done in a covered patio and face-painting was done on the lush green grassed area.
For a first, it exceeded my expectations. I have some ideas for what to do differently for the next one – and YES! there will be a next one – because it is important to learn as you progress. And the lessons must be used to improve your life and what you do in it.
I would like to thank the team for inviting me to be a part of this wonderful journey which is taking me places I never thought I would go and would like to congratulate everyone who participated in this amazing event.
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