A Beautiful Day at Long Island’s Local Author Fair

On Saturday, April 6, I joined fellow Long Island authors from three writing groups at the Tilles Center on the C.W. Post Campus for the first Long Island’s Local Author Fair. The event was hosted by Long Island Authors Group, Long Island Romance Writers, and Long Island Children’s Writers and Illustrators. Author tables were set up in the Atrium, and author presentations, panels, and readings took place in the Founders and Patriot Lounges.

The day started with an opening address by Roland Allnach, President of LIAG (Long Island Authors Group). After Roland gave information about his group, Patty Blount from Long Island Romance Writers and Linda Maria Frank from Long Island Children’s Writers and Illustrators each spoke about their associations. The keynote speaker, author Steve Israel, a former Congressman who grew up on Long island, told of his experiences as an author and representative. He compared writing to politics, pointing out several similarities. Regarding rejection, he noted a difference between the two, saying that a writer’s rejection is much more personal than someone running for office. He also gave some humorous but true anecdotes about participating in book fairs that the authors who were present were able to identify with.

After the opening speeches, authors returned to their tables and took turns speaking in the Founder’s Lounge. Some also participated in panels and readings in the Patriot’s Lounge. My turn to talk was at 4:40 p.m. I hadn’t viewed the Founders Lounge before and expected it to be a more formal room. I was surprised and pleased to see that, instead, it was set up with comfortable chairs and provided a casual atmosphere to discuss my writing and books.

For me, attending this event was like a homecoming to Post, my alma mater, where I earned a Bachelors in English and a Masters in Library Science in 1989. It was also where I worked as a Features Editor on the Pioneer, the student newspaper. That’s why I was especially glad to meet Carolyn Schurr Levin, Assistant Journalism Professor at C. W. Post, who dropped by my table to introduce herself. Her students had interviewed Roland Allnach for a story, and she said some would come by to also meet me.

It was also great to see many familiar faces of fellow LIAG members and those who I’ve met at various local book fairs and author talks. My friend Lisa Diaz Meyer was seated in back of me. We took a few breaks to step outside into the beautiful spring day to view the campus and get some fresh air. This brought back many happy memories of my time at Post.