Books in Boothbay 2014 a rousing success
On Friday, July 11, the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library held a fundraiser for the library renovation project’s next two phases at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard from 4 to 8 p.m. The fundraiser was also a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Books in Boothbay event. Books in Boothbay took place the next day at Boothbay Railway Village, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., where authors who either live in Maine or write about Maine attended to sign their works. The authors got a chance to talk with their current fans, and gain new ones at the same time.
Sen. Angus King and his wife Mary Herman attended the July 11 fundraiser. King said supporting libraries and book programs is very important to both him and his wife, who used to work with the Maine Writers and Publishers group.
“Both Mary and I are avid readers,” King said. “We both feel that libraries and reading are incredibly important. Libraries are collective memories, where you are in the presence of great minds like Aristotle, Dickens and Winston Churchill. It’s all there.”
King was unable to attend the actual Books in Boothbay event, as he was traveling to Rockland in his RV for the Blues Festival the next day.
During the Books in Boothbay event on July 12, more than 50 authors signed copies of their books and talked with their fans. This year the session was split into a children’s author session, from 9 a.m. to noon, and an adult writer’s session, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., to accommodate the huge number of authors.
The event took place at the Boothbay Railway Village in the town hall. Sharon Pulkkinen, director for Books in Boothbay, was pleased with the turnout.
“We’ve been packed most of the day,” Pulkkinen said. “The energy level is really high, people are excited to be here.”
The majority of authors said the event was good for them, and they had sold a lot of books. Author Sandra Dutton sold out of her book “Miss Perfect” during the children’s event.
“This is a lot of fun,” author Christopher Lockwood said. Lockwood wrote “The Tennis Ball Trees” about a chocolate lab with a love of tennis balls. “The Railway Village and Sherman’s have both been great.”
All the books that were not sold at the event were signed by the authors before they left, and are available to buy at Sherman’s Bookstores.
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