The Records of LitFire Publishing’s Achievements in the 2016 Tucson Festival of Books

Starting the year with a bang, LitFire joined the 2016 Tucson Festival of Books with some of our wonderful authors. The book event was held on March 12 to 13, at the University of Arizona campus.

The Tucson Festival of Books is an annual gathering of authors, publishers, book enthusiasts, and various book trader professionals. Free of charge to the public, the festival is flocked by many every year since 2009. The proceeds for the events go to different agencies that work to improve the literacy rates in Southern Arizona. These organizations include Reading Seed, Literary Connects, and University of Arizona Literary Outreach Programs.

Event Highlights

The heavens smiled upon Arizona as the festival began with a comfortably sunny weather. Booths were set up and people began to flock in at the UA campus. Visitors explored the venue checking out exhibits, presentations, and book signings along the UA Mall.

The fairgoers also enjoyed various events in the festival, such as taking selfies at the National Parks, Experience Pavilion, participating in the demonstrations and experiments at the Science City, and meeting storybook characters in the Children’s Pavilion.

What about us?

Eager to start our first time at the Tucson Festival of Books, LitFire was among the first on the scene. Our authors, including Cami Onolfo, Dianne Gregg, Terrence McCarthy, Stuart Hooker, Edward Moore, and Melissa Koons, gamely entertained booth visitors.

According to LitFire’s marketing manager Richard Stephens, the best parts of the events were, “great weather, many authors turned up, lots of fun activities throughout the event – live music, [and] good food.”

Corporate Social Responsibility

Taking a page from the event’s noble goals, we at LitFire took the chance to support literacy in our own way. We launched the Sponsor-A-Youth-Program (SAYP) to spread the love for the written word and help an aspiring author publish a book.

Barky the Mouse, a story created by Ashley Watkin’s kindergarten class at Shirley Hill Elementary School, caught our attention. The story was inspired by kindergartener Cohen Stanley’s after school musings while waiting for his mom’s class to be over.

LitFire readily sponsored the book’s publication and donated copies to the whole class. A book signing was held to celebrate the young authors’ achievement. The event was visited by prominent figures in Warner Robins, including Mayor Randy Toms, and Houston County schools superintendent Mark Scott.

The gathering was also covered by several local media organizations, such as The Telegraph and Georgia News. The children entertained the guests and read the story out loud during the event. It became one of the most important days in their lives.

What’s Next for Us?

Following through our productive year, from the sunny Arizona we now move on to the Windy City, Chicago for the 2016 Book Expo America. BEA is the largest publishing event in North America and we are taking this privilege of participating in such a prestigious event together with our authors. Celebrate this honor with us on May 11 to 13, at Chicago’s most famous convention center, McCormick Place.