Louisville Book Festival

The Louisville Book Festival is a festival. It also has books. Finally, it is in Louisville.

What did you expect me to say?

Ever since I first heard about the festival years ago, I always told myself I would make time to go. Sadly, my schedule and the stars never aligned to make that a reality until this year. According to the website, there were over 150 authors, presenters, exhibitors, and characters (myself not included). The event ran from 10am - 5pm and we did not get there until around 3pm, which might explain why I did not see 150 authors in attendance.

I wish I could adequately explain why I felt like a fish in a bowl as I walked around the event. Perhaps it was the feeling that everyone sitting at a table was just staring at us, waiting for us to come over to their table. Thankfully, we never had to engage in any used-car-type sales approach from anyone and found all conversations overly friendly and interesting.

There were so many authors listed on the event website, and it would have been impossible to speak with all of them. I would have preferred the author and presenter page on the official website to list the authors with links to their official website instead of the Instagram-sized screenshots, but that just meant I would be getting more steps in, walking and talking.

What No One Sees by Zena Logan was the first purchase of the day and also the first table I stopped to talk to, mainly because the book cover was one that I had seen on social media prior to the event. This is proof that there are times when the algorithm is useful.

This was just eye-catching for me, so much so that I read the synopsis ahead and time and had hoped to meet the author. Getting it signed was a bonus. One of the best experiences is meeting an author and having them ask if you’d like your book signed. Absolutely, I would! It makes the book even more special to me.

As I wandered around, I noticed that there were a lot of authors who were creating children’s books. A lot. Sadly, I never found the “These books will crush your will to live section” and I have hope that next year this oversight will be corrected. Maybe that is why Amba Elieff’s work stood out to me as much as it did. Her table, and work, was a beautiful display that was unique among all of the others, meaning I had to stop and spend money. Again, watching my copy of Domesticated Demons be signed was a bonus.

My wife will be the first to tell you that she is not one to buy books. I don’t believe I am overstepping my bounds here when I say she does not understand my desire to have a fully stocked library at the house. We are both readers; we just approach it differently.

That is why I was happy when she decided to walk back over to Sarah Ladenwich’s table and purchase a copy of The Fire Concerto.

Hearing Sarah’s next-door exhibitor cheer for her as she sold her last book in inventory was special as well.

All in all, it was a great day, punctuated by eating 5,000+ calories at the Spaghetti Factory before we went home.

For those on TikTok who appreciate poorly spliced together footage with music you probably hate, you’ll enjoy my summary of the festival here: