A Sliver Lining
This Saturday, Dec. 7, we are having a group book signing in Key West, with authors from all genres. Some authors are coming from South Florida to participate and some are local Key West and Florida Keys authors.
I was hanging up posters this past weekend and someone at Harpoon Harry’s asked me why a group signing. While drinking a café con leche I explained.
The Key West Literary Seminar happens each year in January. A few local people have been putting it on for years and it is very successful and expensive. In 2014, the theme is mystery writers and they have many top notch, New York Times bestselling authors in the lineup.
A few of us mystery writers from Key West, wrote to the local mucky-mucks and asked why none of us, even as a Key West token, were included. Briefly, the answers we got were that there are no mystery writers in Key West.
Obviously, we travel in different circles and have different sized bank accounts. That kind of pissed a few of us off. Now, if they had written back that they only invited bestselling, New York Times authors, I would’ve shrugged my shoulders and hoped my next book made it to that list.
I also explained that was the impetus behind the June Mystery Writers Key West Fest. There are mystery writers here in the Keys.
The problem with “those writers” and us is that they don’t mingle. Not for lack of trying on our side. I put together a group on Friday nights, the North of Havana Cigar Social Club. A few local writers show up regularly, and Tom Corcoran has even moseyed in when he’s in town. MWA writers from S. Florida have shown up. But the writers that come to Key West, claim the island for themselves in their publicity, are far from Key West writers. Hemingway and Tennessee Williams hung out here and had no problems mixing with the locals.
What did my mother say, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” The snub from the elitist on this island has led us to form Key West Writers Bloc and with that we are putting on the group signing of more than 30 writers this weekend and I cannot remember that many writers ever getting together on the island for an afternoon of signings and socializing.
And it has led to bigger things, like the Fest in June. There’s going to be a surprise guest author, yeah, a multiple NY Times Best Seller, as our featured luncheon speaker. The Fest won’t be as elitist as the Literary Seminar, but it will be welcoming to all and the cost won’t break many bank accounts.
www.keywestauthors.com & mysterywriterskeywestfest.com, for more information.
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