Fernandina Beach Becomes 'Book Island'

Since 2001, the first weekend in October has marked the Amelia Island Book Festival in the town of Fernandina Beach, Florida. Dozens of authors mingle with thousands of readers at workshops, readings, and social events in the historic harbor town off Florida's northeast coast.

The Amelia Island Book Festival's Author Reception at Books Plus in Fernandina Beach. Photos: Caroline Blochlinger.

The Book Festival has grown steadily, with attendance nearing 2,000, thanks in part to Don and Margo Shaw, owners of Books Plus. The 11-year-old general bookstore on Centre Street in Fernandina Beach, is the hub of activities for the Book Festival, which the Shaws helped found and continue to sponsor.

Several large tents were set up outside Books Plus this year in an attempt to bring all of the activities out of doors, rather than having them in the large hall of a local church as in past years. One tent was strictly for children, with space for crafts and storytelling. Ideally, book signings, sales, and informal programs were to take place in the other tents, but inclement weather brought most of the scheduled events into 3,800-square-foot Books Plus. The architecturally inventive space fortunately was equipped to handle the crowds.

Street tents were set up to host author autographings.

On Friday, the first day of the Book Festival, authors visited all local county schools, from kindergarten through high school, for "Authors in School Day." More than 20 authors participated in the talks, readings, and programs. Also on Friday, the popular "Just Write It!" program of workshops and panels on all aspects of writing and publishing was held. For those ready to publish, brief scheduled pitch appointments with editors and agents were also offered.

Throughout the weekend, many gala events, both ticketed and public, were held with participating authors, including Tim Dorsey, Claire Cook, and Stuart Woods.

Author Tim Dorsey at the "Island Cruisin" Event on the Lady St. Johns Riverboat.

An enthusiastic Don Shaw labeled the 2007 Amelia Island Book Festival a great success. He told BTW that the Festival increases each year in numbers of attendees and authors. "It's bigger than the last one," he said. "Authors are already signed up for next year, and people are coming from farther away -- Jacksonville, Savannah. "The weather," he admitted, "was terrible. But we made lemonade out of lemons." --Nomi Schwartz