- May 16, 2024
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Sarasota may be widely known for its affinity for the arts, yet sometimes there are unseen ventures in the arts beneath the surface, as guests found at the Local Author Book Fair, held April 27 by Bookstore1Sarasota.
“This is like a full-time job times three,” said Alice Abyss, who wrote “Pharmakides,” a novel presenting an alternate version of the story of Medusa from the points of view of 27 birds.
Abyss' book was published in 2023. She saw it through to completion, performing the editing, creating the cover and self-publishing the volume — yet she’s still drawn to the financial freedom writing offers.
“I like to live for myself and put work into my business,” she said.
Bryn Durgin, director of programming at the bookstore, said anytime events like the book fair are held, attendees are surprised at the number of local authors in the community.
Held twice a year, it showcased 16 authors on April 27. The authors' work spanned many genres and included memoir, nonfiction, children’s books, poetry and more.
“Writing can be a lonely business, and giving local authors the chance to sit side by side with a slew of other local authors and to meet in person the people who are buying their books, is something that we look forward to doing every season,” Durgin said.
Kaileia Suvannamaccha, a 2022 Ringling College graduate, said it was inspiring to see the authors, who were mainly women, coming together to promote their work.
“It's super empowering and inspiring, and it's creating a ripple effect. It's just starting. It’s going to gain momentum, and then there’s going to be a revolution.”
She wrote “in time I see,” a collection of poems arranged in a narrative arc, describing a quest for intimacy while exploring the meaning of the concept. She managed all aspects of the book herself, from the cover to its design.
Authors agreed that getting the word out about a book can be challenging.
For Sanford Miles, that aspect of publishing was so important that he bought a Plymouth Belvedere car to match the one that's the subject of his book “The Buried Plymouth.”
“Unless you're Stephen King, unless you're John Grisham, it's really up to you to publicize your book,” he said.
The book is a fictionalized account of “Miss Belvedere,” the 1957 Plymouth Belvedere that was sealed underground in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as a 50-year time capsule unearthed in 2007.
The major steps in the project didn't end there and included research, fact-checking and five trips to Tulsa to conduct about 60 interviews.
“It's not like if you're an artist, or you're a dancer where, ‘Hey, come watch me. Come take a look at my paintings in a museum, or come watch my dance.’ No, writing is a singular thing,” Miles said.
Lisa Moody, who was formerly the head of digital marketing and digital strategies at Ringling College, was inspired by her proficiency with technology to create an educational children’s book using augmented reality titled “I am an Orangutan: An Interactive Learning Experience.”
“I love being able to sit with and hold a hardcover book, but then use technology to bring it to life,” she said.
Whatever the nature of their work, authors were grateful to be involved in the book fair.
“I can’t imagine what happens in a world without bookstores,” said Shannon Spring, author of “Open Mic For Animals: Evidential Fairy Tails,” a book relating her experiences as a psychic medium for pets. “We need them. We need to get off of the computer; we need to get into the hearts and minds of the stories that are being told.”
