Rhode Island Author Expo

On December 5, 2015, it happened. At the Lincoln Mall, in a space next to Five Below, I had a table set up right near the front. It was exciting to be participating in this event. There were upwards of one-hundred Rhode Island authors and other artists, each with their own table. Not nearly as tight as I expected and surprising-not-surprising there are so many authors in this tiny state—in any state, really. As much as popular opinion seems to believe that reading (and writing) are somehow dying, the desire to be an author—and to read—don’t appear to be going away anytime soon. 

This was my first rodeo with the Association of Rhode Island Authors (ARIA) and I’m told there were several hundred attendees at last year’s event. This year, more were expected. Ads had run in local papers, all the appropriate promotional outlets had been notified, and there it was. At this point, I have no idea how many people attended. Despite being at the front of the long venue, I can’t even begin to estimate how many people entered and walked the loop perusing four rows of original content. I did sell a few books, so that was cool.