By Melanie Maxwell

Who here loves to read books, magazines and newspapers?

Who loves to write magazine and newspaper articles, books, blogs or journal?

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I love it all so much that I spend most of my life sitting at my desk writing. And, when luxury permits, I enjoy laying in bed reading a good book or the Sunday edition of the newspaper, the actual newspaper, which I have delivered to my home.

Although I’ve been a writer for 25-plus years, I continually strive to improve my skills. When I’m not writing for and publishing my magazine Smooth Jazz News, pitching freelance articles to other publications, going to a concert or working our booth at a jazz festival, I often attend classes at San Diego Writers Ink, or sit at my computer taking an interactive online course with writingpad.com, or enroll at events such as the San Diego State University Writers’ Conference.

But, I especially enjoy attending author lectures and book signings at independent book stores such as Warwick’s in La Jolla, at local libraries and through Adventures by the Book (an organization that connects readers with authors and their books through intimate, unique, interesting and adventurous travels and events).

And, now, my hometown of San Diego also has a Festival of Books!

The San Diego Union-Tribune‘s 3rd Annual Festival of Books was held on Saturday, Aug. 24, at Liberty Station. Luckily, I was in town this year to attend it! I have missed so many book events due to my other passion and vocation (writing about music and travel for Smooth Jazz News), including the first two years of this Festival of Books.

With my cell phone off (except to take a few photos), and my mind and attention turned all the way on, I was enraptured by the talented and engaging best-selling authors, literary agents, editors and bookstore owners I heard speak onstage to large crowds and in small panels that day.

Jeff Light (editor and publisher of The San Diego Union-Tribune) and Tom Karlo (KPBS general manager) kicked off the festival with welcome speeches in the main hall, where they also announced the “One Book, One San Diego” selections for 2019. Each year, “One Book, One San Diego” features a book from four categories: adults, young adults, kids and Spanish language readers. This year, the following titles were selected from more than 400 nominations: “The Great Believers” by Rebecca Makkai was chosen for adult readers; “The Crossover” by Kwame Alexander for young adults, “Dreamers” by Yuyi Morales for children, and “Éramos unos niños” by Patti Smith for Spanish readers.

After the introductions, which, along with all other programs in the main hall, offered American Sign Language interpreters, I stayed for the next two sessions. The first was “A Conversation with Dr. Edith Eva Eger.” A native of Hungary, Dr. Eger was 16 in 1944 when she and her family were captured and sent to Auschwitz, the heinous death camp where her parents died in the gas chambers. She shared her life experiences, including how toward the end of the war, she and her sisters, along with other prisoners, were moved to Austria. She ended up in a pile of corpses. And, on May 4, 1945, a young American soldier noticed her hand moving slightly amongst the dead bodies and quickly summoned medical help, and she was rescued from the brink of death. Dr. Eger, now a psychologist with a practice in La Jolla, is on a mission to locate that soldier who saved her life.

In 2017, she published her an award-winning, worldwide best-selling memoir, “The Choice: Embrace the Possible,” which has been translated into 13 languages. Oprah Winfrey featured the 91-year-old Holocaust survivor on her “Super Soul Sunday” series, which aired on OWN, June 16, 2019.

As she concluded her talk to a cheering standing ovation, she gave her audience another reason to applaud when she suddenly ballerina-kicked her leg into the air and stretched her toes over her head.

How could anyone or anything follow that moving and emotional performance? “A Conversation with Luis Alberto Urrea” was a great choice. Hailed by NPR as a “literary badass” and a “master storyteller with a rock and roll heart,” Luis is a prolific and acclaimed writer who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph. I was first introduced to Luis, who was born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and American mother, by my friend and Smooth Jazz News book reviewer, Darcy Peters, at one of his first book signings at Warwick’s more than two decades ago. Darcy and the Pulitzer Prize finalist have been friends since his teenage years growing up in the San Diego community of Clairemont.

His latest, and 17th book, “The House of Broken Angels,” is a novel about an American family, from Mexico. Angel de la Cruz aka “Big Angel,” the central character in the book, knows this is his last birthday and he wants to gather his most beloved relatives for a final fiesta. During a joyous and bittersweet weekend, with time out for an extended flashback to Big Angel’s journey from La Paz to San Diego in the ’60s, the narrative follows Big Angel and his extended family as they air old grievances, initiate new romances, and attempt to put their relationships in perspective.

Describing this book, and his triumphs and challenges leading up to his current life as a prolific and respected writer, the multi-award-winning author was as entertaining, honest and engaging as he, and his books, always is.

After a lunch break, my choice of sessions transcended from my reader’s heart into my writer’s soul, with sessions featuring professional writers, authors and industry professionals’ experiences in publishing. This included “Inspired by True Events” with authors Michelle Gable, T. Greenwood and Susan Meissner, and “Getting Published: From Idea to Print” (with author Neal Griffin, his agent Jill Marr from the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, independent book editor Jennifer Pooley, and Maryelizabeth Yturralde, owner of Mysterious Galaxy Book Store). This panel discussed each of their roles in the book publishing process. Neal detailed how, as a hopeful debut novelist, he persisted in convincing Jill, whom he met at the SDSU Writers’ Conference, to represent him as his agent.

Jill then discussed the nature and workload of her business as a busy literary agent. She also explained her initial reluctance to work with Neal, and how his dogged determination and hard work paid off, and led to the 27-year law enforcement veteran becoming a Los Angeles Times best-selling author with his first book, “Benefit of the Doubt.”

Jennifer, a New York publishing house veteran, discussed how, after 12 years as a senior editor with HarperCollins Publishers, she moved to Los Angeles to launch a new career as a freelance book editor.

Maryelizabeth concluded the session by detailing the process of how independent book stores choose the titles they buy from publishing house reps that fill the store shelves. She also stressed the symbiotic relationships crucial for budding authors to connect with bookstores and their local writing community by reading a lot and supporting other authors and book events, using Neal as an example. She explained how Neal attended other authors’ book signings at Mysterious Galaxy, and also volunteered there.

It was amazing that The San Diego Union-Tribune Festival of Books was free, and only charged $3 for each panel session general admission ticket, and offered VIP packages ranging from $14 to $27.30.

Although I only had time for these few, but exceptional, sessions, there were dozens more happening throughout six venues. They included book signings, author panels, vendor exhibits and children’s activities (Georgeanne Irvine, director of corporate publishing for San Diego Zoo Global and author, was a huge hit at the Zoo’s booth, along with Fernando the Tamandua and Dr. Zoolittle) throughout the one-day celebration of books and readers of all tastes and ages.

With attendance rising to 20,000 this year, perhaps the 2020 festival will expand to two days of festivities? In any case, all of you book, magazine and newspaper enthusiasts, writers, and grandparents may want to plan a visit to San Diego next summer for the The San Diego Union-Tribune’s 4th Annual Festival of Books.

For more information on The San Diego Union-Tribune 2019 Festival of Books, visit https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/festival-of-books.

For another review, check out www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/books/story/2019-08-24/festival-of-books-san-diego-ut-2019.

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