That's so cool. I'd love to meet Eoin Colfer at an event where 'Artemis' is there. <3

When I was getting my BA I interned at this local used bookstore and the owner took me with her to two events. I have an entire shelf of books that I was able to get signed by new authors. I even went to an 'after party' event with them to get gelato. I couldn't say a word beyond polite answers because I was so shocked that what was happening was happening!
They were all really nice. The most memorable people were J.Scot Savage because he encouraged me with my own writing, Julie Wright because I spent the most time with her and she was super nice (the owner knew her pretty well), Tyler Whitesides because he saw the stack of books I was toting and commented that another author was great so mad respect there and he was fun to talk to.
But the 'OMFG was that REAL?!' people were watching James A. Owen draw a dragon into every copy of a certain book right there at the table over and over plus his general awesomeness, Kasie West remembering me at the second event (local author!), and meeting Jennifer A. Nielsen. She took the time to talk to her fans and they loved her characters. She was very kind and some of her books are out of my usual genres but still some of the best I've read.
I met some amazing authors that were traveling together and another that presented an amazing character tip, plus some serious ones through some college events.
Antonya Nelson went over one of my stories in a workshop with just three others through my school and gave us a great editing tip and Jane Hirshfield changed the way I will see poetry forever when I met her.
I also helped organize an event for Ally Condie but was unable to attend, but there were over 50 people there in that tiny shop. I really owe that owner for hooking me up. :3
I met plenty of other authors at that event but should probably stop listing them. Sorry if I overshared but it's just so exciting remembering those times. <3

Interning at a local used bookstore sounds like a dream job!!

There is no such thing as oversharing here. LOL It sounds like you’ve had some amazing experiences. What fun to organize those events too!

It’s wonderful that the authors all turned to be out as wonderful as their books too!

I got lucky. :D She needed help on the trip.

Those were the golden years. :3

Mostly yes. I've had a few unpleasant interactions but I prefer to remember the good which outnumber them by far. :D

I would also like to go to a Rowling signing but I probably wouldn't talk. ;p

That sounds like a really cool experience. Working in a bookshop always sounds lovely but I bet it's a lot more work than people realise!

So far it's proven to be a once in a lifetime oppourtunity. :D

I've worked in three shops and it depends. The big stores were crazy during the holidays but the used bookstore was always busy. The owner warned me never to open my own shop because she never had time to read anymore. Haha!
But it was connected to a cafe and people would bring their coffee or food in and sit down and read, and there were events. She let us meet there a few times for our writing community. And we did Word Wars there open to the public! :D

The hardest book related places I've ever worked though were as an editorial assistant and in a library. It's the hardest even when the library book sorters go down! :O
Shelvers have it the hardest!

Oh wow sounds like a lot of fun!

I am actually going to work at my local library once a week starting tomorrow. I am SO excited. I can’t work more than that because I have an actual M-F job but told them I would help them out on Saturdays. Getting paid to spend the day in my library is like a dream come true... at least in theory. We shall see how it really goes. LOL

:D

Hope you have a great time. I loved absorbing book vibes all day.

I have never been to a book signing or met any authors. I have always wanted to but I live in a small town and although I am within driving range to a very large city I only ever seem to hear about events after the fact.

I would love to meet Martha Wells, Rebecca Roanhorse or Neil Gaiman.

Yes I live in a small town too and never thought I’d meet an author, let alone one of my favorites! I work in a larger city about 45 minutes from home and even that is a small city compared to most. It so happened that the BN bookclub group won a contest to have her come to their bookclub so BN decided to take advantage of that and asked her to talk. It was a shame that hardly anyone was there but she was still a trooper and made everyone feel comfortable.

Neil Gaiman would be amazing to meet.

Yay that's great you got to meet Kimberly

I'd love to meet several authors. Neil Gaiman, Dan Jones, Phillipa Gregory... I used to think I'd like to meet Diana Gabaldon, but not any more.

I have met a few children's authors when my kids were little. None of the really big ones but a few who came to do signings in town. Michael Tod (with one D) was their favourite. They often came into school to read with the kids and tout their latest books. As a teaching assistant I often wound up looking after them for the day.)

I've 'seen' several more at various literature festivals but haven't queued for signings. I would queue if there was one I particularly wanted. I've also met writers - as in script writers for films, but those don't really count unless it was a book first! LOL Andrea Gibb was my favourite. (Kel I can't remember if you met her in Glasgow in 2006? I met her the following year!)

Edited 2019-01-13 11:54 am (UTC)

Neil Gaiman would be awesome and ohhhh yes Phillipa Gregory would be too. I forgot about her. I heard Diana turned out to be terrible to her fans but I don’t know the full story. She is a shit when it comes to fanfic I know.

Aww that’s sweet when authors volunteer their time and visit the schools. I think my kids had one come to their school but I cannot recall his name. I think he was Michigan-based.

I don’t remember if I met Andrea or not. I don’t think so unless she was at the dinner that night. If I didn’t meet her with you then I know I didn’t. Once you left we had just a few more days and spent those at Loch Ness and packing! LOL

Yeah it was Diana's attitude to fanfic that put me off. Yes of course they are HER characters but once you let them out on the world at large you have to learn to let go a bit. If you are still writing then stay clear and don't read any fanfic so you stay true to your vision of your character but you cannot prevent other people writing them as they see them. I just wanted to tell her to grow up! Fanfic has been written for decades, before the advent of hte internet and about characters far better known than Claire and Jamie Fraser and you know what, those characters survived. They didn't become 'less' just because someone else had another vision!

We used to get a lot of visitors. Authors, artists, sports people, musicians... it was great.

It would have been after the Dear Frankie tour. I know the first year I went on it with you but we didn't get the 'afternoon tea' at the Corinthian. In 2007 I got that and Andrea was there to do a Q&A about the film and her writing and also sign things. She was lovely and a litlte overwhelmed that her little story had such a huge fanbase.

Oh that's wonderful! I did go and get afternoon tea at the Corinthian but that was on our own without any Q&A. That must have been fun to meet her!

Yes I thought that was so ridiculous when I read all about her baby tantrums that people dare write fanfic and that she was going to sue them all or something dumb like that. You are right, that existed even before the internet. When I was like 12 I wrote fanfic based on the book The Outsiders! I ended up giving them a sister and then was so pissed that a short-lived series came out on tv much later (based on the book) that... guess what? Gave them a sister! haha I was like HEY that was MY idea. LOL

I think the DF trip we went on - there were two that year and Andrea could only make one of the days. That's why I was so glad to not miss out on her the year after.

LOL Damn them stealing your idea!

I went to a book signing at a Barnes & Noble for A Dance With Dragons when it came out. My friend got in line five hours before the signing and I joined her as soon as I could get out of work - still 3 hours before the event. The line was so massive that we couldn't talk to George R.R. Martin, but we got to hear him speak for a few minutes before the signing began and I have his signature in my copy of the book.

I'd like to go to a signing of a less popular author, I think, so that it's not quite so crazy.

Wow that is amazing that you got close to George RR Martin! Even though you didn’t really get to talk to him did he seem like a nice guy?

Yes, meeting Kimberly was awesome for me because she was one of my favorites yet not too many people know her so it wasn’t crazy at all. I wish there had been more people for her sake because there were really only a handful of us and I felt bad for her. She didn’t seem to care though. She’s probably used to big and small gatherings.

He was apologetic that he couldn't talk with the people there, but given there were hundreds of people in line, we understood. I was still a bit awestruck being so close to him.

I can imagine. I would have been the same way. I was even that way with Kimberly and she isn’t as big as George! LOL

I never went to a book signing and whatever the field, I'm not one to run around for autographs... I'd prefer to spend some time with an author, actor or sportsman I like than to have his signature.

I didn’t have to run around for Kimberly’s autograph. She did a meet and greet and offered to sign the books that we bought. Nothing wrong with that.

I don't meant it in a negative way. It is just I don't value a signature so I never went to such an event.
As long as you don't bother the author, I can't see anything wrong in trying to have their autograph if you like that.

The whole point of a book signing is for the author to sign the book so no one would be bothering the author. :) Authors set it up themselves to sell their books and meet their fans.

Of course! But I was thinking in general... sometimes some autographs seekers can go too far to get what they want. Stars, whatever their field of activity, remain people. But I suppose that authors are not the ones who have problems with excited fans the more often... apart from « superstars » like JK Rowling or GRR Martin...

Right I totally agree about celebrities in general. On my way home from London I saw JJ Feild in the airport and he’s one of my absolute favorite actors of all time and I did not approach him. For one I was too shocked to approach him and two I didn’t want to bother him. I think the majority of fans are good with the actors but once in a while you get some who go too far.

Yep... I feel you for the « too shocked to move » part. In theory there are a few stars I’d like to met to the talk with them about what they do but I’m not sure I’d manage to say more than « Hello ».

Talking about authors, I’d like to meet Haruki Murakami because his books are quite strange and with his very different culture, it would be really interesting to know more about him and his writing.

The Potterhead in me would love to meet JK Rowling but I also have the feeling that we know a lot about her already.

And I would have loved to meet Agatha Christie. It seemed she was a fierce and modern women for her time!

What an awesome experience to have! :D

I've never been to a book signing. I live in such a rural area that it's hard for me to get to things like that. Takes lots of planning. I do have a few signed books, though. A couple of the books I won through Goodreads in the past came signed or with a nice note tucked inside from the author.

And one of the books I bought used from Better World Books ended up being a signed copy. So, that was a nice surprise when it arrived in the mail.

Thanks! It really was an awesome experience. I never get to opportunities like that in my small town area.

Yes I totally understand about living in a small town. I just happened to get lucky that she came to the city I work in but even then it was because the Barnes and Noble bookclub won a contest. LOL.

Ohh that’s awesome when you end up with a signed copy! I ended up getting Kimberly’s signature in another book I found at a used book sale. I couldn’t believe it. She must be my soul mate author. LOL

She must be, lol! That's too cool!

I neglected to mention what authors I'd like to meet. Probably Nora Roberts and Jayne Ann Krentz.

Oh yeah they would cool! I forgot about Jude Deveraux who falls into that type of category. I follow her on FB and she seems pretty cool. I don’t really read her anymore but she was a HUGE part of my love of books when I was a YA. I read ALL her historical romance fiction... the Montgomerys. *swoon* She stopped writing historical fiction and I couldn’t get into her modern day ones.

I was like that with Jayne Ann Krentz for awhile. She writes books set on another planet far into the future under the name Jayne Castle, and for the longest time I couldn't get into them.

I have lately, though...in a big way. o.O I don't know what changed.

It must be frustrating when you live in an area that's hard to get to places.

I'm quite lucky - I live about midway between Nottingham and Derby, so am within an hour' bus ride from two major cities, both with a decent sized Waterstones bookshop, and both with a fairly active literary scene. Sometimes it's easy to take it for granted, but I should probably be taking advantage of far more opportunities for book signings and events.

I go to the Ohioana book festival yearly. I've been to more book signings than I can easily remember at this point. I have an entire bookcase dedicated to autographed books, ranging from one from E.A. Copen who I see monthly in our writing groups meetings to bigger names like Brandon Sanderson and Maggie Stiefvater. I've BEEN the author at a signing at the anime con in Raleigh a few years ago. After meeting and talking with Leanna Renee Hieber for the last few years at both the Ohioana fest and the steampunk symposium I might be with her on the authors' panel this symposium which is pretty cool.

A book festival sounds like so much fun!! I didn’t even know they had those. That sounds like it would be so much fun!

Being on an authors’ symposium sounds amazing. What books have you written? I would love to look them up. Feel free to make a post here letting us know what you’ve written!

The book festival is great, usually in April in Columbus (for any Ohioanas in the group). I love that it has author panels all day too.

I write under two names that I tend to keep separate but since the YA name only has one anthology attached to it it currently here's the other. I write LGBT romance as Jana Denardo and you can find it here (https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/searchresults?q=jana+denardo)

I’m in Michigan so not too terribly far away from Columbus. I was in Columbus for a Star Wars exhibit once 15 years ago. Yikes!

Oh nice! I will definitely have to look into that book!

15 years go by fast don't they?

Oh thanks

I've only been to two proper book signings. The most recent one was a couple of months ago when Ben Aaronovitch came to my city as part of the book tour for the latest Rivers of London book and we had a nice if brief chat. There was quite a queue of people and he had to head off somewhere else for an evening talk he was giving but he was very laid back and happy to sign whatever anyone put in front of him *g*

The other was when I was living in Vancouver and I happened to be in the main library when they announced that Robert J. Sawyer (who wrote Flashforward which I was watching on TV at the time) was going to be doing a free talk and signing and I decided to go along. I hadn't read the book at that point but liked the show (and liked the book when I eventually read it), and he was a very good speaker though I wouldn't say I'm a particular fan of his.

I'm struggling to think of another living author I'd want to meet - as a general rule I'm not really that fussed about meeting creators and getting autographs, as anyone who's gone with me to a play or a convention will have witnessed!

I love random sightings. I've had that happen a couple times with one of my favorite musicians. <3 But I didn't go over. It's just fun, like running into a teacher outside of school. Haha.

What kind of conventions have you gone to? I've always wanted to go to one.

It's mainly been sci fi/comic conventions around the UK, there's one that's held every year about 10 minutes from my house so I've been to that one quite a few times :D

Whoa that's awesome. Wish I lived near some but they're all must travel.

Your icon makes me laugh. :D

The only specific book signing (where the entire point was purely the book signing and a talk by the author) was Simon Scarrow, writer of a very long running historical adventure series set in Roman times.

That said, for the last several years I've been going to Edge Lit, which is a sci-fi, fantasy and horror literature event in Derby, with loads of talks and panel discussions and book launches, and of course lots of opportunities to get books signed (although strangely I don't think I've ever actually got book signed at any of the Edge Lit events I've been to! I just enjoy all the talks!).

I do, however, have a fair few non-fiction ancient history books signed, because I keep going to the Heffers Classics Forum in Cambridge, which is a day of talks about classics and ancient history, and usually involves speakers giving a talk on the theme of their latest book - and then doing a signing afterwards! I've got two books signed by the rather tasty Michael Scott at these events (you might recognise him from the 'Invisible Cities' TV series with Alexander Armstrong?).

Oh yes he is yummy!! In certain pictures he could be Gerard Butler’s little brother. LOL

Those sounds like fun events! I would enjoy the talks more too.

Ooh, I'd never noticed that before, but now you mention it I can see the similarity!

Wow, how awesome to meet one of your favourite authors <3
That must have been so exciting for you :)

It was! She was so sweet.