Author Festival showcases talent, creative process of local writers

The Big Read is now well underway in Hopkinsville, and the Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library welcomed authors of all genres into the building for an Author Festival Saturday.

Twenty-two authors, both local and from across the nation, participated in the event where attendees could speak with the authors, buy copies of books and learn about the writing and publishing process. Best-selling author and Hopkinsville native Teresa Medeiros gave a presentation about her career so far—including running an e-book publishing company called Amber House Books—and gave some advice to aspiring authors.

She says to never forget that while talent is important, writing is at its core a craft that can be practiced and honed over time into something better.

She encouraged others to cast aside any advice that doesn’t work for them, including her own, saying everyone has their own writing process.

Medeiros says to not hold too tight to a single project—that all stories have an end, eventually.

She says when it comes to publishing, the game has changed very much since her writing career started 30 years ago and it takes talent, hard work, a unique concept and a ton of good luck—she encouraged those looking to become published to investigate publishing companies, examine what genres they work in and be prepared for rejection at first.

The Author Festival continues until 4 p.m. today. Events concerning the Big Read, which features the play “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder this year, will continue into November. For a schedule of events, follow the Big Read-Hopkinsville on Facebook.