Naturally, I had to go back this year (and yes, we’ve all already signed up to head back again in 2018 – it really is mandatory!)

Because – and authors, this is important – an event such as this allows you to REALLY connect with your readers. As one panelist so aptly put it, “Who reads a book that someone else hasn’t recommended?”

We observed after each and every panel (each featuring 3-5 authors) the mad rush to the bookstore at the back of the room, as the attending book clubbers went to grab copies of various authors’ work, to then have signed. And when you stop to think that each of those books sold (many authors’ works sold out!) were put right into the hands of a book club reader, who’ll share her thoughts with other readers, you can quickly calculate the vast and lasting influence well beyond a weekend in a small town in Texas.

This year was personally very special to us, too, since the charity being benefitted by the vast array of silent auction items was the newly opened Pat Conroy Literary Center. The reading world lost its prince of tides, Pat Conroy, on March 4, 2016. Thanks to family, friends and so many readers Pat touched, his legacy lives on through the center and all the great folks working to make it a kingpin of literacy in the southeast.

Pat’s widow and fellow brilliant author Cassandra King Conroy was on hand for the festivities, as well as daughter and author Melissa Conroy and family friend and author Janis Owens.

Want to get in on the fun? HINT: Early registration for next year ends soon (after which the price begins to rise – $50, and another $50 later in the year…) CLICK HERE to register and hope to see you with plenty of fellow WWW tribe members in Nacogdoches, TX next year!