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Local Author Book Festival winter theme
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Santa Barbara Public Library Local Author Festival

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Celebrate Santa Barbara’s literary talent! Santa Barbara Public Library invites readers, book lovers, and anyone looking for holiday shopping ideas to our annual Local Author Festival at the new Michael Towbes Library Plaza on Sunday, December 8, from 2 - 4 PM.

Since 2017, SBPL has hosted an annual program for local authors with the aspiration of building a community of writers, supporting authors cultivating the art of their craft, and helping them navigate the publishing world. Previous program panelists include, authors Elizabeth Hunter, Ellen O’Connell Whittet, Aaron Shulman, Rebecca Villareal, Jervey Tervalon, Laure-Anne Bosselaar; as well as publishers and editors, Angela Borda and Marcia Meier, among many others. Local Author Day concluded with a local author book sale–a wonderful opportunity to meet authors and support their work. Participants from previous Local Author Day programs submitted their books to the Santa Barbara Public Library’s Local Author Collection where they are available for checkout.

This year’s Local Author Festival theme is Books Make Great Gifts, Shop Local! 40 local authors will be selling and signing books and available for networking and answering questions. Authors will also have the opportunity to read excerpts from their work in a “book karaoke” format.

Featured author/book categories include:

  • Children’s Books
  • Young Adult
  • Adult Fiction
  • Adult Nonfiction
  • Poetry
  • Local Publishers

The Library will host a crafting table for kids and families, and the Friends of the Santa Barbara Public Library will be on hand to provide free gift wrapping for books purchased.

Participating authors and publishers include:

Adam McHugh

Ana Ellickson

Anita Perez Ferguson

Arthur Hoyle

Betsy J. Green

Bonnie Lady Lee

Cheri Rae

D.J. Palladino

Darrell McNeill

David Starkey

Debra Brinkman

Diana Raab

Douglas Hufschmid

Edward Cooper

Elisa Stad

Elisabeth Haggblade

Elizabeth Foscue

Fleurie Leclercq

George Yatchisin

Gunpowder Press

Hope Christofferson

Honey Boy Press

Jana Goldbloom Brody

Jeanine Kitchel

Jenna Tico

Joan Z. Calder

John McKinney

Josh Shelton

Leah Evert-Burks

Lissa Landry

Melinda Palacio

Nikki Barthelmess

Patrick Shattuck

River Curls (pen name C.M. Rivers)

Ruth Wishengrad

Shirley Lim

Stephanie Barbé Hammer

Tania Israel

Taran Collis

Click to explore the library's Local Author Collection.