Burbank Public Library to host showcase for local authors

The Burbank Public Library is looking for local authors to promote during an event at its Buena Vista branch next month.

Library officials are currently accepting applications for the Local Authors’ Showcase, a free meet-and-greet where writers can network with other authors and for the public to see what new material the writers have.

“They can come and set up a table to display their new books or books that they’re promoting,” said Laura Goldstein, a library assistant at the Burbank Public Library. “They can sell and sign their books, meet the public and meet other authors.”

In the past, the library hasn’t hosted the event every year. However, Goldstein said that 50 authors came to last year’s event and drew in a big crowd, so library officials decided to hold it again this year.

“There is a big turnout each year, and that’s why we keep having them,” she said. “It seems like an event that the public likes to have. Plus there’s a lot of authors that want to do this, too.”

Goldstein said several Burbank residents come to the event to find out who the new up-and-coming writers are or what their favorite authors have been doing.

Because it is free for writers to apply for a spot in the showcase, there are many writers who come back year after year, which helps them grow a fan base, Goldstein said.

Additionally, local readers stop by the event because they want to stay up to date on the current trends.

“People just like to see what’s going on,” Goldstein said. “A lot of people are looking for something new that they haven’t read in a specific genre. They just want to see what’s out there.”

Currently, the two most popular genres at the Burbank libraries are young adult fiction and graphic novels, which are formatted as comic books.

Authors looking to apply for the Local Authors’ Showcase can visit burbanklibrary.com/news/calling-all-local-authors.

--

Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio