Bookfest ain't what it used to be. It's been on a decline since I first started going in 1999. I was hoping that with the addition of the $10 fee to get in, they had upgraded the offerings. No. Fewer publishers. Fewer exhibitors. More exhibitors of the
making paperand
blank journalvariety than of actual publishers. The small publishers that showed were mostly of the new age variety. And only 5 authors with their own booths hawking their self-published books.
Although I did notice that a past author with his own booth, Joshua Ortega, has now been published by a larger publisher. He self-published ((Frequencies)) which I picked up at Elliott Bay. I've talked to him at his booth every year. Cept he wasn't there this year. But at the U-Bookstore I saw his book, in hardback, on the shelves. Congratulations in getting an actual publisher, although I think he was doing decent sales with the self-published version.