Milledgeville readers of all ages gathered at Allen’s Market Jan. 17, to buy carefully curated used books and local literature. Much like the nostalgic childhood book fair many attended growing up, this fair sparked conversations about the inspirations for the stories locals wrote about and recommendations behind each used book vendors offered.
Organized by Kristen Allen, program coordinator at Allied Arts, the event brought together local authors, college students who love to read, and new Milledgeville locals looking to meet more members of their community. Visitors had the chance to browse through more than 50 genres of books, meet local authors, and engage directly with those passionate about the books they have read, all while enjoying cookies and muffins.
“I’ve heard of people doing events like this before and we’ve been wanting to do more for our literary community since it’s something we haven’t been strong in,” Allen said. “We know a lot of local authors and we wanted to give them the opportunity to market themselves and put themselves out there.”
The Book Fair featured a diverse lineup of authors and vendors, including T.M. Brown, Jessica Whitehead, James Murdock, J.A. Asbill, Kerry Neville, Jacub Gonzalez-Labra, and Jason Markiewitz. Genres ranged from romance, horror, and science fiction, to history, self-help, and true crime.
The fair aimed to highlight the importance of accessibility to books. The used books were all under $10, with many even being $0.50 to $1. The new, locally written novels were anywhere from $10-$30, keeping everything affordable.
GCSU junior and vendor Jacub Gonzalez-Labra has sold the books he reads and collects at local vendor events for about two years now and was the first to start doing this at Georgia College events.
“There isn’t anything over $10 on my price list, I don’t think a book should cost that much,” Gonzalez-Labra said. “I’ve curated my taste now and I’ve decided that these books are for the people.”
The fair allowed authors to share their personal story and creative process to visitors. Brown stated that after spending a life in marketing, sales, and coaching, he retired and decided to pursue writing as a legacy to his grandkids. Brown’s novels are inspired by his life experiences and the 21st-century traditions of small towns in South Georgia.
“My wife suggested writing stories as a legacy to my grandkids,” Brown said. “No fiction writer creates stories from a clean slate. Everything comes from life experiences.”
Brown is currently working on his fifth book, part of a series centered on a retired Atlantan who returns to his South Georgia roots and uncovers long-buried town secrets.
“No fiction writer creates his stories from a clean slate, and you have a lot of miles under your feet as an older writer,” Brown said. “Everything comes from life experiences, if someone knew me well enough you could identify some of the characters in my novels.”
Attendee Unna Yared, who learned about the Book Fair through Facebook, stated she was excited about the fair because there are not many opportunities for the community to connect outside of events curated toward the college students in the area.
Attendee Paul Ferdin, explained, “It gets people out of their house. It builds that sense of community and it’s a nice way to feel more connected to the city that you live in, while also allowing you to meet your neighbors.”
Allen said the response to the first Grown Up Book Fair will determine future plans.
“This is the first time we have had this event,” she said. “If we have a really good response, it might be sooner rather than later that we have our next fair.”