Killer Year–The Class of 2007

This past weekend marked the 12th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. And let me say right up front, for book lovers this is a not to be missed event.

Last year there were over 140,000 people who attended over the two-day weekend, and I have a feeling at least that many showed up again this year. Since the release of my book is still just a little over one and half months away, I was able to attend in the capacity of fan.

It was a great position to be in. I was able to wander around without any schedule to keep, and visit a lot of friends. I was also able to shoot of a lot, and I mean A LOT, of photos. You can see most of them here.

To give you a idea…there are hundreds of booths: bookstores, small presses, book related items, comic book stores, radio stations, food booths, etc. And the whole thing is spread over a the UCLA campus in West Los Angeles. I didn’t even make it to some areas, it’s just that big.

The weekend actually started off with a huge party at the Mystery Bookstore on Friday night. I talked to store manager Bobby McCue on Saturday and he said he’d never seen so many people in the store at one time before. It was quit a site. You can see a few pictures from the party here.

All in all, a fantastic weekend. Every author should try to make it out at least once. And if you’re a reader, there is no better place meet dozens of your favorite authors all on the same day (or two days.)

Brett Battles
THE CLEANER
Delacorte Press
June 26, 2007