NEWS
April 2013 Edition

Oct. 24-26, 2013 - 6th Anniversary  ●  Fallbrook Church ● Houston, Texas
www.nationalblackbookfestival.com

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Greetings From National Black Book Festival Headquarters!

We hope you are having an awesome year and are enjoying all things literary.  We are continually working on the details for the 2013 National Black Book Festival, which is going to be a phenomenal event you won't want to miss.  For authors who are interested in participating as vendors, author tables are already 85% sold and we expect to sell out completely at least three months before the event takes place.  The Standard Rate expires May 31st and only a $100 deposit is required with the balance of $200.00 due by July 31st.  After May 31st, if tables are still available, the price for a table increases to $350.00 and the full amount is due upon registration.  No more partial deposits for tables will be accepted.  Authors may register online here.

Here are some details about the 2013 NBBF, to be held Thursday., Oct. 24 thru Saturday, Oct. 26.  First, the 2013 NBBF will be FREE to the public and parking will be FREE as well.  NBBF will be an outdoor, tented event and will have a true festival atmosphere. The tents will be large and durable with sidewalls that can withstand inclement weather conditions, with ceiling fans for air circulation. If there is a continuous rain forecast for the entire weekend, however, we do have a contingency plan in place.

The Festival will start on Thursday evening with an opening reception and the exhibit days will be on Friday and Saturday with an on-site buffet breakfast on each day (tickets must be purchased for all food events).  All eating events will be catered by Pappa's Catering, owned by one of the largest and most frequented restaurant chains in the state of Texas.

NBBF will have vendor tents, seminar tents, featured author tents and an entertainment tent. We will also have a children’s tent with children’s authors, clowns, face painting and other kids’ activities. We will have a food tent for all of our eating events. In addition, food and drinks will be available for purchase in the food tent throughout the weekend for attendees and vendors, so there will be no need to leave the Festival site during the day to eat your meals.

The location for the 2013 Festival is Fallbrook Church in Northwest Houston. The Festival will be located in the church’s primary parking lot. Fallbrook is one of the largest black churches in Houston and the 6-acre property houses three worship buildings, the Fallbrook College Preparatory Academy and Fallbrook Christian Academy. Visit their web site for more information about the church.

Because of our location on a church property, some authors have asked whether or not all types of books will be exhibited and sold.  While the Festival is being held at Fallbrook Church, the event itself is not hosted by the church.  Nearly all of the genres we have included in the past will be retained.  We are, however, requesting that authors who have books with profanity in the titles or nudity on the covers not display those items at the Festival out of respect for the church property.  If you are unsure about your book cover, please contact us and we will review it with you.

The headquarters hotel will be the Hyatt North Houston and our room block rate will be $89 for single or double occupancy. The Hyatt provides complimentary transportation from the airport to the hotel and NBBF will provide complimentary shuttle service from the hotel to the Festival location.  You may make your reservation online by clicking the Hyatt logo to the left.

We also have a discount with United Airlines for airfare to and from Houston during the Festival time frame of Oct. 21 to Oct. 28th.  Use the offer code ZPTU398617 on the United Airlines web site.

Book clubs:  Be sure to register if your club plans to attend the Festival.  Clubs that register are listed on the Festival web site.  To register, send an email to bookclub@nationalblackbookfestival.com.

Enjoy these photos of some of the 2013 NBBF participating authors.

We’ll keep you abreast of plans for 2013 in our periodic editions of the newsletter. In the meantime, feel free to visit the Festival web site and our Facebook and Twitter pages, which are all updated regularly.

Gwen Richardson
NBBF National Coordinator
info@nationalblackbookfestival.com
1-800-340-5454

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AUTHOR COUNTDOWN TO 2013 NBBF
by Rhonda Jackson Joseph

Can you believe we only have six months until this year’s National Black Book Festival, in Houston, Texas, from Oct. 24-26?  The time has flown.  Hopefully, you've been focusing on your preparations for this premiere event so you can optimize your attendance and build on your existing foundation.

What you should be doing this month:

  • Keep up with your festival table payments.  If you haven't already paid your deposit, do so immediately because 85% of the tables are already sold as of April 15th.  A $100 deposit holds your spot and guarantees that you can be a part of one of the nation's best annual book events.  The balance of $200 is not due until 7/31/2013, so you have plenty of time to pay it off.
     
  • Finalize your travel arrangements and make your hotel reservations.  If you're flying to Houston, make sure to arrange your transfers to and from the airport.  The official festival host hotel, the Hyatt North Houston, has an airport shuttle from George Bush Intercontinental Airport, as well as a special nightly rate for festival participants of only $89.00.  Save even more money using the exclusive festival United Airlines discount code.
     
  • Keep the lines of communication open with those new Houston area contacts you've worked hard to make.  Remember those family members and friends we talked about a couple of months ago?  Now is the time to pin them down and specifically request their presence at the festival to support you.  You have been talking to them about it, haven't you?  And you did let them know how excited you are about the festival, right?
     
  • Update your website, blog and/or newsletter regarding your appearance at the festival.  Make sure to also mention the featured authors, especially those who write in the same genre as you.  If you're planning a promotion at the festival, such as a giveaway or purchasing discount, mention this as well.
     
  • Create and print your promotional items.  If you're using postcards, bookmarks, or other printed materials, get proofs now so you can have plenty of time to make any changes you want.  These items should be of high quality in order to draw the attention of customers.
     
  • Experiment with coupon codes at your sales venues.  Many online sellers offer coupon codes for books when readers purchase them from their sites.  Consider using coupons for your electronic books so that readers will be more tempted to purchase them.

It's still of the utmost importance that you continue to promote yourself and your book(s) before the festival arrives.  Word of mouth is a powerful tool for authors and you want the buzz created about your work well before you set foot in Houston.

Continue to build your personal author brand.   You're selling yourself just as much as you're selling your work.  Let customers know what they're getting when they purchase your work.  Show them why they should purchase your book, when they could spend their money with other authors.

Until next time,

Rhonda Jackson Joseph
National Black Book Festival
Steering Committee Member

BOOK FEATURES


James W. Lewis

 


Russell Mebane

 


E. N. Joy

 


Gwen Richardson




Stephanie Casher
 


Terrance Amen
 


Julian Shabazz
 



Dr. Loren Due
 


John A. Taylor
 


Jacquie Hood Martin
 


X'ernona Woods