Inaugural AuthorFest planned for July 22 in Grayslake

GRAYSLAKE – Area book lovers and wordsmiths of all ages are encouraged to make their way July 22 to the inaugural Grayslake AuthorFest in the village’s downtown.

Grayslake AuthorFest is a free, one-day event bringing together more than 20 featured authors, readers and aspiring writers for book signings and sales, writing workshops, talks and other bookish activities.

Founded by writers from Lake and McHenry counties, the festival is set to run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Activities will be centered at the Grayslake Heritage Center & Museum, located at 164 Hawley St., Grayslake. Public Parking Lot C and North Whitney Street from its intersection with Hawley Street to the Whitney Street Diner will be closed to vehicle traffic from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“We are lucky to receive the kind of support that we have for this event,” said Zee Lacson, Grayslake AuthorFest co-founder and Heritage Center engagement and promotions coordinator. “Local organizations and businesses have stepped up with the desire to make this a success, not just for the writing community, but for everyone. It is only with their support that Grayslake AuthorFest can even exist in this capacity.”

Lacson also is president of the Grayslake Arts Alliance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Working with co-founders Melanie Francisco and Alexa Zoellner, Lacson used the GAA platform and contacts to coordinate with local organizations and event sponsors. Zoellner is a Shaw Local News Network reporter.

The GAA, Grayslake Heritage Center & Museum, This Old Book, Grayslake Village Center, Grayslake Chamber of Commerce and Grayslake Area Public Library are this year’s sponsors.

Works in more than 20 genres will be represented at Grayslake AuthorFest.

The 16 featured authors are Michael J. Adams, fantasy; Emily Bleeker, fiction; RE Bunch, horror, fiction; Rachelle Paige Campbell, romance, Christian fiction; John Cowlin, fiction, suspense, mystery, fantasy; Colby M. Flade, LGBTQ+, poetry; Sara Fujimura, romance, fiction, young adult, history; Giosi Galati, poetry; Michelle Habrych, memoir, self-help, parenting and family; Danielle Lincoln Hanna, suspense, mystery; Lauren Hansen, biographical, religion, self-help; Melonie Johnson, romance; Kim Oclon, LGBTQ+, young adult, history; Charli Rahe, romance, fantasy; Jessie Rose, suspense, horror, LGBTQ+, fiction; and CJ Warrant, suspense, mystery, romance, LGBTQ+.

Authors from the GAA are Lacson, young adult, magical realism; E.J. Nickson, romance, dystopian; Kari Pohar, paranormal fiction; David Rutter, memoir; and ~tel., poetry.

In addition to author book sales and signings, there will be face painting from noon to 3 p.m., children’s musical entertainment from 1 to 1:45 p.m., mobile book checkout from the Grayslake Area Public Library, a craft vendor with bookish items for sale and a “Poetic Pictures” creative activity based on blackout poetry hosted by the GAA.

A poetry slam demonstration will run from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., featuring Kaylia Williams, Franchesca Coburn-Ogunlowo, Leditices Cash, also known as Cloudtmind, and Felestia Coburn, also known as VioletLovePoetry.

Initial talks between Lacson, Francisco, Zoellner and other interested parties – all of whom provided invaluable consultations and support throughout the eight-month planning process – centered on the idea of a much smaller event.

“I had originally thought that local authors could have a table at the library and a program or panel involving the writing process,” Lacson said. “I had thought this to be a November event to coincide with Indie Author Day and National Novel Writing Month. When the option to make this a summer event was presented, it opened up more opportunity and potential.”

National Novel Writing Month, commonly called NaNoWriMo, is a community-powered, internet famous 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has international participation.

Grayslake AuthorFest attendees can find out more about NaNoWriMo and the McHenry and Lake counties region, whose writers are nicknamed McWrimos, during Zoellner’s “Intro to NaNoWriMo” presentation. The presentation will start at 11:15 a.m. in the Heritage Center’s first-floor community room.

Starting at 12:30 p.m., Zoellner and Francisco will lead a 90-minute write-in, also in the community room.

McWrimo and Northern Illinois University writing teacher Cassy Pelletier will lead a workshop with guided exercises focused on building fictional settings. The workshop will run from 2:30 to 3 p.m. in the Heritage Center.

This Old Book will host a youth creative writing workshop outside from 2 to 3 p.m., led by local author Dawn Napier and featuring 11-year-old author Riley Preston.

From 3 to 4 p.m., finalists in This Old Book’s Youth Creative Writing Contest will be featured at the bookstore’s tent. Starting at 3:30 p.m., the winning pieces will be read aloud.

“This has evolved from a small gathering of writers to a festival of literacy,” Lacson said. “We hope authors and vendors want to return and that the community looks forward to the next AuthorFest. We want this to be an event that people from all over come into Grayslake to attend.”

Information and event updates can be found on the Grayslake AuthorFest’s Facebook page and the Grayslake AuthorFest 2023 event page.