Searching for Moshe Rynecki
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September 26, 2017

Elizabeth Rynecki is the author of Chasing Portraits: A Great-Granddaughter’s Quest for her Lost Art Legacy published by NAL/Berkley/Penguin Random House in September 2016. An odyssey spanning generations, decades, and countries, Chasing Portraits is the true story of Elizabeth Rynecki’s search for the lost art of her great-grandfather, Moshe Rynecki. His unique paintings focused primarily on the Jewish-Polish community in Warsaw between the first and… [Read More]

Fox Cities Book Festival October 9-15
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September 12, 2017

Connecting writers and readers for ten years, the Fox Cities Book Festival celebrates books, ideas, stories, and community in the Fox River Valley this October. In January 2017 I joined the board and have been excited about this year’s new developments. This is the first year the festival will be held in the fall instead of the spring. The Fox Cities Reads program—one book one… [Read More]

Untitled Town Book Festival April 28-30 in Green Bay
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April 25, 2017

A new book festival brings Sherman Alexie and Margaret Atwood to the Packer’s Title Town the end of this month. Untitled Town Book and Author Festival is the first event of its kind for the greater Green Bay area and plans to unite readers, writers, podcasters, storytellers, publishers, books, and Packer fans. Alexie and Atwood are not the only big name authors who are featured… [Read More]

One Book, One Community
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March 28, 2017

Across the nation there are community reading programs that ask everyone to read and discuss the same book. For almost 20 years the American Library Association has developed resources for librarians to build community–wide reading programs. People who share a common reading experience come together to discuss the book. “The idea is that the city that opens the same book closes it in greater harmony,”… [Read More]

Get your juices flowing by mixing with other writers
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June 14, 2016

Guest blog by Naomi Yaeger, Duluth MN A book award ceremony can refresh and energize you while you plug away at a manuscript. For more than three years I’ve worked on a manuscript. I’m a newspaper journalist, but that doesn’t make writing a book any easier for me. I’m used to weekly deadlines and writing short stories. I’ve been in a funk lately. A couple… [Read More]

Tis the Season of Book Festivals in the Midwest
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October 13, 2015

Book festivals are celebrations of reading and writing and they bring authors face to face with their audiences.  Don’t overlook them in your marketing plan as you will find they are a wonderful way to meet your readers and market your books. Like rock concerts and music festivals to recording artists, book festivals are the performance highlights to any author’s book tour. Autumn and book… [Read More]

Connecting Writers with Readers: Fox Cities Book Festival
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April 21, 2015

The Fox Cities Book Festival is April 20-26 in Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, Kaukauna, Little Chute, and Kimberly, Wisconsin. This book festival aims to connect writers with their readers and readers with those who write the books they read. During my first week of residency in Wisconsin, I plan to partake in this celebration of books. Throughout the week authors share their works through readings, panel… [Read More]

“Why Not New York?”: My Love of Books Led Me to Boston
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October 21, 2014

For many recent college graduates, or really anyone with big aspirations, New York City is the destination – and was the destination for most of my friends graduating from college this past May. New York also has the reputation of being the book publishing epicenter of the East Coast. Searching for jobs online on Publishers Marketplace or MediaBistro, many entry-level jobs posted are based in New… [Read More]

Book Expo America 2014
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May 30, 2014

Today Swenson Book Development LLC is in New York City at the Jacob Javits Center attending Book Expo America 2014. The largest annual book trade show in the U.S., BEA provides booksellers with opportunities to network with colleagues, preview publishers’ upcoming titles, and discover new vendors. Programming includes a multitude of education and information sessions, as well as author breakfasts, lunches, and other special events. In… [Read More]

Spring Writes in Ithaca
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May 2, 2014

In its fifth year the Ithaca Literary Festival, Spring Writes, presents a weekend full of workshops, readings, and performances. Check the calendar for the full schedule of activities. Here’s a few highlights to entice to you to one of the dozen venues downtown to participate in the festivities. There are more than 30 events to inspire you. Sponsored by the Community Arts Partnership in Tompkins… [Read More]