Have you ever met an author in person?

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slj3988
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Re: Have you ever met an author in person?

Post by slj3988 »

No but I have spoken to a few self-published authors online.
Funny story: I used to be part of a facebook videogame group that had an author as head admin. To support him, I bought his debut novel. Then he kicked me from the group for knowing someone that made fun of him.
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Rachel-Roth
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Post by Rachel-Roth »

I just met Neal Shusterman on 3/11/20 at a book signing event at Andersons Bookshop in Naperville, IL. He was a super chill laid back guy. I very much enjoyed the presentation he gave before singing books. He spoke a little on his inspirations for his most recent series The Arc of a Scythe, did a short reading of one of his favorite parts of the series, and took questions from the audience. I went into the book store earlier that day to buy the first of trilogy in hardback cause i had it in paperback but the other 2 of the series in hardcover and since I had the opportunity to get them signed i wanted them to all match. I also wanted to ask the staff a few questions about how the event was gonna go since it was my first signing event I've been to. The staff member absolutely lit up with excitement when I asked them. They asked me if this was my first time seeing him and when I replied yes she seemed just burst with joy and exclaimed, "Oh! You're going to love him! He's so sweet! He comes here pretty often." Other nearby staff members smiled and also chimed in that he was a really cool guy. Now unfortunately the even was around the time were the corona virus is a big thing. (At the time of posting this it still is.) So with that in mind his publishers insisted on special requirements such as no handshakes,high fives,fist bumps,or hugs. Which I guess he usually has no qualms with at his signings and is in fact pretty jovial about. They also insisted any photos be taken at a distance when he is signing your items. No close up selfie stuff.Given the circumstances it was entirely understandable and I had no complains about the restrictions. I had 4 books to sign. The trilogy for myself and 1 book for a friend. I was worried but also ready to understand he might have some sort of limit on how many he would sign per person. However as he announced we were gonna go ahead and move on to signing he right away stated " I will sign everything , but I will only personalize 1 item per person." I was super excited as this was obviously perfect for me and I honestly think it was incredibly generous and kind of him to offer to sign everything right off the bat. It was an overall amazing experience I would definitely go see him again. :)
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Post by cookiedough »

I haven't, but I wish I had. I remember people telling me to not meet your idols as it will most likely disappoint you. So I never sought out a book signing to meet them in person. However, I am curious now and if a favorite author of mine did a book tour, I would try to meet them.
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ed123456
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Post by ed123456 »

Yes, a few. I even worked with one in Special Education in Chicago. Her name is Arlene Erlbach. She started writing romance novels which were published in Germany. Now she writes basically for middle school students. We have them in the library. She even had part of one of her books about kid inventors in the reading anthology we used in school. That was amazing for both teachers and students.
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spotcat70
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Post by spotcat70 »

I met Debbie Macomber in person, when she was doing a book discussion in Dallas, TX. She is very nice and personable. Had a chance to have a book signed and a picture taken with her.
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catss
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Post by catss »

I have met Bill Hopkins and Sharon Woods Hopkins many times as they come every year to a craft fair at my cousin's school in Jackson, Missouri. They are very nice and have signed books for me. (They also gave me discounts because come to their table all the time to look at their books and to talk to them.)
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FatStu
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Post by FatStu »

Anthony Horowitz. Got a signed copy of his Bond book Trigger Mortis.
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Post by Catie139 »

When I lived in Chicago during the late '90's, the public library sponsored a yearly festival in which they would feature a number of authors. Jon Krakauer and Joyce Carol Oates are two that I remember meeting at the time, though there were several more. I also went to a number of book signings at major bookstores where we were able to meet and mingle with authors.
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sblake26
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Post by sblake26 »

I have met John and Hank Green! Both of them were super nice.
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Afzain123
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Post by Afzain123 »

I haven't. It sounds so much fun though! ☹️
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Post by lwahls2 »

I haven't met an author in person and that's definitely something on my list to do. Before COVID I always thought I would have plenty of time to go to a reading or a book signing. But now the opportunities are slim to none! It's fun to hear about all of the authors everyone else has met though.
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Post by Lilyflower-x2 »

Not yet.
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Bigwig1973
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Post by Bigwig1973 »

Yes, but most of them are not very well-known. I grew up in a small city that had a university so I had a friend in college whose parents had both published books of poetry. Most of the professors I worked with, if not all of them, were also authors. I went to school for literature and philosophy. I remember sitting in the library in high school working on researching for English and one of the girls in my group said that her dad was in the book in the library that contained lists of authors. I can't remember what the reference book is called, but it appeared to be a "real" book that had famous authors listed in it. She showed me her dad's name in the book and I was like, "Oh my gosh, that is so cool!" Years later, I took a course taught by her father and our class read one of his books. I also took a course taught by a creative writing professor who wrote a book entitled, Coming Home Crazy which was about his trip to China. It is good and apparently, if one goes to China for an extended period of time, one should bring duct tape. I took 3 independent studies courses in college and worked with the same professor for two of the three classes.
I have one of his philosophical works but I haven't read it yet. I'm guessing it's pretty good! One of my daughters worked at a Barnes & Noble and she met quite a few more well-known authors. She also got to shake Hulk Hogan's hand - she said it is very large.
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shirleym89
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Post by shirleym89 »

No I have never met an author before, but I would very much like to meet one.
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HelliePie
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Post by HelliePie »

Sadly, when I met Erica Jong, she was rude and selfish. But when I met Isaac Asimov, he was charming and flirtatious. You can never tell; l thought it might be the other way around!
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