(BLOG POST)

Elizabeth Turnbull is an incoming IBPA board member and was recently interviewed by ForeWord This Week about the growing indie community and the Read Local Book Festival in Durham, North Carolina. The entire interview can be read at ForeWord This Week.

Elizabeth Turnbull

“A probably disproportionate number of authors choose to live here in Northern Michigan and, with the great lake shoreline and dynamic seasons for a muse, compose their masterpieces. Then our independent bookstores take it from there, hosting local authors and setting up special shelves for their books. We’re lucky. We have supportive local bookstores and bumper crop of talented writers hidden in the woods.

But life can be tough for an indie bookstore, which might rather see a product churned out by the Big 5 fly off their shelves rather than take a chance on a local unknown. That’s why indie publisher Light Messages is sponsoring the Read Local Book Festival in Durham, North Carolina, this week to let indie booksellers and authors know that it’s easier than they might think to work together.

It’s all part of the mission of Light Messages, which focuses on books that not only entertain, but contain meaning, that shed light on deeper issues. Senior Editor Elizabeth Turnbull hopes the festival will spread to other local communities. Recently elected to the board of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Turnbull talked to FTW about the role of indie presses, local bookstores, and her INDIEFAB-nominated titles. Our conversation can be found below the news update.” …

(You can read the full article at ForeWord This Week.)

About Foreword Reviews:

Published four times a year, Foreword Reviews is still the only magazine showcasing critical reviews and title trends exclusively from the expanding independent publishing market. Foreword Reviews’ readership is a premium blend of more than 15,000 librarians and booksellers—along with 1,100 IndieBound booksellers—who all make buying decisions that affect the reading habits of millions of readers.