West Hollywood Book Fair

The West Hollywood Book Fair was fun to visit yesterday, even through the huge heat wave we’ve been having. I struggled through the heat to a bus stop and was rewarded with one almost immediately I arrived, to my relief. Even the bus seemed tired as it trundled along through the sweltering city to West Hollywood, where I jumped off and wandered into the grounds of the event. I poked around the stands with books, authors, and other people on display, chatting here and there with interesting people.

I was not on a panel this year (see last year’s report here and here – I don’t think there was anything on science or science-writing this year), so decided to listen to a few panel discussions, at least in part. I listened for a bit to some fiction writers (Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Michael Jaime Becerra, Aimee Bender, Marisa Silver) discussing love and desire in fiction writing, before the intense sunlight on the seats I was sitting on drove me away in search of ice cream. There was none to be found. Bah. I found a lemonade stand instead and then, armed with a drink, found myself listening for a while to a panel of graphic novel creators (Gary DeoCampo, Mike Mignola, Steve Niles) talking about H. P. Lovecraft. Henceforth, I decided to slowly wander in shady parts and chat to people about their work for a bit, before wandering off to Trader Joe’s for an item I forgot to buy in my weekend shopping earlier. I then hopped back on to the bus home.

-cvj