By Anne Levin   

In the 12 years since Princeton Public Library inaugurated Local Author Day, the event has become something of a local tradition. Writers from within a 20-mile radius of Princeton gather on the library’s first floor to greet readers, sign, and sell their books. Practical presentations focus on the details of getting a book published.

Thanks to the pandemic, Local Author Day was paused in 2020, presented virtually in 2021, and as a hybrid in 2022. It returns in its original form on Saturday, April 29. Save for a Zoom presentation the evening before, everything is in person from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with 44 authors ready to meet the public during the annual author fair.

“It’s an opportunity to see just how many really talented people are publishing locally,” said Nora Walsh, the library’s adult services librarian. “There are so many different types of books this year, and some of the writers are right in town. It’s great for the authors, too, because they get to meet their peers and commiserate. When you’re a writer, you don’t usually have an office to go to every day.”

Books by this year’s authors cover a variety of topics. Barry Singer’s recently published novel, Exit the Bronx: Coming of Age in the Mid 60s During the Vietnam War, tells the story of a man whose life was changed by his experiences in the U.S. Army at the height of the conflict. The Hoarder’s Wife by Deborah S. Greenhut is a novel based on her own experiences married to someone who couldn’t throw anything away.

Connie Escher’s She Calls Herself Betsey Stockton: The Illustrated Odyssey of a Princeton Slave has already won awards, as has Evelyn Joseph Grossman’s Hidden in Berlin: A Holocaust Memoir, which tells her family’s story. For a full list of authors, visit princetonlibrary.org.

The one virtual presentation is on Friday, April 28 at 7 p.m. Penny C. Sansevieri, founder and CEO of Author Marketing Experts Inc., will discuss “Building a Direct Connection with Readers.”

“Penny is on the West Coast, and it’s so nice to be able to have her,” said Walsh. “There is still some value to the virtual.”

Saturday’s events begin with “Crafting a Compelling Query Letter” at 11 a.m. in the Technology Center. Liz Alterman, author of the domestic suspense novel The Perfect Neighborhood among other books, will outline how to write a winning query letter to pitch a manuscript to a literary agent or publisher. Registration is required.

Also, at 11 a.m., “Prepping for Publication,” a workshop for grades 5-8, will be held in the STEAM Studio. Author Megan McCafferty will invite young writers to bring a work-in-progress to workshop with the group, and prepare a pitch for publication in youth literary journals. Registration is required.

The Author Fair is in the Community Room and elsewhere on the first floor from 1:30-4 p.m. Writers of fiction and nonfiction for all ages will be available to interact with readers and sell and sign their books. Also, from 1:30-4 p.m., author and grammarian Ellen Jovin, who wrote Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian, will answer questions and resolve grammar and punctuation issues at a pop-up Grammar Table in the lobby.

“We love this event,” said Walsh. “It’s not just an opportunity for people to meet published authors. It’s a chance for the authors to meet this audience base, and show off the really hard work they’ve been doing. For us, to have people coming in the door excited about reading — that’s what we are about.”

For more information and to register for events, visit princetonlibrary.org.