Calkins Day 2024: Holly Coop reads a poem

Calkins Day 2024: Six Photos and a Bit of Commentary

Good morning Here is a quick recap, a few links, and six photos of our Calkins Day celebration on Tuesday.

Calkins Day (Feb. 13) is the BryonySeries' official holiday. It's a day to celebrate laughter, imagination, and generosity.

We held Calkins Day 2024 in a similar format and in the same location (The Book Market in Crest Hill) as Calkins Day 2023. We built our celebration around local authors and independent authors in order to help grow Ed's library of such authors and provide a little exposure for these authors. 

Basically, if you wrote a book, you could take home one of Ed's books for free if you gave him one of yours. Readers (anyone else who hadn't written a book) could talk Ed out of a book in various ways. That wasn't difficult to do, since he was eager to give his books away.

You see, Ed is not only a real person, he's also a ruthless dictator/Irish vampire in this book, this book, and this book in the BryonySeries, is also an author in the series. After he published his first novel, he joined WriteOn Joliet. Ed was/is overjoyed to meet so many authors on the local level and buy and read their books. That's why this format of a Calkins Day celebration (which is also Ed's birthday) really appeals to him.

This year for the first time, Ed and Nancy hosted the entire event from beginning to end. I handled a little of the marketing, brought the books, including Ed's latest ("The Fifth"), took a few photos (fewer than I've ever taken), and enjoyed myself.

Approximately a dozen people came out, including one man from Arlington Heights and Chicago poet Alan Hines, who won a beautiful painting Nancy created and gave away just for the occasion, and who is having his own signing at The Book Market today from noon to 4 p.m.

Here is why we celebrate Calkins Day.

Here is how to celebrate Calkins Day.

Who is Ed Calkins? Here is a twenty-question interview with the real Ed Calkins.

Enjoy the photos. Happy Saturday!

 

Happy Calkins Day

Happy Calkins Day!

The BryonySeries has an actual holiday - and today is it.

Calkins Day is a day to celebrate laughter, imagination, and generosity.

Here is why we celebrate Calkins Day.

Here is how to celebrate Calkins Day.

Who is Ed Calkins? Here is a twenty-question interview with the real Ed Calkins.

And if you'd like to celebrate in person with us tonight, please see the flyer below this photo.

Happy Tuesday - and Happy Calkins Day!

"The Fifth" Has Arrived In Time for Calkins Day

Sometimes, life just seems to work out.

Despite a very tight editing schedule for "The Fifth," by Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara, the second book in his Ruthless series...

And despite the holidays and a health emergency (or two) thrown our way...

And despite a few cover adjustments before KDP could approve the book...

The books arrived in times for Calkins Day on Tuesday.

Please join us in celebrating laughter, imagination, and generosity from 6 to 8 p.m. on Calkins Day (Feb. 13) at The Book Market in Crest Hill.

We will have a similar format as we did for last year's Calkins Day, which means we hope to give away more books than we sell. And if you're an author (or other artist or a reader with a cause) come on out and swap a book you've written (or art piece with the same approximate value as a book) for one of Ed's books.

The only change is that Ed himself is handling refreshments and some of the marketing this year. 

Full details are on the flyer below this photo.

Happy Saturday!

Calkins Day 2024: Save This Date

Come celebrate laughter, imagination, and generosity with us on Calkins Day (Feb. 13) at The Book Market in Crest Hill.

We will have a similar format as we did last year, which means we hope to give away more books than we sell. And if you're an author (or a reader with a cause) come on out and let us know about it. 

The only change is that Ed himself is handling refreshments and some of the marketing this year. And who knows? We might even have copies of his second novel, "The Fifth," at the event, too...as long as I can get the last few chapters copyedited and books shipped in time.

Event details are in the flyer. And five reasons why you should come out are in this Calkins Day post from 2023.

Hope to see you there!