Bindery hosting book-signing event April 28

LEESBURG — The Oakland Library’s Bindery is hosting a book-signing event next month that will give roughly a dozen authors, most of them from south Georgia, a chance to promote their work and interact with the public.

It is set from 2-4 p.m. on April 28. At The Bindery, all of the authors will have booths set up that they will be able to decorate. These booths will be where they can sell their books to the public, while the public is given a chance to chat with the authors directly.

“It will be more like a festival atmosphere,” Michael Kennedy, the librarian at Oakland in charge of the event, said.

The book-signing, meant to be set up as casual, was done last year at the Lee County Public Library on Walnut Avenue. There were fewer authors that time, but 100 people flowed in over the course of two hours.

Kennedy said a few of the authors from last year are returning again this year, and they are from areas including Tifton, Albany and Sylvester. Henry Duggan III will be there promoting his novel “Silver’s Odyssey,” while some of the other authors will include Sandra Webb, Jay Beck and Michael Aye.

There will be fiction and non-fiction authors along with one children’s book author. Most of the books available at the event that day will be adult-oriented.

Last year’s book-signing was limited in that the Walnut Avenue facility has less parking. That is not as big of an issue at Oakland.

“I am hoping it will be bigger (this year),” Kennedy said.

Kennedy said Lee County Library System officials are intending to reach out to Lee County School System and Albany State University to potentially get some students in the door, and that the event will be appearing in the Lee County Chamber of Commerce calendar.

“Our goal is to be relaxed,” he said. “We hope to have a range of ages.”

Duggan’s novel is set in early 17th century Florida. A Spanish galleon sinks near present-day Key West, and almost all of the people on-board perish.

One person does survive, and he has to go through a number of different trials to make it — giving him the will to survive. He has a woman at home waiting for him, who does not know if he is alive or dead.

“A solider washes ashore,” he said. “It takes four years to get to St. Augustine so he can return to Spain.

“The whole thing is a survival story.”

Duggan has experience in canoeing, which he drew from in writing “Silver’s Odyssey.” He said it covers many of the elements of early Florida history.

He said he has sold about 2,000 copies of the book, mostly to his friends. It took him five years to research and write it, and the personalities of about 30 people he knows are inserted into the book.

Duggan said he enjoys book-signing events. They give him the chance to interact with people.

“It is fun interacting with people,” he said. “I think history appeals to people, and the survival part appeals to people.

“It is not just the hard sell, just the soft-sell casual approach.”

Oakland is located at 445 Oakland Parkway in Leesburg.

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