Winchester celebrated children's literature for two days in October with an in person Authorfest that brought joy to our schools. Meeting a "real" author or illustrator is always a thrill. Students are fascinated hearing about how a book is made and delighted to learn that being an author is a path open to them. 

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"Everything I did to become an author and illustrator is stuff you're doing in school now." Matt Tavares  

As always, our presenters were a mixture of old friends and new. New this year were Alex Gino,  April Prince Jones, Jarrett Lerner and Janae Marks. Among our returning presenters were Lesa Cline-Ransome, Anna Staniszewski,  plus Carrie Finison who loves to tell students about the 89 drafts she wrote to get one book just right. 

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"Being a real writer means sticking with it, revising and being able to listen to other people's feedback." Carrie Finison

Authorfest is a beloved Winchester tradition that stretches back nearly 3 decades.  Each presentation is unique but there is a theme - we are all creative but success takes work! 

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"Writing is about 90% editing. It is not just proof reading. It is about making sure the sentences match and tell the whole story." Alex Gino

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WFEE is the primary funder of Authorfest but couldn't do it without our presenting sponsor, the Winchester Cooperative Bank. Thank you to our friends at the Bank for their generous support! 

Special thanks to Book Ends for making our book sale possible!  Book Ends donates a portion of Authorfest sales back to WFEE to help keep this great community tradition alive.