Read Local Book Festival: A City-Wide Event that Raised $20,000 for the Durham Public Library Foundation

The Problem

During my tenure at Light Messages Publishing, we wanted to find a way to connect with and strengthen our local literary ecosystem. After all, we already shopped local and ate local—why not read local, too?

The Process

I created the Read Local campaign and led a volunteer committee of authors, librarians, designers, and readers to develop the idea into a 3-day festival spanning downtown Durham. The proceeds raised would go to support the Durham Library Foundation.

Highlighted events included:

Feasts of Authors – readers could connect with authors from different genres at local restaurants.

Cookbook Rodeo – local and regional celebrity chefs and cookbook authors offered samples made from recipes in their books. Headliners were included in a showcase cooking demonstration.

Street Festival – the highlight of the festival brought together dozens of authors to sell and sign books at vendor tables, as well as other key members of the local literary ecosystem. A stage offered programmed readings throughout the day. Key discussions on literary topics were led by authors and academics.

Writers in the Ring – wrapping up the festival was an uproarious event where writers duked it out over two keyboards in a live, prompt-driven timed competition.

The Results

The Read Local Book Festival engaged the community’s literary leaders in Triangle. Headline authors included national bestsellers, poet laureates, and award-winning cookbook authors.