Murrysville library seeks area writers for local author fair

Patrick Varine, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read

May 12—Murrysville Community Library staff wants to give local authors a chance to connect with local readers, and will host its first-ever author fair next month.

"At the end of our summer reading program last year, the one thing we got a lot of was requests for more literary events," said library Director Amy Riegner. "With us doing the craft fair recently, we thought why not do the same thing, but for books?"

Local published authors are invited to reserve a $15 space to meet the community, talk about their writing, sell their books and talk with fellow readers.

Monroeville author Jill Cullen, who is also the cataloging and acquisitions librarian at the Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library, wasn't going to miss that chance.

"It's absolutely a great way for local authors to get a chance and meet readers," said Cullen, whose fourth novel, "Flirting with Celebrity," was published in February. "At this point I'm not trying to make money, I'm just trying to gain readership. So I love participating in things like this to get the word out and meet as many people as possible."

Cullen gave an author talk last year at the library.

"I really enjoyed it, so I'm excited to come back," she said.

Her latest, "Flirting with Celebrity," is the continuation of the story in her first self-published novel, "Flirting with a New Life." The main character, who is also an author, has gotten some attention for her writing and is testing the first few rungs on the celebrity ladder.

"Initially, I kind of struggled and wasn't sure I was ready to revisit that character yet," Cullen said. "But then the story came together as a kind of blend of ideas I'd been thinking about."

Authors of all genres are invited to take part in the June 29 fair, set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration for participating authors is June 1. A registration link is available at MurrysvilleLibrary.org.

"I think we have about a dozen authors signed up, and we had 47 spots set for the craft fair, so we can accommodate plenty," Riegner said.

Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.