2012 St. Peter Reads Book Festival Activity

Anecdotal responses were collected throughout the afternoon which were overwhelmingly positive for the event. Evaluation forms were given to all attendees and also author participants. Attendees responded yes to the event meeting their expectations, and two felt it exceeded expectations. All the authors answered yes to the event meeting their expectations. Written comments contained some suggestions along with kudos: "love this kind of event," well organized, helpful staff, good to showcase local authors, coffee & cookies would be nice next time, more events for children's book authors would be fantastic. The authors' comments included: "keep it coming," thanks for having it, like being in one area and that only one event at a time took place, author panels quite enjoyable. And this supportive comment: "You produced a good show. It will take a few years to grow — it's worth the work. Good work!" Most authors handled their own book sales and let us know that they did have successes. The bookstore had a variety of books for sale, but primarily those by authors published in the traditional way. We were satisfied with the number of attendees for a first event of this magnitude. Panel presentations, especially during the Q&A was lively, interesting and informative. The number and quality of interactions between the audience and authors exceeded our expectations.