Photo by Erin Nelson
The Little Professor bookstore in Homewood, Alabama.
The Little Professor Bookshop is gearing up to host its first ever local author book fair this Sunday, May 1, from 2 to 6 p.m.
The event is a celebration of the local writing community and part of its Indie Bookstore Weekend festivities. Independent Bookstore Day is a one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the country on the last Saturday in April. Little Professor is expanding the event with deals and offerings across the entire weekend.
Hosted by USA Today bestselling author and Homewood resident Lauren Denton, Sunday's activities begin at 2 p.m. with introductions of the 11 showcased authors, two of whom have columns in Starnes Media publications. Customers and members of the public are then encouraged to meet the authors and shop.
“We love getting to facilitate opportunities for readers and writers to connect in the shop,” store owner Meredith Robinson said. “Little Professor is thrilled to introduce this group of authors to our community – some you might be familiar with, but others you’ll be delighted to discover!”
Featured authors include:
- Lanier Scott Isom, a former educator, publicist and editor, is the author of "Grace and Grit: How I Won My Fight at Goodyear and Beyond," the life story of Alabama native Lilly Ledbetter.
- Lori Nichols is an award-winning author and illustrator. Her debut book, "Maple," won the Giverny Award and was selected to represent the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in 2015 and 2016.
- Kari Kampakis is an author, speaker, podcaster and newspaper columnist, and her most recent book, "More than a Mom," was published on April 5.
- Dr. Deven Tellis is a veteran teacher and author of the "Bright Future" series.
- Destiny (D.L.) Soria is an author who writes novels featuring magic and mystery. Her book, "Fire with Fire," was featured as a New York Times selection for summer reading in 2021.
- Charles Ghigna has authored more than 100 books. Some of his most recent published titles include "Love is Everything," "A Poem is a Firefly," and "Once Upon Another Time."
- Audrey Atkins is the director of community engagement at the WBHM public radio station by day, but also a writer, speaker and humorist. Her book of essays, "They Call me Orange Juice," is about life in the South.
- Emma Fox is an author and reviewer of young adult fantasy and historical fiction. Her book, "The Arrow and the Crown," was awarded a Writer’s Digest honorable mention award for children’s/young adult fiction.
- Anita Saxena is a competitive figure skater, optometrist and author. She is the author of "Double Axel or Nothing," a young adult novel about a young, competitive figure skater.
- Kellie McIntyre recently published her first book, "The Passport Project: Two Sisters Ditch Middle School for a Life-Changing Journey Around the World, "which is based on her family’s real-life global family adventure.
- Beverly McNeil published "Portraits of Hope," a collection of original portraiture containing portraits completed by some of the world’s greatest portrait artists, inspired by the women of The Lovelady Center.
Sunday's author event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit littleprofessorhomewood.com.
