The Little Gnome Experience

Last Thursday night I was involved in a first for the new Little Gnome bookstore/cafe in Wynnum. They are running Thursday evening book events, featuring authors from different genres. Last Thursday was their first foray into this type of event and featured sci-fi/fantasy authors.

Being the first of these types of events it was a little quiet – these things usually take a bit to gain momentum – but in some ways that made it a better experience. I like small gatherings for their intimacy, and this one morphed into three authors sitting around a table, enjoying hot chocolate and pizza, while talking to each other and others about their books.

The best thing about this experience was the fact that we could feed off each other, describing our experiences as authors. While our genres were similar, our journeys had their differences, but there were similarities there as well. We all had stories of highs and lows, of events that had worked or had failed spectacularly.

The best thing about the evening was that we all managed to engage and entertain, both each other and those who attended, and we all gained new fans that night, who took home our books to (hopefully) discover new worlds they would enjoy immersing themselves in.

While I like big events, there’s a lot to be said for the small ones that allow a lot of conversation and interaction.

Keep an eye on Little Gnome, as there are more of these events coming up on the last Thursdays in each month. There’s a crime book evening in October and a children’s and YA night in November. The Christmas event will feature many different genres and will be held on 10th December, rather than later in the month. I will be there, so mark it in your calendar now!

Are you an author? Do you like small events or big ones? Are you a reader? Have you attended many author events? What do you like about them and what would you like to see?