<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=292mf4_0vjFJ95p00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=292mf4_0vjFJ95p00" width="960" height="1280" ></figure>Dayton’s burgeoning literary scene took pride of place at the Metro Library Main Branch during an Authors Symposium over the weekend. For a full-day the authors, shared their latest books and know-how with the reading public. Discussions ranged from what it takes to enter the field to how authors can best market their work in a fast-changing industry. Writers were also given a chance to share their work as vendors, with just about every genre represented on each of the library’s three floors. Several writers spoke to The Clarion about their journey to becoming published authors and what the future holds for them. Like many readers today, Karla Huebner’s addiction to the written word began at a young age. “I was one of those kids that loved to read and also began drawing. I tended to do both and by the time I was 11 I realized I wanted to be a writer,” she said. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1v7yYx_0vjFJ95p00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1v7yYx_0vjFJ95p00" width="960" height="1280" ></figure>For years Huebner perfected her craft with the aim of one-day publishing a novel. She has since gone on to publish three books. Photo Credit: Ismael David MujahidHuebner would be published for the first time by the Northwestern Review, one of the most respected literary journals in the country. Others would follow as well as a PHD in art history and a career teaching at Wright State University. “Being technically retired, I now have more time to devote to fiction and getting novels published both traditionally and experimenting with independent publishing,” she said. Now with three books under her belt, Huebner has gotten a taste of the industry’s different flavors of publishing. Her first novel, “In Search of the Magic Theater” would be published by Regal House Publishing, whilst “Too Early To Know Who’s Winning” is a Black Rose Writing title. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0vLrGa_0vjFJ95p00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0vLrGa_0vjFJ95p00" width="649" height="1000" ></figure>Huebner’s first novel was traditionally published and continues to attract readers with her style and attractive cover. Photo Credit: Regal House Publishing “Its been very educational working with both of them and my university press that published my scholarly book. So three very different publishing models,” said Huebner. Fellow Tartan Tobi Brun, author of the hybrid prose and poetry book “Of The Eaten”, had a very different path to publication. The difficulty she faced during the querying process led to Brun creating her own independent publisher in Feb. 2024. “I’d been querying agents for over a year and hadn’t heard back because it isn’t necessarily marketable to a commercial audience. So I started the company to provide the kind of space I was looking for,” Brun said.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1FHIJj_0vjFJ95p00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1FHIJj_0vjFJ95p00" width="2048" height="1536" ></figure>Seeing a gap in the market, Brun went ahead and started her own company. Photo Credit: Ismael David MujahidAccording to Brun, the mission of her company The Word’s Fair is to provide a platform for breakout creatives. Its proven to be a welcome breath of fresh air among Dayton’s writers with Leroy Bean, Isabella Bromberg, and Adam J Galanski-De León just a few of the talented individuals they’ve worked with. “Commercial and traditional publishers want the things that will sell to the broadest audience, the most amount of people, and make the most money. As an independent publisher we are able to be more discerning and give a platform for those breakout creatives who don’t have an established audience,” Brun said. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for the Sinclair graduate. Brun stated that one of her company’s biggest challenges has been developing links with retailers. “I have a few local retailers so far but building that network has been a challenge, it can be hard to track down all those connections but once you have, its totally worth it,” Brun explained. The Word’s Faire has so far navigated things well, having published five books so far. Their latest, “The Garden Variety Grimoire”, comes out at the end of Sep. Passion and PurposeFor author Whitney L. Barkley, her first children’s book was very much about seeing a need and meeting it. “Hey, Black Girl!” has since gone from a passion project born during the height of the pandemic to bridge linking generations. Barkley has gained a wealth of experience since writing and illustrating “Hey, Black Girl!” in 2021. Photo Credit: Ismael David Mujahid“At the time I started the book, I was going through a period of personal transformation. I was going through a divorce at the time, felt down, and thought about all the things I wish I’d heard. I thought if someone had said certain things to me my life might have turned out differently. So, I decided to write those affirmations I wish I’d heard down and launched the title on my 30th birthday,” Barkley said. She has since garnered quit the following, spoken at schools, and received praise from families inspired by her work. As author and illustrator, Barkley’s creative process has continued to evolve along with her success. “I think its been able to open a generational conversation between women, their children, nieces, and grandchildren about the things they’ve been through. In turn its created a space for people to just have dialogue about what it means to be a young girl growing up and what it means to affirm themselves,” Barkley stated. She’s since partnered with educator Larry Carey for “Hey, Black Boy!” and continues to promote her first title “The Skinny Black Girl’s Guide to Freedom.” The author has found her biggest challenge to be ensuring her message reaches beyond the black community but her persistence has paid off.“I believe everyone, regardless of their race or what they look like, deals with feeling that they may not belong, that they aren’t enough. So I’ve really had to learn how to communicate and share my message in a way that ensures families understand that,” Barkley added. Despite operating in a completely different genre, CJ Midlim definitely knows the struggle of sharing a message with readers. As the author of two literary fiction titles, he aims to deliver pointed messages in a manner that is entertaining. Not an easy task when the subject is as complex as social media, propaganda, AI, and alcoholism. “You have a message for society wrapped up as an engaging read for people as opposed to standing on a street corner shouting your thoughts. What I’ve found with these books is it can be difficult trying to boil down these complex thoughts in a realistic and engaging narrative. But the bigger challenge is that there isn’t a huge market for that. You have to try to follow the market for fiction and literary fiction isn’t the hottest market right now,” he told The Clarion. Midlam has been able to reach readers thanks to the internet. “The Window Round”, his first book, was published in 2018 and has become a kind of touchstone for the issues he sought to tackle at the time. Some have only grown.“The book was written around the time social media was starting to result in uprisings in the Middle East such as the Arab Spring. I wanted to capture this nexus in time and ask if social media and these technologies would be good or bad for society. Its fascinating how that was the purpose of the book in 2018 and here we are years later and the topic is more pressing than ever,” Midlam added. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4BSm9E_0vjFJ95p00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4BSm9E_0vjFJ95p00" width="971" height="1500" ></figure>Midlam’s first book was inspired by the impact social media was having on the world. Photo Credit: Midlam HouseDespite the challenges he’s faced, the author is highly excited and motivated for his next effort. He’s eager to utilize a lot of the lessons he learned from his debut to thrill readers once more. “I’ve done my 10th round of editing now and am finally ready to get back to querying,” he said. In that excitement and enthusiasm, Midlam is like the rest of his peers. No matter where they were encountered in the library, the passion for the written word and sharing it was on full display. If anything, literature in the Gem City is certainly in good hands. @NomadicIsmael on X/Twitter and thelitnomad009 on Instagram </div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Local authors share new projects, hard-won expertise during downtown symposium

Dayton’s burgeoning literary scene took pride of place at the Metro Library Main Branch during an Authors Symposium over the weekend. For a full-day the authors, shared their latest books and know-how with the reading public. Discussions ranged from what it takes to enter the field to how authors...