Authors to Invade Smithville This Saturday

For Wendy Birkbeck, owner of in , there’s nothing like holding a book in her hands and reading it. The e-reader craze is not for her, and this Saturday, her store is offering what is quietly becoming the most rare of all trades: an autographed book.

The inaugural “Authors on the Greene,” event takes place on the Village Greene this Saturday, Sept. 15, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

“I always thought it would be good to put together something like this for authors,” Birkbeck said Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 12. “It would be like the Art Walk last weekend. The artists were all networking and this could be the same thing for authors.”

As of Wednesday, 46 authors had committed to appearing at the event, including former Galloway Patch contributor Kevin Shelly, who will be selling and signing copies of his book, “Lynn Bogue Hunt: A Sporting Life,” for $30 off cover price. Hunt was a famous outdoor illustrator with more than 60 covers on Field and Stream magazine.

On Wednesday, Birkbeck added Joe Keough to the lineup, and said she has room for five more authors to participate comfortably.

The authors will be lined up on the Village Greene, Colonial music will be playing in the gazebo and Walt Whitman himself will be strolling the grounds.

“People still like autographed books,” said Birkbeck, who worked in a library from the time she was in the third grade and worked in a bookstore in college. “I keep a section upstairs for local books.”

The second story of her store used to be exclusively for books, but by the end of this month, it will be transformed into “U.K. Invasion,” which will sell British, Irish, Scottish and Welsh products. The local books Birkbeck has always sold, including “Images of America: Galloway Township,” by Joseph Federico and Matthew McHenry, will have a home upstairs. Federico and McHenry will be among the authors at Saturday’s event.

Authors from all genres will be in attendance, and not every book has just one author.

“There’s one book that was written by eight women,” Birkbeck said. “We have a section of books that’s all about the Pine Barrens.”

She’s hoping to make this an annual event.

“I think an event like this is going to go well,” Birkbeck said. “Authors have books on Kindles, too. The books can be downloaded to the Kindle.”

Birkbeck won’t be reading them on an e-reader, however.

“I don’t like reading a book on a screen,” Birkbeck said. “It’s too much for me.”

The full list of authors scheduled to appear at the event, provided by Birkbeck, can be found below. They are also listed on the Authors on the Greene Facebook page.

Joseph Federico & Matthew McHenry (co-authors)
Eight Women Writers a.k.a. Amea Lake : Mary Ann Kerns,
Lillian Tesoriero, Elaine Turansky, Alva Hall, Adelaide Weidknecht, Eva LaBrozzi, Karin Holldorf and Anita Paerg
Christy Sloat
Kathy Kelly
Gloria Repp
Cathy Antener
Louise Ann Barton
Donna Lee Sharp Albertson
Kevin Shelly
Francis Sirianni
Kate Polillo
Steven Vincent
Brian Johnson
Geoffrey Girard
Joe Keough
Robert Burns
Jon Gibbs
Lawrence Zink
JB DiNizo
Jeff Markowitz
Roy Carl Weiler
Joanne Swank
Karen Kelly Boyce
Richard J. Kimmel
Wallace Jan Ecklof
Kristin Battestella
Carol K Russell
D.C. Stone
Melanie Zappone
Diana Cosby
Agnes Fisher
Kay Moretz
Merrybeth Farrell
Nanci Ruiney
Susan Ricci
Michael D'Ambrosio
Gail Hunt & Roni Strain
John Leone
Mrs. D (Pen Name) Olga D'Aostino
Fran Grote
Joseph T. Wilkins
Julio C. Santiago III
Paul Evans
Kelly Varesio