Stanwood Bookfest: You Were Wonderful

I can't lie, I am still riding the wave of joy from Saturday. There is something uniquely wonderful, and a little surreal, about packing up things you have written and made, putting them on a table, and spending a day surrounded by other people who have done exactly the same thing.

Writing, by nature, is a pretty solitary action. So much of it happens with headphones in, or in a closed space, the only sound being music and the staccato rhythm of fingers on keys. For me, it is generally me, a typewriter, a playlist made to capture the vibe of whatever I am writing, and usually a cup of something warm, regardless of the season.

Writers spend an enormous amount of time turning pieces of ourselves into worlds, and eventually you have to make the terrifying leap and let other people wander around in them.

Events like Saturday are a lovely reminder that all of that solitary work eventually reaches actual people, who will see you and recognize you from your author photo. Who will come up to you and talk animatedly about how they loved your story or your characters, or, in the case of one person, how a poem I wrote made them feel seen in a way they hadn't for years. (I won't name you, but know that I cried for like hours because of that conversation. That was so incredible; you are so incredible)

I am so incredibly grateful to everyone who came out. To everyone who stopped at my booth to look, to chat, to ask questions, or just to see the weird little collection of things. Thank you!

To everyone who bought something, whether it was a book, a sticker, a pin, a button, or a journal: THANK YOU!

Seriously.

There is still a tiny part of my soul that is surprised every time someone picks up something I created with my hands, and says, "Yes, this must be mine." That feeling has yet to get old, and I can say with full confidence, it never will. Every item of mine that is left in the hands of someone new gets to exist in a world outside of my control and purview, and while that can feel a little terrifying, it is also deeply satisfying. What an incredibly strange and powerful privilege. If I think about it for too long, I will start crying.

And to all the other vendors: You are so incredible!

One of my favorite parts of vending is almost always the other people doing it alongside me. Saturday was no exception; the other vendors were incredible, so engaging and warm, and creative. So much artistic prowess on display was really humbling. I bought some books, and I am so stoked to read them.

There is something deeply inspiring about being surrounded by people who all make things. Artists, writers, craftspeople, designers, and creators of every variety, all showing up with these little pieces of their souls arranged carefully across tables. You get to see an enormous amount of love and creativity existing in your community all at once. You also get the kind of camaraderie that only comes from spending hours sweating your tits off in the hot sun behind a vendor table together. Watching each other's booths, and complimenting displays, doing trades and barters. Talking about the things that we make, and our creative processes, invitations for future connections, all of those things make these events more precious to me than any amount of money ever could.

Literally every single one of you that I spoke to was such a delight, and I can't wait to connect again!

Listen, I write because I have to write; if I don't, I can and will explode. I would probably still be making up worlds and scribbling poetry if nobody ever saw any of it. My brain has apparently decided this is simply what we do now, and I have accepted my fate and leaned into it fully.

But getting to share the things that I make with people is different. Meeting someone who is genuinely interested in the worlds that I pulled from my brain, or the words I have written, makes all of those hours alone at a keyboard feel suddenly worth it.

There are real people on the other side of those pages. Saturday was a really visceral reminder of that.

It was a great push towards understanding why I love getting out from behind the computer occasionally and putting myself, and my work, out into the fresh air. It reminded me how much joy there is in creating. And it reminded me how lucky I am that people are willing to spend a little bit of their time, attention, and hard-earned money on something I made.

So to everyone who came out on Saturday, whether you bought something, stopped to talk, picked something up to look at it but ultimately decided against it, or simply walked past my table: Thank you.

To the staff and organizers at Witts End Book Store in Stanwood, you're all a bunch of rockstars, and I love you.

To my fellow vendors, thank you for being talented, welcoming, creative, delightful humans.

And to everyone who took a little piece of me home with them, I hope you love it!

I'll be over here creating more universes and hoping to see you all again!