On January 14, Books Inc. Santa Clara hosted the first-ever Bay Area Book BFFs: Authors <3 Bloggers Brunch, a chance for local authors and bloggers to mix and mingle. The event was a collaboration between the Not Your Mother’s Book Club (NYMBC) coordinator Hannah Walcher of Books Inc. and two local bloggers, Nancy Sanchez and Christy Hayes from The Tales of the Ravenous Reader. Walcher said the spark for the brunch arose while speaking with Sanchez and Hayes at their local book club Forever Young Adult Oakland. “They were talking about how they wished there was better community with bookstores, and asked me if I would be open to doing an event.” Thirteen local authors and 13 local book bloggers met at the newest of the Books Inc.'s 11 locations, where each blogger was paired with an author to discuss their work.

Shown here are the authors and bloggers who convened. Walcher said that Books Inc's Santa Clara store, which opened this past July, is a big space and this event gave authors and bloggers a chance to see the new location; a 10% discount was offered on certain titles. “It was an event to create community and I think it worked out well.”

Author Stacey Lee played a critical role in helping Hannah Walcher reach out to and invite other local authors to the brunch.

Author Tim Floreen and blogger Enna Penglin from Books, Boys, and Blogs.

This event gave bloggers a chance to interview local authors about their work in one-on-one conversations. The results of those interviews are being posted to their respective blogs.

Walcher said that this was ultimately an effort to “get the community of authors, booksellers and bloggers together in one spot to mix and mingle. Authors want to get the word out, and bloggers want to meet authors and have content for their blog.” This first-time event proved successful for those ends.