What's a Readers Retreat?

The Mississippi River Readers Retreat was the third readers retreat I’ve participated in. What all readers retreats have in common is a roster of authors from a variety of genres, and a whole lot of excited readers. To be clear, we authors are always excited to be there, too.

The purpose is to have a place for readers and authors to get to know each other on a level not possible through social media alone. At MRRR, they fostered interaction in a few different ways:

Keynote speakers: Julie Klassen and Cynthia Ruchti each spoke for 25 minutes each. They did a wonderful job! I loved hearing them and I could tell their words greatly blessed everyone who heard them.

Author Panels: Twenty authors were divided into four panels with five authors on each one. Joyce and Mandy Heffron, the retreat organizers, asked each panel two or three questions, and each author was able to answer. 

Round Robins: The event was held in a church fellowship hall full of round tables. One or two authors sat at each table and chatted with the readers there for about ten minutes. Then the authors rotated to a different table to visit with other readers. I loved getting to meet so many readers, and I’m only sorry I didn’t make it to every table!

In the picture below, I’m with Beverly Snyder and her swag bag. We authors were given silver sharpies to sign anyone’s bag who wanted us too. I must have been tired because when I was signing that particular bag, I was thinking about Beverly, and started signing her name instead of mine! I didn't even know whose bag it was, but thankfully, it happened to be Beverly’s, so I just turned it into a greeting before signing my name. Although, now that I think about it, I could have just signed as “Beverly Lewis” and see if she noticed. I’m not sure my forging skills are that good, though.

(Sidenote: At another table, we sat with Emma Faye, an accomplished audiobook narrator. Julie Klassen was with us, too, and at the request of Emma’s fellow readers at our table, she narrated a sample from Julie’s book, The Maid of Milkweed Manor for us on the spot. She did a phenomenal job, warranting all the applause. What a fun moment.)

A bookstore had come into the church and carried about three different titles per author so readers could purchase books there and have us sign them, too. I loved being able to personalize copies of my three most recent releases for readers: Between Two Shores, Veiled in Smoke, and Shadows of the White City. 

With 120 people there, the day flew by, and then it was time for a group photo! 

Have you been to a readers retreat before? What was a highlight for you?

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