Bookish Adventures at Literary Love Savannah 2024

(Update Dec. 11, 2024: I’ve added info links at the bottom of the post for authors and readers interested in attending in 2025)

My second year attending Literary Love Savannah was better than the first and the first was pretty freaking stellar. It filled my soul in more ways than I can count.

The Highlight Reel

I would love to give you a detailed breakdown of my time in Savannah, but I would much rather put my limited creative energy into finishing the amazing prologue for Roots in Ink I started writing while I was away.

So I’m giving you the highlights instead.

Hanging out with authors

Writers are a very specific breed of people and many of us thrive when we’re in community together. The practice of writing might be solitary, but the process of writing is incredibly collaborative. We learn from each other regardless of experience level and we understand the nuances of living this craft.

Hanging out with new attendees

I love a newbie. I love introducing people to a thing I enjoy. When I was new last year, everyone welcomed me with open arms and treated me like an old friend. It was really fun to be that person for others this year.

Image 1: Author Lula White is a freaking delight with an amazing wardrobe. She writes Black luxury romance that I can’t wait to dig into. / Image 2: First time attendee Amanda is the infectious hype woman everyone needs in their lives.

The food

I had to wait until the second to last day in Savannah to get Greek food from Olympia Cafe but it was absolutely worth it.

When your pets have special diets and your kid has Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) and you have ADHD, food is a constant source of stress and overwhelm. It wasn’t just that I ate well in Savannah, it was that I only had to worry about myself for six days. No animals, no children, no other adults. Just myself.

Image 1: Under all that chili is a hot dog from Spanky’s Pizza. / Image 2: I’ve been waiting a year for this gyro and fries from Olympia Cafe. / Image 3: I’m a sucker for any kind of eggs benedict so I had to try this one with crab cakes from Collins Quarter Cafe.

Romance Pokémon

First time LLS author Blake Allwood absolutely killed it with his trading card game. I’m not a game person. I’m not someone you invite to game night. But collecting these trading cards brought me an obscene amount of serotonin. The cards served as an ice breaker and an amazing marketing tool. I’ve already committed to participating next year.

And I won LAST UNICORN TAROT CARDS! I don’t even use tarot cards! But I had to win them.

Image 1: Day 2 in Savannah and I’m building my collection. / Image 2: Blake’s husband was a trooper for allowing himself to be chased around by rabid romance readers for three days so we could collect these cards.

The books

So. Many. Books. I genuinely try not to come home with too many books. I’m a slow reader with limited storage space so I try to be really intentional with the books I buy and the free books I take home. And that’s a really hard thing to do at LLS. You get free books in your welcome bag and an opportunity to stroll through the (free) Book Vault. You can easily head home with 10 – 15 free books.

And of course you can buy books, too. The point of this convention is to give readers a ton of casual facetime with authors. You get to know them and their books really well and by Signing Day I want to burn our savings buying books from everyone.

This year I focused my efforts on anthologies. Though the book itself was more expensive, I’m able to experience the work of more authors than I could if I bought their books individually.

Excitement for my books

I attended LLS as a Reader, but when I did get a chance to talk about my books they were met with so much excitement and interest. I brought a stack of mini bookmarks and, for someone who is awkward-while-networking, I did a fairly decent job handing them out. The feedback from readers and fellow authors gave me a boost of confidence that I kind of needed. I felt reinvigorated after a few weeks of feeling really burnt out.

I don’t often feel optimistic. I’m as cynical and pessimistic as any mentally ill millennial. But I came home from LLS feeling pretty optimistic about where this author thing is going. I hope you’ll stick around for the ride.

Image 1: All the books I came home with. The top four I purchased directly from LLS authors. The rest were given to me as swag or I picked up at the Book Vault. / Image 2: I didn’t read my own book while I had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, but maybe next year someone will.