“…the key is that you have got to be connected to your readers, whether it's one little old lady who has come in for the free cookies you've provided or 100 enthusiastic fans. That's the covenant of a reading, the promise of some sort of connection beyond the page.” – Bestselling novelist Caroline Leavitt, writing in her Red Room Original essay "Readings, Anyone?"

The 12th edition of Litquake, San Francisco’s premier literary festival runs this year October 7th-15th. It features more than 850 authors, from stars like Andrew Sean Greer and Daniel Handler reading at the top of Buena Vista Park, to future literary lights introducing their work at author readings and kids’ workshops all over the city. To celebrate, Red Room asked its authors and members to blog about public readings. Whether they were on stage or in the audience, Red Roomers weren't shy about sharing the gory details!

A few posts stood out:

• For the second week in a row, author Loren Rhoads has posted an unforgettable entry. She moved us tremendously with her story of reading another author's piece, and why it has such meaning to her and to the audience. Please don't miss "Reading in Public is the Best Way to Connect."
• Several bloggers posted useful lists of what to do and not do. Member Margaret Duarte had one of the best, sharing the lessons she learned at a reading at her local library in "My Book Launch Reading."
• The funniest account a reading that actually went just fine was by member Thomas Burchfield, who—thank goodness!—gave a Dracula impression that didn't sound like Sarah Palin. Find out what that means in "Other Things That Don't Go Wrong."

These bloggers will win books by Red Room authors participating at Litquake:

• Fear of retribution for an accidental murder doesn't stop a teenager bent on revenge in Seth Harwood's urban crime thriller, Young Junius.
• In Inside This Place But Not of It (Voice of Witness), Ayelet Waldman and Robin Levi collect incarcerated American women's stories.

You can see all the readings blog entries here. I hope you'll read a lot of them, and leave comments on your favorites. All past blog topic wrap-up post are here. Thanks as always for blogging!

–Huntington W. Sharp, Senior Editor, Red Room