In the past, I’ve posted about supplies to take to writing events. But this evening, I’d rather focus on what I hope to accomplish at the 2015 Festival. Besides hearing famous authors speak about topics they’re passionate about, attending the Rock Bottom Remainders literacy-benefitting concert Friday night, and being surrounded by some of the best books of this century, I hope I have the chance to:

• Reconnect with some of the authors and writers that I’ve met (Southwest Valley Writers Conference), interviewed (Rochester Teen Book Festival), or heard read their work (Cornell University Creative Writing Talks)
• Learn some new writing techniques and gain some different perspectives on ways to become a better writer, both in terms of entertainment and for social change
• Discover a whole new batch of LinkedIn and Twitter connections
• Be as prepared as possible so I don’t have to waste precious time standing in line to get water, dealing with sunburn, or trying to find food
• Make some contacts in the publishing field, both fiction and nonfiction books
• Buy as many books as I want, both for my own reading pleasure and as gifts for others, and have the authors autograph them whenever possible
• Discover all sorts of blog posts just waiting to be written
• Spend the entire weekend luxuriating in the world of books, just like the proverbial kid in the candy store

Tucson, here I come! I’ll look forward to sharing my adventures with all of you along the way!