Celebrating Community and Storytelling at Books By The Bay

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly

In a time when so much of life happens online, Books By The Bay is bringing readers and writers back together the old-fashioned way: face to face, books in hand.

What began as a modest idea for a community book fair has quickly grown into the largest literary event in Northwest Florida. This spring, Books By The Bay returns for its third year, drawing more than 150 authors, dozens of performances and hundreds of book lovers for a full day celebrating storytelling in all its forms.

Hosted by the nonprofit Emerald Coast Writers, the free festival is moving to Bayview Park, where indoor and outdoor programming will unfold across the Bayview Community Center, the Bayview Senior Resource Center and surrounding park grounds.

For event director and Emerald Coast Writers president Tonya Dalhaus, the festival’s growth has been both unexpected and deeply rewarding.

“I joined Emerald Coast Writers back in 2021 and started in their critique group,” Dalhaus said. “They were looking to expand some events because it was just after the pandemic. They were trying to figure out how to get people back together instead of just doing everything virtually.”

Dalhaus soon joined the organization’s event committee and suggested something simple—a small book fair with a few vendors and perhaps a speaker or two.

“I’m a crafter. I love doing little craft shows and things like that,” she said. “So, I was like, ‘Well, how about we do a little book fair?’”

The first year’s call for speakers quickly showed the team just how much interest there was in a literary festival for the region.

“We would have been thrilled to get maybe two or three applications,” Dalhaus said. “Instead, we got 27. We were floored. Suddenly we had all these people who wanted to participate, and we didn’t want to turn anybody away.”

The inaugural festival featured children’s graphic novelist John Patrick Green as a keynote speaker alongside authors Ginny Myers Sain and Paul Lonardo Webb. Vendors lined Museum Plaza, authors spoke inside nearby venues and to the organizers’ delight, crowds showed up in droves. Some authors even sold out of their books entirely.

“That was when we realized, okay, we should probably do this again next year,” Dalhaus said.

Growing a Literary Event

Books By The Bay doubled in size in its second year, and this spring the festival is expected to host more than 150 authors from 22 states and multiple countries—a sign its reputation has spread well beyond the Gulf Coast.

Dalhaus admits even she has been surprised by how far the festival’s reach has grown.

“I had someone email me from Edinburgh who had been in the Fringe Festival asking how they could participate,” she said. “I was like, ‘How are you people hearing about this?’ It’s just been such a gift.”

The move to Bayview Park this year reflects both that growth and lessons learned from past festivals.

“Last year vendors were literally hanging on to their tents to keep them from flying away,” Dalhaus said. “The minute the last vendor closed his trunk, it started pouring. The next day there was flooding downtown. I said, ‘We’re not doing that again.’”

The new venue provides a mix of indoor vendor spaces and outdoor booths, giving the event both flexibility and room to expand.

“There are so many beautiful places in Bayview Park to sit and read a book or write,” Dalhaus said. “It’s just a perfect setting for something like this.”

Creating Space for Authors

Beyond the numbers, Dalhaus believes the festival’s real success lies in the sense of community it fosters among writers and readers alike.

“Other festivals can be very competitive, which I don’t understand at all, because readers buy the books they want to read. It’s not like, ‘I bought your book, so I’m not going to buy someone else’s.’ Our festival is very friendly and supportive,” she said.

One of the most popular features at the event is “Author’s Row,” which is a shared book-signing space designed especially for emerging writers and first-time exhibitors.

“It’s mostly for newer authors or people who’ve only written one book. They sign in three-hour blocks, and the energy around that area is incredible. Everybody’s laughing and talking. Authors have made such great friends just from sitting in that row together that now we have people who come back year after year just to do that,” Dalhaus observed.

Fifteen selected authors will also take the stage to deliver short readings from their latest books, offering audiences a chance to hear stories straight from the source.

“When readers hear an author read their own book, it’s different,” Dalhaus said. “I’m a children’s author myself, and when people hear me read my books the way I wrote them, they say nobody else can read them like that. You know your characters. You can make them come to life.”

A Festival of Creativity

While author talks and book signings remain at the heart of Books By The Bay, the festival also offers plenty of opportunities for visitors to create their own work.

One returning favorite is the “Haiku Slam,” a fast-paced poetry competition open to anyone willing to take the stage. Created by Northwest Florida Poet Laureate Asia Samson, the event has become a highlight of the festival. This year, former regional poet laureate Katherine Nelson-Born will take the helm as host.

“You have to show up with about 25 to 30 haiku,” Dalhaus explained. “It’s an elimination competition, so you need enough poems to keep going if you make it to the next round. The winner walks away with a $100 gift card and a free membership to Emerald Coast Writers.”

Another interactive feature debuting this year is “Postcards to Home,” a photo-inspired writing challenge that invites festival-goers to respond creatively to images submitted by photographers.

“We’ll have photographs hanging on a line, and people can pick one that inspires them. They’ll take a postcard and write something—a poem, a letter, anything—and drop it into the mailbox,” Dalhaus said. “The photo that inspires the most responses will win a gift certificate from Gulf Coast Camera, and the winning writing pieces will be published in our biannual anthology, ‘Emerald Coast Review.’”

The day’s programming also includes an array of performances. Bestselling author Kyla Zhao will headline with an author talk and children’s workshop in the senior center. The African American Heritage Readers’ Ensemble will perform readings accompanied by live music. Nonfiction author Forest Issac Jones will present a talk exploring the influence of the 1965 Selma voting rights march on the 1969 civil rights march from Belfast to Derry in Northern Ireland.

Local talent will also be in the spotlight. Students from Pensacola High School will perform scenes from Shakespeare, while collegiate writers from Pensacola State College and the University of West Florida will face off in the inaugural “Battle of the Bay” literary showdown, presenting poetry, nonfiction and flash fiction before a panel of judges.

Inspiring the Next Generation

Books By The Bay encourages more than just book sales. Dalhaus hopes the festival allows people, especially young readers, to see literature as something joyful and accessible.

“We’re really trying to foster literature awareness,” she said. “You have to start young. My passion for reading started when I was under six years old. Especially with all the book bans happening, I think it’s more important than ever for kids to be reading. The more knowledgeable you are, the more your world opens up. I also hope that people who come to the festival take away that literature is not scary. You don’t have to be afraid of books.”

Children’s authors will present story times in the kids’ activity room and showcase their books in the senior center. A children’s scavenger hunt will send young participants searching for prizes throughout the park, while Escambia County 4-H students will lead hands-on craft activities.

Ultimately, Dalhaus hopes visitors leave the festival with a renewed appreciation for the writers living and working in their own community.

“We have some phenomenal local authors,” she said. “I’m excited that people can come to something like this and realize how incredible the literary talent is right here.”

After three years of helping guide the festival’s growth, Dalhaus will soon be passing on leadership to a new organizer. But she says watching Books By The Bay flourish has been one of the most meaningful experiences of her life.

“It’s been the legacy of my life,” she said. “I just love this festival.”

Books By The Bay

WHAT: A literary festival organized by Emerald Coast Writers featuring authors, resources for writers, vendors, book signings, readings, children’s activities and more

WHEN: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, March 28

WHERE: Bayview Park, 2001 E. Lloyd St.

COST: Admission is free

DETAILS: booksbythebay.info, emeraldcoastwritersinc.org