Rosemary Sekora is publicity manager for UNP and book festival coordinator. The festival is held to celebrate Nebraska’s literary heritage and contemporary authors and to stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word. The 2018 Nebraska Book Festival is tomorrow from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s city campus. 

I was looking through an old notebook of mine, searching for my very first notes on the Nebraska Book Festival. In a serendipitous way, I (re)discovered that my true first meeting on the topic took place on Aug. 20, 2015 with the Library Commission—three years to the week that the second book festival I’ve planned is taking place.

Oddly enough, these are my notes from after that first brainstorming meeting:

Generally speaking—that is pretty close to what is planned this year. But it took a while to get here. Last year, the festival took place outdoors on what was quite possibly the hottest day of summer (July 15). We had 18 vendors and 10 presentations.

Flash forward to today and we have 40 vendors and 18 presentations. It’s strange to think that three years ago I was only thinking about how this event could be great for Lincoln and the Press, and now it’s happening… for the second time.