Some authors have two distinct markets to tell about their books – the world at large and their hometown crowd.  Last week, Muncie-area authors came together for a local fair to connect with local readers.  IPR’s Daniel Huber reports.

When it comes to connecting on a local level, some readers can have a very personal association with the subject of a book.

Carole Byrd got her copy of The Sound of Her Voice: My Blind Parent’s Story signed by the author, Mary Pieroni Harper.

“And I knew her dad, he was a judge,” Byrd says, “and he walked all over Muncie with his dog, and I did know the Pieroni’s, so that’s why I wanted to read it.”

These close ties can be helpful to authors trying to promote their books. But trying to break into the outside market can sometimes require a lot of drive.

Roy Weaver is one of three authors of Running Against the Grain: The Story of Philadelphia Eagle and Movie Star Timmy Brown.  Weaver says Brown is already known in the Muncie area.

“Breaking into the Philadelphia area for example is more challenging….  We do have plans to go to Palm Springs in January, because that’s where he lived the last 19 years of his life.”

Local reader Byrd says she finds these events to be beneficial to the community.

“I just think it’s amazing and we need to do a lot of this.”

Daniel Huber is a news fellow with Ball State Public Media’s Public Media Accelerator student fellowships.