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Books By the Bay is organized and hosted by Emerald Coast Writers, a 501 C(3) not for profit founded in 1986 as West Florida Literary Federation, Inc. Emerald Coast Writers (ECW) is an all-volunteer organization with an endowed office in the Clark Cultural Center, 200 S. Jefferson, Pensacola, Florida.  With a membership of approximately 100 literary-minded individuals, ECW is led by a Board of Directors, and offers educational programs and critique groups, hosts open mics, sponsors writing competitions, conducts youth writing contests, publishes a biennial anthology, and selects the Poet Laureate of Northwest Florida. The group, with a mission to preserve the literary heritage of Northwest Florida, also maintains the Cultural Center’s Patrick Cassidy Resource Library with a collection of books written by area writers. Books By the Bay, premiering in 2024, is billed as the first outdoor book festival in Northwest Florida, and is funded by sponsorships, grants, exhibitor’s fees and Emerald Coast Writers, Inc.  All organizers of the event all volunteers. Members of Emerald Coast Writers, some of whom live out of state, receive discounted rates as exhibitors, but exhibitors do not have to be members of ECW.

 

To join or learn more about ECW, visit www.emeraldcoastwritersinc.org, follow Emerald Coast Writers on Facebook, and visit the ECW tent at

Books By the Bay.