What is the Local Author Showcase?
It is an annual program open to present San Diego County residents who published a book in the current year. Qualified participants must currently reside within zip codes 91901 - 92199.
What is the Little Local Authors?
Little Local Authors is a component of the Local Author Program. It began during the Golden Anniversary of the Local Author Program in 2015 to accommodate the increasing number of children authors who enter the Local Author Program every year.
Teen Local Authors, another component of the Local Author Program, features writers between the ages of 12 and 18 who enter and submit a book. Teen authors may enter zines, chapbooks, and other unbound booklets.
What is the goal of the Local Author Showcase?
The San Diego Public Library sponsors the Local Author Showcase to nurture and foster local writing and talent in the Greater San Diego area.
When and where is the Showcase held?
The Showcase will be on display in the Dickinson Popular Library of the San Diego Central Library for the entire month of February 2020.
How many books am I allowed to submit? How many copies do you need?
Please submit only one (1) book per author. We want only one copy.
May chapbooks, pamphlets and individual chapters by local authors be submitted?
Except for poetry chapbooks, only books with proper bookbinding and format may be submitted. Books must look like books. No pamphlets, brochures or stapled material can be accepted.
What if I just heard about the Showcase this year or my book was published before 2018?
We’ll accept books published the year before (in 2018) that did not participate the previous year. Books published before 2018 do not qualify.
The Online Showcase features authors and their information throughout the year including books, photos, publishers and bios. It opens at the same time as the live Showcase in February, and closes in February of the following year.
eBooks are accepted for display purposes only. To participate authors must upload an image of the book’s cover through the online registration form. Afterwards, your submission is complete. You don’t need to do anything else.
My book is in both print and ebook format. Which do you prefer?
Please register and submit only the print edition.
What is the deadline to enter the Local Author Showcase?
Registration must be completed, and books received by Friday, November 29, 2019.
Can self-published materials be submitted?
Yes. The Local Author Showcase reflects the diversity of the publishing world.
What happens to the books submitted for the Showcase?
Books in the Showcase circulate for one year (3/20 – 3/21). Afterwards qualified books may be added to the collection in compliance with SDPL’s 
Collection Development Policy, including whether or not there exists professional reviews of the books. eBooks cannot be added now unless they are available through the library’s digital format vendor.
Yes. After the Showcase ends in February, books will be shelved alphabetically by author last names in the Local Author Collection located in the Dickenson Popular Library on the first floor. Books won’t be searchable in the library catalog, but author and book title can be found in the Online Showcase. Press “Crtl+F” to search by author name or book title.
What happens to the books not included in the collection?
During the registration process authors can choose whether they want their books returned to them or donated to the Friends of the Library where it may be sold to benefit the library.
For more information about the Local Author Program contact us at [email protected]. For other events at the San Diego Public Library's Central Library and 35 branches, or to search for materials in the Library's catalog or to find links to numerous additional resources, please visit www.SanDiegoLibrary.org or call the San Diego Public Library at (619) 236-5800.
