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.

Little Local Authors began during the Golden Anniversary of the Local Author Showcase in 2015 in order to accommodate the increasing number of children authors who enter the Local Author Showcase every year. It takes place in March following the adult Showcase in February. Children authors may enter zines, chapbooks, and other unbound booklets.

Teen Local Authors features writers between the ages of 12 and 18 who enter and submit a book in the Local Author Exhibit. It takes place in the spring following the adult Exhibit in February. Date to be determined. Teen authors may enter zines, chapbooks, and other unbound booklets.

The San Diego Public Library sponsors the Local Author Showcase to nurture and foster local writing and talent in the Greater San Diego area.

The Exhibit will be on display in the Dickinson Popular Library of the San Diego Central Library for the entire month of February 2017. Little Local Authors exhibit for authors ages 12 and under will take place in the spring. Teen Local Authors exhibit for teen writers between the ages of 12 – 18 will also take place in the spring.

The general call to authors for submission goes out in September every year. All correspondence is done electronically.

Please submit only one (1) book per author. We need only one copy.

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.

We’ll accept books published the year before (in 2016) that missed the call for submissions deadline. Books published before 2016 do not qualify.

The Online Gallery showcases 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 December.

eBooks are accepted as long as they were published in the current year. For display purposes, please upload an image of the cover of your book on the online registration form. Your submission is complete. You don’t need to do anything else.

Please register and submit only the print edition.

Registration must be completed and books received by Monday, November 27, 2017.

Yes. The Local Author Showcase reflects the diversity of the publishing world.

All items submitted to the San Diego Public Library for the Local Author Exhibit are unconditional gifts which will not be returned. As gifts, the books may be added to the collection in compliance with the Library's collection guidelines including whether or not there exists professional reviews of the books.* eBooks cannot be added at this time unless they are available through the library’s digital format vendor.
*SDPL's selection criteria

Yes. After February when the live Exhibit ends your book will be shelved alphabetically by author last names in the Local Author collection in the Dickenson Popular Library on the first floor. It will not be searchable in the library catalog but author and book title can be found in the Online Exhibit. In February 2019 after a year in the local author collection, books entered in the 2017 Local Author Showcase will be evaluated for possible inclusion in the library collection, pending compliance with the Library’s collection development policy.