Naleighna Kai's Literary Cafe Magazine November Edition | Page 74

The Book Maniacs started in 2007 as part of the Beverly
Jenkins Yahoo Group. When her Yahoo Group dissolved,
we remained as a Yahoo group under the name Readers
Who Enjoy Black Romance. We are simply readers and
authors who enjoyed reading books, supporting each
other and traveling to different literary conferences. In
2013, we finally decided to officially consider ourselves
a book club and changed the name to Cillia’s Book
Maniacs.
After attending many conferences, we felt that the
conferences w e were attending were offering the same
things—panel discussions about how to get published,
question and answer sessions that covered the same
material that readers can find out online or at other
conferences; explanations of why authors write in certain
genres—all of which seem to be featured or presented
at the many conferences over and over.
With much discussion and encouragement from Beverly
Jenkins, we stepped out on faith and planned our first
conference.
The Maniac Book Extravaganza will be held June 21-24,
2018 at the Conference Center for Maritime Institute in
Linthicum, Maryland. We have 38 confirmed authors
from diverse genres – romance, inspirational, Interracial,
paranormal, fiction, urban and historical. We will have
a traditional Maryland Crab Feast, Gospel Breakfast,
Maniac Award Ceremony and a few surprises.
Early registration ends December 31, 2017. $75 non-
refundable deposit holds your place at what we
Anticipate will be Liveliest Event of the Summer. le
Visit our website for registration information
www.cillasbookmaniacs.com community
service. Little did she know that a traumatic
childhood incident and fulfilling that promise
would be the guiding forces behind her
existence. Now that she has reached the top of
her pyramid, she also wants to inspire women so
that the bumpy road she took in life is a road less
travelled for others.
Visit her on the web: www.bridgettrenay.com
Our conference, Maniac Book Extravaganza, will differ in
the fact that it will be totally interactive to allow readers
and authors a chance to get to know each other beyond
authors explaining why they write and readers sharing
why they love certain books and authors. Only one panel
will be offered, “The Talk” where everyone can voice their
concerns on what’s new in the industry and how do we
as authors and readers continue to support authors,
conferences, and online bookstores.
74 | NKLC Magazine