BUFFALO, N.Y. — Alice, Ever After Books hosted their first Kid Author Festival this weekend.
The festival, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Parkside Avenue in Buffalo, celebrated young entrepreneurs on Saturday.
Meg Howe, the owner of Alice, Ever After Books, spoke with 2 On Your Side and shared what encouraged the festival.
The store has been open for three years, and since the very beginning, kids stopping in have always asked when they would be able to sell their own books there.
"This is very much a kid-motivated, directed activity here," Howe said. "They were just looking for a place to share their stories with other people."
On Instagram, the kids shared bios and motivations behind their book. Christina, 9 years old, said "I wrote my story because I was sharing my feelings about my natural hair."
So many kids were interested that they needed to have a wait list, and attendees already asked when the next festival will be.
The festival was set up lemonade-stand style, with kids promoting their books outside on the sidewalk. Young kids were seen asking passersby, "Who wants a book?" and "Would you like to buy a book?"
When their books were purchased, some for a dollar, some for five dollars, many buyers asked the author to autograph their copy.
Each child got to decide how much they wanted to sell their book for, and they received 100% of what they made. The bookstore didn't take any money, the real profit was getting to inspire the kids.
Howe said that they definitely plan to do the festival again next summer.
The goal of the bookstore is to focus on the kids, helping them in whatever ways they can, which includes a stepping stool at the counter to help pay for their own books.
"Our mission is to make sure that every kiddo in Buffalo can find themselves in a book. That when they come in they see themselves either in the illustrations in a story, we also want kids to learn about experiences of other people in books," Howe shared.
Alice, Ever After Books is located at 295 Parkside Avenue in North Buffalo.