Xlibris Participates in The Rockaway Music and Arts Council's Inaugural Literary Arts Festival

May 8, 2007 – Xlibris CEO and founder John Feldcamp attends the first ever Rockaway Music and Arts Council Literary Festival.

The RMAC in association with Borders presented the first Literary Arts Festival on the scenic Rockaway peninsula on Sunday, April 22, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The festival featured authors and screenwriters from the greater metropolitan area and beyond. Highlights included a series of authors’ panel discussions and a screenwriting symposium that explored the issues and possibilities of the written word in the 21st century. The event took place in historic Fort Tilden, a now decommissioned U.S. Army post that is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area and home to many cultural and community activities.

Published authors, literary agents, bookstore owners, Writer’s Digest, editors and self-publishing giants Xlibris were all present at the event. In all, more than 30 authors and screenwriters participated in discussions ranging from the macabre to the mundane, including suspense and historical fiction, women in literature, children’s tales, cooking, and health-related issues.

Xlibris CEO and founder John Feldcamp predicted that self-publishing will eventually support the lion’s share of content. “Publishing has been an arcane specialist skill under the control of a guild of people that are unique and different from anyone else. Those skills have been so complicated they haven’t been accessible to normal human beings.” He believes that new technology in the industry has made publishing more affordable and accessible to writers. Feldcamp was one of the panel members for the discussion about "New Paradigms in the Publishing Industry" and is an ardent supporter of placing the power to publish in author’s hands.

Xlibris also provided three publishing packages as prizes to participating schools to enable them to publish a book of their choice using the latest print-on-demand technology.

The Rockaway Music and Arts Council plans to make the event an annual attraction which will only get stronger over time.

For more information about Xlibris and their range of publishing, marketing and editorial services, call their 24-hour customer service hotline at 1-888-795-4274 ext 7111 or e-mail pressrelease@xlibris.com. You can also visit their website at www.xlibris.com

The Literary Arts Festival was made possible by the Gateway National Recreation Area, with the generous participation of the Rockaway Artists Alliance and the Rockaway Theatre Company. For more information, contact the Rockaway Music and Arts Council at P.O. Box 0171, Rockaway Beach, NY 11693; call 718-474-6760; or go to www.RockawayMusicAndArts.org.