Diane Siegfried and Bobbie Cooper

This year, the Fullerton Chapter of the Assistance League Professional Humanitarian Auxiliary (known as ALPHA) will be hosting its 31st Annual A Day of Authors (ADOA) event on April 6th. I recently had a chance to interview ALPHA Co-Chairs of Philanthropy, Diane Siegfried, who also happens to be the Author Selection Chair for A Day of Authors, and Bobbie Cooper, who also happens to be in charge of invitations and programs, about their memories from years past and how they became involved with planning and organizing the non-profit organization’s spring fundraiser.

ALPHA has been hosting A Day of Authors, in which proceeds from the event go toward the organization’s many philanthropies since 1993. According to Bobbie Cooper, it started with one of ALPHA’s earliest members.

“I’m not sure if she had heard about a similar event or if she had just kind of pulled it out of her fertile brain, but there was her and a small group of people that thought this would be an interesting fundraiser,” said Cooper. “Back then, we were it. We were the pioneers. Since then, there have been at least three or four [of these types of events] going on during the year by other organizations. But for years and years, we had a hold on it because we were the ones who started it, and I think other people heard through the grapevine or maybe attended our event and brought that back to their organizations. I don’t think they ever realized how hard it is.”

Cooper has been working with ALPHA on the event since she joined in 2002. She had come to A Day of Authors as a guest for several years and wanted to be a part of the organization behind it. “So I think the first year, I had menial tasks, like walking around and asking for money for our raffle baskets,” said Cooper. “Then, at some point, fairly early on, I was Resource Chair (Resource Development is the committee board position in charge of A Day of Authors), so I did that for two different years.”

Diane Siegfried had a similar story. She joined ALPHA in 2011 and had attended ADOA five or six times over the prior eight years as a friend’s guest. “I thought it was one of the coolest events, and it was a little unknown. You’d walk into a room and find hundreds of booklovers and readers in front of fabulous authors; it was a pretty special day,” said Siegfried.

A Day of Authors 2023 photo by JoAnn Stehly

“You’d hear about ALPHA and what they were doing in the community,” she added. “So finally, when I partially retired, I had a few more hours on my hand, and I joined ALPHA. Like Bobbie, I started with pretty menial tasks. I was in charge of books at the back of the room, making sure that they didn’t disappear and that they got autographed as they were headed for authors, who would sign them and put personal notes inside. Then, I progressed and had a philanthropy role, putting together pictures on display for philanthropy. But pretty soon, I was tapped to be the head of Resource, and I, too, have done this two or three times. We did end up in a situation where people didn’t want to do this by themselves, so now we have co-chairs.”

Siegfried explained that their author selection process has been evolving over the years. ALPHA likes to represent a wide range of genres, from mystery and thriller to historical fiction, romance, nonfiction, children’s literature, and young adult fiction. She said they always make sure to include literary fiction because they want to attract finer authors, such as Pulitzer Prize winners, to their fundraiser. So, they start selecting by genre and then move on to their wishlists, contacting publicists and publishers. Siegfried works closely with the authors’ agents to get them to participate in ALPHA’s yearly event. She also researches and looks to see whether an author will have a book released in time for their spring event.

“We’re looking for ‘well-received from a critical perspective’ authors. We do kind of aim for the stars, then adjust, but we do get high-caliber authors,” said Siegfried.

“More than specific people, we look for authors who are popular currently that are good speakers,” added Cooper. “We really do a lot of work interviewing them and listening to how they speak on YouTube and other interviews online because part of it is that they are entertainers. They need to come and hold the interests of our attendees. Even if there are authors that people haven’t necessarily heard of, some of the more popular ones have been really entertaining speakers that people remember for years afterward.” Siegfried noted that authors who attend their spring fundraiser are sometimes surprised at how excited people are to meet them because they tend to lead a bit of a solitary life. Cooper added that the authors are usually really excited to meet each other and impressed when they have a chance to chat with fellow authors. They love the event and go to other authors’ breakout sessions because they want to hear what they’re saying. Cooper said the writers hang out together at lunch from what she’s observed.

Cooper added, “The cool thing is that the authors that have been with us invariably say, and they write back to Diane, since she’s the one who makes the first contacts, that this is the most professional, well-run of all the events they’ve ever been to, and that really makes us feel good.”

This event is also quite popular with the 400+ guests who attend each year to hear authors share their passion for storytelling through their writing. Cooper and Siegfried both agreed that ALPHA’s A Day of Authors is different from other events of this kind because usually when authors go to a speaking event, they are the only speakers. They step up to a podium, get a few questions from the audience, sit at a table, and sign books. But because ADOA is a full-day event, they’re at a breakfast table with a bunch of readers in the morning, and then they go to their breakout sessions to speak to individual audiences before signing books. They return at lunchtime, and there’s mingling. Afterward, they have another signing session, so there’s a chance for them to meet many more readers than they would elsewhere, and they get an opportunity to talk to each other as well.

“They’re just very sweet with one another because we allow this to be an opportunity for them to spend time with one another. I think all of us are in awe of authors, whether they’re world-famous or local authors we’ve got ahold of, because the ability to put words on a page can connect with people and actually sell your books to those who want to read them,” said Cooper. “To me, there’s no greater skill that anybody can have than to be able to do that.”

Keynote speakers for the 2024 A Day of Authors are New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni, who writes the acclaimed Tracy Crosswhite police series, and New York Times bestselling author and Edgar award-winning author Lee Goldberg, known for both his novels and for producing and writing many TV shows, including Diagnosis Murder and Monk. This year, breakout authors, from whom attendees choose two, include Lian Dolan, writer and producer/host of the Satellite Sisters podcast; Shilpi Somaya Gowda, a New York Times bestselling fiction author; Sarah James, international bestselling “twisty” historical fiction writer; Autumn Krause, a Fullerton-based young adult author, and Andrea Lankford, former National Park Service Ranger and nonfiction writer, whose recent book just made the New York Times bestseller list.

ALPHA’s 31st A Day of Authors event will take place on Saturday, April 6th, at Cal State Fullerton in the Titan Student Center. After breakfast, breakout author presentations, and book signings, guests will enjoy a delicious sit-down lunch followed by an afternoon keynote speaker. This special event concludes with a basket raffle and two $500 opportunity ticket drawings. New this year is that the books can be ordered in advance online and picked up at the event.