📅 What’s Happening Around Town
Carmel-by-the-Sea Book Festival sponsored by the Carmel Chamber of Commerce July 18, 2026
We are so fortunate to live among so many creative people in our midst. After all, that is how Carmel-by-the-Sea began. A bunch of bohemian writers, painters, and poets making their way and following their creative genius to this little seaside town. This Book Fair gathered numerous authors – each with a booth featuring their books and eager to engage in conversation about their journeys as writers. Loved it!
I particularly enjoyed the Author’s Panel moderated by Alison van Diggelen (The Love Project). Panelists included Jane Smiley, Pulitzer Prize winner for A Thousand Acres; Meredith May, The Honey Bus; and Lisa Crawford Watson, What We Wished For: An Adoption Story.
Another popular author among us in Carmel is my buddy, Edi Matsumoto, who is a painter and creator of numerous creative projects including a clothing line, and greeting cards and other items boasting her whimsical sea otter paintings. Her book is a wonderful collection of her unique paintings of sea otters called Otter Therapy: Fifty Whimsical Whisker Moments for the Soul. You can visit her at her gallery, Edi Matsumoto Art & Design, on Mission between 5th and 6th in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
There were so many more Carmel authors I spoke to that morning. Most lived locally, but some came from out of the area. After all, who wouldn’t love a day in Carmel! I was fascinated by their stories about how they became authors – and you know what. Each one had a different story.
All of us are creative in our own way. What’s your favorite way to be creative?