Vesta receives national recognition for ‘making the world a better place’
‘I am incredibly grateful to be a small part of the team’
May 26, 2025
EAU CLAIRE – A local author and avid reader is combining her professional and personal love for literature into one organization – Booked Eau Claire.
Chelsea Jean – author of two, self-proclaimed “short, sweet and spicy” novels: “A Minor Inconvenience” and “Just a Peck” – said she founded the organization to bring book-related events and opportunities to Wisconsin’s west central region.
“I’ve been on an ‘author journey’ for a while myself,” she said. “I finally lit a fire under my butt and published my first book last October, and as I was looking for conventions to attend, there weren’t many in the Midwest area, or within a decent driving distance from here.”
Recognizing a lack of professional, author-targeted gatherings, Jean said she decided to roll up her sleeves and create more opportunities not just for herself, but other Midwestern authors as well.
“I’ve been planning events for more than a decade – all different kinds,” she said. “I’m like, ‘Why don’t I just bring it here?’ We have some beautiful places here (in Eau Claire) that we can work with.”
The Lismore Hotel – located at 333 Gibson St. on the riverside city’s downtown area – Jean said, is where Booked Eau Claire’s first-ever convention will call home this fall.
More than 60 authors from the dairy state, around the Midwest and across the country, she said, will flock to the region between Sept. 12-13 for two days of creativity, literature, collaboration and peer mentorship.
The inaugural convention
Around this time last year, roughly when she registered her LLC, Jean said she began reaching out to authors, influencers and potential sponsors to speak at and support the convention.
“(I have) been planning this first event for about a year,” she said. “Being a new event, people are taking a gamble on you. They have no history to look at and be like, ‘this person’s legit,’ (or) ‘this event’s legit.’”
Luckily, Jean said she had already established “some community recognition” and connections through her “author journey” that carried over into her work as founder of Booked Eau Claire.
“I created social media (pages) for Booked Eau Claire, but I used my ‘author social media,’ too, and was like, ‘Hey, here’s something I’m doing,’” she said. “Before I set the date or anything, I actually sent out a ‘hey, would this be something you’re interested in?’ (message to my followers) just to get a feel, and (received) a decent amount of interest.”
Jean said the interest surrounding Booked Eau Claire quickly turned into excitement after the keynote speaker for the organization’s first convention was announced.
Abby Jimenez, Jean said, is a Midwest-based, New York Times bestselling author who has published roughly seven books in the contemporary romance genre.
“I’m actually in a group on Facebook that’s like her ‘reader group,’ and… I knew she was local – she’s only like two hours away,” she said. “I had already known of her because she’s the founder and owner of Nadia’s Cakes, (which) I discovered when I was heading to Woodbury, Minnesota… They have gluten-free cupcakes.”
In addition to her bakery and still prior to becoming an author, Jean said Jimenez further bolstered her popularity through an online TikTok following.
“So then, when (she) started (writing), I jumped right on board with that,” she said. “She’s vocal, she’s well known (and) she’s popular right now. I literally screamed when I got the confirmation that she was going to come because it made me feel (even more) like… ‘Oh, my gosh, this is happening. This is something that can be a really big thing that I can bring to the area.’”
On top of bringing in Jimenez and other writers, Jean said the convention will feature local vendors, panels, workshops and a “signing hall” for fans to meet their favorite authors.
“I haven’t read a book from every single author… but I have read a handful of them, and they’re so good,” she said. “Their voices are so unique, and they’re all an inspiration to me.”
Some of the speaker and panel events, according to the organization’s Facebook page, cover topics ranging from:
- How to accurately write a traumatized character
- Writing inclusive and authentic love
- How to build believable characters
- The ‘critique partner’ relationship
Those who purchase a Silver- or Gold-level pass to the convention, Jean said, receive access to exclusive events, speeches and discussions, as well as an invitation to Booked Eau Claire’s Friday night mingle session and watch party.
“That is for any authors, influencers (and) vendors who want to attend, and anyone who has purchased a Silver or Gold ticket is able to come (as well),” she said. “(The theme of the mingle event) was voted on through social media, and it ended up being a movie night – we’re going to watch the movie ‘Wicked.’”
Potential economic impact
As West Central tourism rates continue to rise, Jean said more and more people are traveling to the Eau Claire area for events such as Booked Eau Claire’s inaugural convention.
“We have people coming from all over the United States,” she said. “We have an author coming from Alaska, (people from) Florida, Pennsylvania, California, and I just had someone buy a ticket yesterday for the event from Kentucky.”
Every person, or group traveling to Eau Claire, Jean said, is going to need a hotel, food and amenities to fill their time outside of the convention – bringing in additional revenue to the city’s business community.
“We’re very much looking at this as an opportunity to not just bring in people for the event, but get them to explore Eau Claire,” she said. “When I booked the date, I did not think this far ahead – and next year (it’ll) be different – but (the convention is) also the same weekend as (Downtown Eau Claire Inc.’s) annual Fall Festival…, so that’s going to be a fun opportunity this year for people.”
For those interested in attending Booked Eau Claire’s inaugural convention this fall, visit bookedeauclaire.com for general admission, Silver- and Gold-level tickets.
“We (also) have waitlists open if anyone is interested in attending as an author or a vendor,” Jean said. “They can find all that information on the website (as well).”
For more information and announcements on its upcoming convention and all future events, find Booked Eau Claire on social media.
