The Puget Sound Book Festival offered plenty of volumes to tempt readers Aug. 11, at the Bremerton Boardwalk.

The festival was the brainchild of Briana Ryan, founder of Wicked Words, a “pop-up and online” (no permanent, physical location) bookstore that she owns and operates. Ryan said that it was the second iteration of the festival (the first was last year at Yoked Farmhouse Brewery). It was clear to her, during the first festival, that there was demand for more vendor participation than could be accommodated at that venue.

After realizing its potential, Ryan spent nearly a year in preparation for this year’s event. She said there were a host of hurdles, but the most challenging was the arrangement of proper permits, especially for the food and drink vendors (the event hosted a beer garden this year).

But the real attraction was the books and, in some cases, their authors. Ryan said there were 15 vendors, most offering a particular genre. For example, Madison Duckworth, proprietor of Kingston’s Saltwater Books, said she specialized in indigenous-centric books (because of her proximity to two local native communities). But Rosie Brown of Spokane and Abbi Vance of Bremerton were queued up outside the Salmonberry Books tent. Vance said it wasn’t the genre that attracted her; she was already a patron of the Port Orchard business.

Every tent on the boardwalk was packed with book browsers. Ryan estimated attendance at around 800, up from last year’s 500.

Ryan said she is definitely interested in putting on a similar event next year. Duckworth was glad to hear that, adding business is usually slow on an average Sunday.

Briana Ryan is the brainchild of the Puget Sound Book Festival.