A new nonprofit will host a Harry Potter-themed event for authors and artists this weekend.

CWC Promotions, founded in April, will host AuthorCon at New Sight Baptist Church Saturday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. General admission to the event is $5, with $15 VIP passes available on EventBrite.

“It is quite unique to the Brookhaven area, and not the only one we have thought about doing,” CEO Lynette McCaffrey said.

CWC hopes to turn AuthorCon into an annual event.

“This event is to support a group of young adults wanting to experience a true meaning of creative writing,” said McCaffrey.

Authors, artists, illustrators and cosplayers will be accessible to participants and will have items for sale.

“You will have the opportunity to meet some really great authors, talk with a publisher, buy some great merchandise from local vendors and see all of the goodies available for our silent auction,” McCaffrey said.

Key guests for the event include “The Rob Cerio,” Dezirae Katt, Brian Held Jr. and JJ Connell. Authors include Nicola C. Matthews, Ernest Russell, J. L. Mulvihill, Kimberly Richardson, R. Kyle Hannah, Gene Rowley and MeLeesa Swan. Representatives from Jumpmaster Press will also attend.

There will be a costume contest for three age groups — 12 and under, 13-17 and 18 and older. There will also be a silent auction with items from guests and vendors. 

Money raised will be used to send a local college’s creative writing club on a trip to the American Writer’s Museum in Chicago. McCaffrey would not specify which college.

“From this event, we hope to raise money for the small group of young adults to make this trip to Chicago,” McCaffrey said. “It is our sole purpose for doing these events.”

McCaffrey founded CWC because she wanted to start a foundation to honor her son who was killed in a car accident in 2017. She wanted the foundation to be something he would’ve been proud of.

She said the idea came from her daughter Kalie, who had attended a creative writing club meeting at her college and said the club wanted to go on a trip. Because they didn’t have the funding, the college didn’t approve the trip.  

McCaffrey spoke with a friend who had worked in nonprofit organizations to get assistance with starting an organization of her own. She then began working to create CWC Promotions. The organization was founded on the basis to help creative writers obtain funds they couldn’t otherwise receive from their institutions.

The event will take place at New Sight Baptist Church Fellowship Life Center, at 629 Forest Trail NE, Brookhaven.

Donations will be accepted at the door the day of the event, or can be mailed to 1009 Eagle Trail SW, Brookhaven, Mississippi 39601. Checks should be written to CWC Promotions.

For more information, visit CWC Promotions’ Facebook page.