WI8: Going Beyond the Traditional Author Event

Shelf Awareness

At the Winter Institute 8 panel on "going beyond" the traditional author event, Sweet Pea Flaherty, King's Books, Tacoma, Wash., talked about the great "media play" generated by events like adult spelling bees and Scrabble tournaments, and the benefits of bringing in local artists, artisans and vendors for activities such as art fairs and craft classes. Although such events help foster a create sense of community and can bring in a lot of money, Flaherty acknowledged that planning and running them constituted a lot of extra hard work. He suggested: "Find someone in your community with contacts, who can seek out artists on your behalf."

Lauren Savage of the Reading Bug, San Carlos, Calif., focused on events targeted toward children and families, including dance and exercise classes, costumed character events and game nights. She, too, emphasized the need to forge partnerships in the community; the Reading Bug has done events with classes from local schools, children's theater groups and artists and writers who live in the area. Savage also advised booksellers not to miss opportunities for cross promotion and creating events that center on both a particular title and particular sideline.

Lacey Dunham of Politics & Prose, Washington, D.C., noted the potential for events to expand a bookstore's audience and bring in new customers. She told the audience about a trivia night conducted in the cafe in the basement of Politics & Prose; although it did not generate any book sales, it brought in lots of potential new book buyers. Further, she encouraged booksellers to think of creative ways to promote events, offering the example of a best-dressed competition used to promote an event involving a famous fashion photographer.

Given the time and energy required to plan, organize and run events, smaller stores can run the risk of being overextended. When asked how booksellers should handle these challenges, Dunham answered: "Sometimes you have to do the somewhat brutal assessment of asking, 'What's in it for us?' " --Alex Mutter