New York hasn’t been book country since the tragic day of 9/11, in my opinion. Because of the security risks, a tradition died. Every year the city would have a street fair full of books, authors, publishers, and people wandering up and down a particular part of Fifth Ave in late Sept. Although the fair did try to reestablish itself for a couple of years, after moving to The Village, and then Central Park, it lost much of its luster and girth and finally petered out
author signings Archive
My friend and superlative bookseller/bookshop owner, Maryelizabeth Hart, owner of The Mysterious Galaxy–with two locations now!–posted a link to this article on Facebook, and I just had to share! The article discusses what things an author who visits for an event or signing should do while there, and after leaving. Some of the points I’ve already made, others are interesting and not thought of by me, probably because I can’t imagine any author doing them, lol. The article’s author, Emma Straub, writes that she’s made a list in her head of how authors can get golden stars, or ‘go down in (sorry, sorry) flames.’ I’ve had my own list about signings and events–but most of my experiences dealt with drop-in signings, which require very little
This question has been around for a long time, and naturally I have my firm opinions about what qualities and tasks booksellers should focus on. I’ve had a variety of bookselling experience-particularly in Lorry’s Book Company because of its unique stock–a blend of new titles, older but non collectible books, and some things at the bottoms of piles that probably no one saw for decades. I ordered the paperback stock, learned what *not* to return via stripping, and how to gauge the correct amount of stock needed. I made plenty of mistakes, including the famous Dianetics story but as time went on, began to get the hang of it. Much later, when I started selling again at a small mystery bookstore, I had to relearn
I don’t read Stephen King. Not because I don’t think he’s an excellent writer. He is. Too too good of a writer. I am one of those people who loves fictional murder because there is a structure, foul play occurs; clues abound; are investigated; characters throw around red herrings; the detective investigates and the murderer is found. All neat in a package of control. I like books to have rational conclusions. An artist such as Stephen King weaves nightmare scenerios that scare the bejesus out of me. I’m terrified of the unknown, the things that flit in the night, and whatever other cliche I can think of. I sincerely become convinced that there are Carries out there ready to strike me down, cars that kill,
“Established in 1989, Malice Domestic® is an annual “fun fan” convention in metropolitan Washington, D.C., saluting the traditional mystery—books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie.” The annual soft boiled mystery convention is taking reservations for this year’s extravaganza. For those not familiar with Malice, it’s a fan and mystery author based gathering that celebrates the best in cozy crime fiction. There are author panels discussing all sorts of themes in relationship to writing, publishing, etc. Fans attend panels that appeal to them. Authors sign their books in between each time slotted panel. The convention lasts three days, with a dinner on Saturday evening announcing the winners of an award called The Agatha, for Queen of Mysteries, Agatha Christie. The award itself is a
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