BEA
Wow.
We all just got from BEA where we had a lovely time. Alexis was tailed by a reporter from the Washington Post all weekend. We made the front page of the style section, thanks Bob! Our buyers all scattered to the winds and found loads of titles we could carry and I spent my energy schmoozing with all the publicists. It was a good chance to put faces with email addresses and phone voices. --If any of you are reading this, thanks again for hanging out with us.
Just a couple of BEA highlights, then I will tell you what has been going on around the store.
Three of us braved exhaustion and the scary side of Brooklyn to hear Wells Crandall spin at a cool little bar in Williamsburg. Who would have thought that the Event Coordinator for Simon and Schuster would be my age and a part-time DJ? Kind of makes me feel like a schlub, not having accomplished near as much. Wells is my new best friend in Brooklyn, we hung out on two other occasions over the weekend, a wacky dance party with a tall tattooed blond woman, and at a low key dinner with a few 10% beers. They go right to your head. Other notables at this dance party include Vanessa from W.W. Norton (you might remember her as the publicist for Irvine Welsh). She is a fiery little bundle of publicity in Chanel shoes and a good spinning dress. What a catch, she is my new best friend in Harlem and not because I don't know the Clintons.
So that was one thing we did. Another good party was set on the roof of Rockefeller Center overlooking Saint Patrick's. What a view! Somehow I got tipped off to some tickets while at the party. Not just any tickets, tickets to see the Rockbottom Remainders! A quick cab ride away with a handful of people from Workman Press and I was a few yards from Stephen King as he belted out 'Werewolves of London'! For a rock band, those guys are all really good writers. No, they rocked! Anthony Horwitz wailed out a kick butt version of Stepping Stone and everyone went nuts for the finale. Oh you know the song, you know the words, sing it with me. . . "Wild Thing! You make my heart sing. You make everything, Groovy. C'mon, wild thing. . ."
The last thing I had a blast doing was not a party. After lunch with Jay from Yale Press and his sister in law Min Jin Lee, Min and I went to the Cupcake Cafe just off 9Th street and had coffee, cupcakes and a nice long chat. Min wrote a book called Free Food for Millionaires and is the sweetest author I have ever met. I am looking forward to chatting with her more. I hope she doesn't get to be like all those other beautiful, famous authors that you aren't supposed to look in the eye. Good thing I am getting in on the ground floor.
BEA had to end and we all had to come back. First thing on my list upon getting back was John Lithgow at Crystal City. What a great time! Mr. Lithgow (that looks so odd to me) read and sang to a crowd of 65 little kids and the same number of Mommies and Daddies, along with 30 or 40 grown up fans. The store was packed out! We sold tons of books and I learned a great new song. "Oh, there's nothing I'd trade for my Fanny and Blue!" That might only make sense if you were there singing along. If you missed it I am sorry. You really need to watch that event calendar. I book good stuff.
Last night was Sherman Alexie at the Warehouse Theater on 7Th street. Another full house packed in to hear Sherman tell stories of haunted hotels, traveling in hurricane weather and the Bill Clinton Story. He is a very charming man and if you came out last night, thank you. If you came out last night and your name was Dani who went to Pokey High and Gonzaga, thanks again. Us Potato folks have to stick together. Maybe we could do an Idaho Ex-pat Party one night at a local bar.
Okay, everyone. I am getting pressured to be done. I am the last one to write this week so I will sign off.
Until next week.
We all just got from BEA where we had a lovely time. Alexis was tailed by a reporter from the Washington Post all weekend. We made the front page of the style section, thanks Bob! Our buyers all scattered to the winds and found loads of titles we could carry and I spent my energy schmoozing with all the publicists. It was a good chance to put faces with email addresses and phone voices. --If any of you are reading this, thanks again for hanging out with us.
Just a couple of BEA highlights, then I will tell you what has been going on around the store.
Three of us braved exhaustion and the scary side of Brooklyn to hear Wells Crandall spin at a cool little bar in Williamsburg. Who would have thought that the Event Coordinator for Simon and Schuster would be my age and a part-time DJ? Kind of makes me feel like a schlub, not having accomplished near as much. Wells is my new best friend in Brooklyn, we hung out on two other occasions over the weekend, a wacky dance party with a tall tattooed blond woman, and at a low key dinner with a few 10% beers. They go right to your head. Other notables at this dance party include Vanessa from W.W. Norton (you might remember her as the publicist for Irvine Welsh). She is a fiery little bundle of publicity in Chanel shoes and a good spinning dress. What a catch, she is my new best friend in Harlem and not because I don't know the Clintons.
So that was one thing we did. Another good party was set on the roof of Rockefeller Center overlooking Saint Patrick's. What a view! Somehow I got tipped off to some tickets while at the party. Not just any tickets, tickets to see the Rockbottom Remainders! A quick cab ride away with a handful of people from Workman Press and I was a few yards from Stephen King as he belted out 'Werewolves of London'! For a rock band, those guys are all really good writers. No, they rocked! Anthony Horwitz wailed out a kick butt version of Stepping Stone and everyone went nuts for the finale. Oh you know the song, you know the words, sing it with me. . . "Wild Thing! You make my heart sing. You make everything, Groovy. C'mon, wild thing. . ."
The last thing I had a blast doing was not a party. After lunch with Jay from Yale Press and his sister in law Min Jin Lee, Min and I went to the Cupcake Cafe just off 9Th street and had coffee, cupcakes and a nice long chat. Min wrote a book called Free Food for Millionaires and is the sweetest author I have ever met. I am looking forward to chatting with her more. I hope she doesn't get to be like all those other beautiful, famous authors that you aren't supposed to look in the eye. Good thing I am getting in on the ground floor.
BEA had to end and we all had to come back. First thing on my list upon getting back was John Lithgow at Crystal City. What a great time! Mr. Lithgow (that looks so odd to me) read and sang to a crowd of 65 little kids and the same number of Mommies and Daddies, along with 30 or 40 grown up fans. The store was packed out! We sold tons of books and I learned a great new song. "Oh, there's nothing I'd trade for my Fanny and Blue!" That might only make sense if you were there singing along. If you missed it I am sorry. You really need to watch that event calendar. I book good stuff.
Last night was Sherman Alexie at the Warehouse Theater on 7Th street. Another full house packed in to hear Sherman tell stories of haunted hotels, traveling in hurricane weather and the Bill Clinton Story. He is a very charming man and if you came out last night, thank you. If you came out last night and your name was Dani who went to Pokey High and Gonzaga, thanks again. Us Potato folks have to stick together. Maybe we could do an Idaho Ex-pat Party one night at a local bar.
Okay, everyone. I am getting pressured to be done. I am the last one to write this week so I will sign off.
Until next week.
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