Events Program Greenlight Bookstore Has Established a Reputation As One of Brooklyn’S Premier Bookstore Venues for Author Events
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events program Greenlight Bookstore has established a reputation as one of Brooklyn’s premier bookstore venues for author events. Opened in October 2009, the store was designed with events in mind, and our list of successes continues to grow. Our largest events have drawn crowds of 400-1200, and we regularly host in-store events with 150-200 people for headlining authors. We also consider successful the many events we host attracting 30-60 people, which result in book sales, increased awareness of new titles and the bookstore itself among new and varied audiences, and the impression that Greenlight creates of a vibrant literary space where something is always happening. Greenlight regularly hosts standing room only reading and discussion events for literary fiction authors. The store also hosts many different event formats, including slide shows, panel discussions, comedy nights, parties, workshops, and cooking demos. Areas of emphasis include local Brooklyn authors, African American interest, visual and performing arts, cookbooks and food writing, and unique, conversational events that will appeal to Greenlight’s diverse and literary customer base. Greenlight is expanding its events programming and sales through a focus on offsite events. Our new Offsite Events Coordinator handles logistics for dozens of offsite events by request each season in Brooklyn and beyond, from book launches and readings to festivals and conferences. Greenlight also hosts its own events in several local partner locations, each with its own amenities that allow us to accommodate much larger audiences than the bookstore itself. The Unbound series at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), the Brooklyn Voices series at St. Joseph’s College, and ongoing events at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration offer great opportunities for large-scale events with headlining authors. The store has also increased its emphasis on school events in partnership with public, private, and charter schools in our surrounding neighborhoods. Book fairs and school author visits allow us to bring great children’s authors to students where they are, and our curation and organization of these events ensures strong sales and satisfying experiences for authors and young reader. In-store children’s events bring the neighborhood’s young families together to meet picture book authors. All of our programming creates opportunities to connect and create community, and we look forward to continuing to grow. A version of this document is available online at www.greenlightbookstore.com/event-information Greenlight Bookstore • 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY • (718) 246-0200 • www.greenlightbookstore.com • @greenlightbklyn in-store Event Basics bookstore Space Greenlight Bookstore is a 2,000 square foot bookstore in the vibrant Brooklyn neighborhood of Fort Greene, and is located close to several major subway lines. The store can host up to 40 audience members seated, and well over 200 including standing room. Schedule Greenlight typically hosts events on weeknights at 7:30 PM, though certain events may be scheduled on weekends. The store typically hosts 2-4 evening events in store per week, plus story times and book groups. Events are booked 2-4 months in advance. (No events are held in the store between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.) Audio/visual Greenlight has a sound system which broadcasts throughout the store through ceiling speakers. Wireless handheld and lavalier microphones offer maximum flexibility for readings, interviews, or panel discussions. Audio can be broadcast via iPod hookup. Our built-in projector and large movie screen can be used to show still images or video. Reporting Greenlight Bookstore is a reporting store to the New York Times, Bookscan, and Above the Treeline. Media Outreach Greenlight sends advance email notice of all events to an extensive list of print and online media contacts, including local blogs. Events are often listed in AM New York, Brooklyn Based, The Brooklyn Papers, The Daily News, L Magazine, New York Magazine, The New York Time, The New Yorker, Time Out, and others. Customer outreach Email: 17,000+ subscribers; events email goes out every other Monday, with open rates above industry average Facebook: 7,400+ fans; every event gets its own event page to share and invite friends Twitter: 23,000+ followers; upcoming events are mentioned in daily tweets TUMBLR & Instagram: new social media profiles recently launched and growing (600-900 followers) Web Sales & Signed Books Greenlight’s ecommerce website offers easy online book purchasing; customers can pick up books in store or have them shipped. All event books are featured and offered for preorder before events. When authors sign stock after events or as a drop-in, the titles are listed on our “Signed Copies” page. Collectors and fans nationwide order signed books through our website, especially when authors and publishers help in publicizing their availability at Greenlight. contact Proposals for in-store events should be directed to co-owner and events coordinator Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo at [email protected] or [email protected]. Pitches must be submitted at least 2-4 months in advance of any proposed event. See separate sheet for offsite events contact. Greenlight Bookstore • 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY • (718) 246-0200 • www.greenlightbookstore.com • @greenlightbklyn event focus areas Literary Fiction Fiction is the top-selling category at Greenlight, and while we read and stock titles in every genre, literary fiction is a primary focus of our selection and our events. The biggest draws for our sophisticated Brooklyn audiences have proved to be top literary fiction authors such as Colum McCann, Michael Chabon, Jennifer Egan, Jeffrey Eugenides, Jhumpa Lahiri, Ayana Mathis, David Mitchell, George Saunders, Zadie Smith, and others. Conversations Whenever possible, we try to incorporate a conversational aspect into our events rather than hosting traditional readings. Having an author interviewed by a critic, fellow author, editor, or expert adds value and makes the event more promotable and engaging for audiences. Colum McCann in conversation with fellow author Phil Klay. African American Interest Our Brooklyn neighborhoods are home to a creative and intellectual African American community, and Greenlight strives for programming for our local demographic. We are proud to draw crowds for authors like Hilton Als, MK Asanta, Nelson George, Dinaw Mengestu, Tiphanie Yanique, Toure, as well as anthologies and poetry events focused on black authors. Local Authors and Issues Brooklyn residents tend to have strong loyalties to their borough and their neighborhoods. Greenlight is always willing to host authors from our immediate neighborhood, as a way of showing support for local authors. Topics relating to urban issues, from gentrification to entrepreneurship to urban farming, do attract local audiences. Visual & performing Arts The artistic community of brownstone Brooklyn turns out for book events related to the arts, particularly street art and graffiti, popular music, photography and more. Our built-in projector and screen allow us to showcase visual images and film for large audiences, and our sound system broadcasts throughout the store. Food and wine events Greenlight is located in one of the top restaurant neighborhoods in Brooklyn, making it a great venue for cookbook and food writing events including cooking demonstrations, chef/author cookbook talks with tasting samples, or wine and spirits tastings. Greenlight has a close partnership with local wine shop, gourmet grocer, caterer, and coffee shop Greene Grape, which often caters Greenlight’s parties and receptions and can work on co-promotion of food and drink events. Bicycle-powered ice cream maker demonstration at launch event for the cookbook Ample Hills Creamery Greenlight Bookstore • 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY • (718) 246-0200 • www.greenlightbookstore.com • @greenlightbklyn Ongoing series Steamboat Humor Series Steamboat is a monthly literary humor series which features both authors and TV/film writers reading new work. Series host and curator Bob Powers is a stand-up comic and author with strong connections in the TV world; the series regularly features writers from The Daily Show and other shows along with authors, and pulls in a consistently large crowd. Blogger/Author Pairings series Blogger/Author Pairings is a periodic series in which an author is interviewed by a local blogger who deals with similar literary, cultural, or political themes, curated and hosted by Ron Hogan of the seminal literary blog Beatrice.com. This can be a great option for midlist authors or paperback releases, and Ron is skilled at finding the perfect pairings. greenlight Poetry Salon series Greenlight bookseller Angel Nafis, an award-winning poet and performer, hosts a quarterly poetry series featuring locally and nationally known poets. Attendance and sales for these events are far greater than typical bookstore poetry readings thanks to Angel’s strong connections in the poetry world and skill in curating dynamic events. Audience at a Greenlight Poetry Salon event. Book Groups Greenlight hosts a number of monthly book groups in the store: a Fiction Book Group, a Young Readers Book Group (for ages 8 to 14), and a Cookbook Club, which includes a potluck meal from the featured cookbook. A Nonfiction Book Group will be added in Fall 2014. Titles (primarily backlist) are chosen by the book group moderators with input from attendees.