PW: Seattle's Summer Promotion of Children's Authors

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Seattle's Summer Promotion of Children's Authors
Heather Vogel Frederick -- 8/17/98
Seattle is hopping this summer, as 11 independent booksellers team up with local children's book authors and illustrators to highlight the talented authors and illustrators in their community.
The result of this innovative collaboration is "Reading Treasure Map '98," a summer reading program that features more than 100 events featuring a total of 37 authors, including Jack Prelutsky, Nikki Grimes, Ted and Gloria Rand, Paul Owen Lewis andBarbara Berger.

"To my knowledge, it's the first joint program of its kind in Seattle," said Chauni Haslet, owner of All for Kids Books &Music, who along with author George Shannon (This Is the Bird; True Lies) spearheaded the project.

The idea was sparked last January when Shannon and Haslet were discussing the ongoing challenge that superstores pose to independents, as well as the frustrations many authors face in promoting their books. They decided to host a brainstorming session to encourage mutual support between authors, illustrators and independent booksellers in their area.

While Shannon took on the informal role of group facilitator, Haslet agreed to organize the program that the group came up with, and contact prospective participants. In order to be involved, authors and illustrators needed to be available for at least three events throughout June, July, and August; to submit a black and white photo; and to contribute $50. Booksellers had to agree to host a minimum of three events, take responsibility for promoting and organizing their stores' events, and contribute $200. "If someone else is footing the bill, you don't put in the same amount of effort," Haslet noted. "I didn't want B ing's name on the poster, and I didn't want a publisher's name on the poster. I wanted it to reflect the people involved."

Contributions covered advertising, postage and printing of event schedules and some 6000 posters for distribution to young readers and their parents. Designed to look like treasure maps, the posters feature a listing of participating bookstores on one side, and author photos and book titles on the other, along with an "X marks the spot" line below for young "treasure hunters" to collect autographs.

Response from the public has been overwhelmingly positive, Haslet said. "Our customers have been absolutely flabbergasted to discover there were so many authors and illustrators in our area."

Another benefit of the program's local slant, according to Shannon, is that each store has been able to work with the writers and artists to tailor their presentations to the interests and needs of the store's customers.

Stores that draw preschool-age crowds encourage storytelling and "make-and-take" projects, for instance, while at Mercer Island's Island Books, he noted, writers were asked to talk about their craft, "since their programs are aimed as much at older kids and adults who are interested in writing themselves as they are for younger children."

Shannon said he'll be sending out a follow-up letter soon in hopes of attracting an even broader group for future events. "A lot of people who were away this summer and unable to participate thought it sounded like a great idea," he said. "This has the capacity to be an ongoing thing."

Haslet agreed, noting that a cooperative effort of this sort is a natural for independents. "We're all crying in our beer about not being visible because the other guys are so big," she said. "But this is something we can do uniquely, because it's a person-to-person thing -- and that's what independent bookstores are all about."
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