It's not often that a gay and lesbian bookstore is pursued by one of its city's biggest arts centers in the hopes of creating a partnership to bring in mainstream authors. But the alliance between Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse and the Woodruff Arts Center has helped make Atlanta a hotspot on several prominent authors' tours. Outwrite and Woodruff came together a year ago to create "Evenings with Authors," which debuted with Ha Jin and was followed by events with such literary stars as Douglas Coupland, Rita Mae Brown and David Sedaris.
The Woodruff Arts Center "really wanted to expand into literature and get a literary series to take off," said Phillip Rafshoon, president of Outwrite. "They came to me and said that if we produced the books, they would provide the venue, and we would work together to get authors to come."
Drew Marchman, director of public relations for Woodruff, a nonprofit organization that hosts symphonies, plays and ballets and is the largest organization of its kind in the Southeast, got the idea for the series while having a conversation with Sedaris.
"He said he really enjoyed doing readings at theaters because he could extend the program. I thought we were a perfect venue and wanted to expand our programs to include literature," said Marchman. "I knew having a bookstore attached would be important when I pitched publishers and found out that they would look for a store that reported to the New York Times and Book Sense and that they smiled favorably on independents. Putting the pieces together, Outwrite was perfect."
Outwrite, located just miles from Woodruff, opened late in 1993 and quickly expanded, moving to a 3,000-square-foot building in midtown Atlanta. "I wanted Atlanta to have a good gay and lesbian bookstore," Rafshoon told PW. "Everywhere I'd traveled there been a place like that, but not here."
Rafshoon said his core customers have been a tremendous boon to the series. "So much of our clientele loves that we're associated with Woodruff and supports this series," said Rafshoon. "It's turned a lot of them on to literature they may not have discovered. Not all the authors' books in the series fit their sensibilities, it's just good literature. Ha Jin is an example of that."
Rafshoon and Marchman have been making the series succeed through teamwork. The two get together to pick the authors by looking through catalogues and strive to cover a wide array of fiction. They also take into consideration their collective contacts. Marchman then pitches the publisher and chooses the dates and which of Woodruff's theaters would be most appropriate. Rafshoon orders the number of books he thinks will sell. They work together to advertise and promote the event, and make tickets available at both the bookstore and Woodruff.
The gatherings have been remarkably successful. Sedaris attracted 828 people, while Deepak Chopra drew 400. Ha Jin brought in 83 guests and sold 70 copies of his book Waiting (Vintage); Douglas Coupland sold 70 copies of Miss Wyoming (Vintage) to a gathering of 104 people. Rita Mae Brown sold an amazing 120 books to 172 attendees, while Eve Ensler brought in 182 people and sold 120 copies of The Vagina Monologues (Villard).
"I don't know how Phillip decides on the number of books, but he's done a great job," said Marchman. "He's never once run out."
The key to the success of the series, according to Marchman, is to promote the event everywhere. Aside from advertising in Atlanta newspapers, they look at the authors and their following and do heavy direct marketing. Additionally, he said, the relationship with Outwrite is paramount. "The bookstore is one of the major keys, because they talk to the customers directly and find out what they're buying."
"Evenings with Authors" has helped the Outwrite grow in more ways than one. The publicity surrounding the successful series has been reported on by several local publications, and word of mouth has been invaluable.
"When the Atlanta Constitution mentions our name in an ad or writes about us and says tickets are available here, it's great for us," said Rafshoon. "People in the gay and lesbian community love having Outwrite bookstore and want to be known as part of the fabric of this city. Woodruff helps us do that."
