Pseudonymous African-American author Zane, who burst on the literary scene with The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth, which she self-published in 2000, is about to try her hand at a new literary venture, a general bookstore named, appropriately enough, Zane's Endeavors: Books and Gifts. "The bookstore is something I thought about for quite a while," Zane told PW. "Most spaces are just four walls and a door. I wanted something that was really, really different."
The space she chose, a 2,700-sq.-ft. narrow building that formerly housed a glass jewelry store, is located in the historic Fells Point section of Baltimore directly across from the waterfront. The bulk of the selling space is on the ground floor. The second floor will be used for seminars and book clubs, and offices will be on the top floor.
"The store is all set up, but we haven't officially opened yet. I hope to do it by mid-April," said Zane, who gave her fans a chance to take a quick perusal at an open house in late February. More than 1,500 guests and shoppers, including some from as far south as Georgia, came to review the store and meet Zane, who rented a nearby nightclub where she held signings with a baker's dozen of authors from Strebor House International, the publishing house she founded. Although Zane has no plans to be involved in the day-to-day running of the store, she selected much of the stock, including all of the gift items. In addition, Zane is setting up a calendar of events, including a group reading with contributors to Brandon Massey's anthology Dark Dreams (Kensington), the first African-American horror collection, and Saturday morning story hours for kids.
For Zane, the store is only a part-time job. A mother of three, whose youngest is less than a year old, she will release 22 books this year at Strebor plus four of her own. In conjunction with The Afterburn (Atria, Aug.), she will do an extensive tour on the Zane Love Bus. Zane also plans to direct a film based on her novel Shame on ItAll. She previously directed a short of Sock It to Me. In October, she will lead her first cruise, a three-day trip to the Bahamas to promote Strebor's writers. She is also working on a reading series at a private nightclub in Baltimore, which will be patterned after Not Only Do Men Read and Write, but They Do It in Their Boxers, a successful event she produced last summer at which the readers wore silk lingerie.
