Sami Rohr Prize

Congratulations to Sana Krasikov, author of One More Year (see review posted 12/5/08), who won the $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature!

National Book Critics Circle Award

Congratulations to Ariel Sabar, author of My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq (see review posted 7/28/08), who received the National Book Critics Circle award for autobiography!

Winter Institute 2009

One of the highlights of my burgeoning book buying career took place right here in Salt Lake City on January 30th & 31st: the ABA’s Winter Institute.  Thanks to the ABA’s recognition of smaller markets (next year’s meetings will be in San Jose) I was able to attend along with hundreds of booksellers from across the country.  The ABA’s fourth annual Winter Institute (WI4) was my debut into the wide world of independent bookstores, and the experience was thrilling and enriching!

The programming was excellent, from the keynote address with Roxanne Coady (R.J. Julia) moderating a panel consisting of publishing executives Morgan Entrekin (Grove/Atlantic), Nan Graham (Scribner), and Bob Miller (HarperStudio) in a discussion of the state of the book industry to the presentations on using multimedia marketing (I lost count of how many times “every store should have a blog” was said) and taking your co-op to the next level.  The education provided by the ABA and the panelists was pertinent and permanent.  My manager and I attended separate sessions in order to soak up as much instruction as possible.

The divide and conquer strategy did not avail us at the author reception, however; not when we were outnumbered 38 to 2!  The quantity and the quality of the writers present was somewhat daunting!  I was hard pressed to meet all of the authors I hoped to, and did not manage to speak to our local standouts Shannon Hale (The Actor and the Housewife) and Brandon Sanderson (Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener’s Bones).  I was rather pleased to meet Joseph O’Neill (Netherland), Joanna Smith Rakoff (A Fortunate Age), Jonathan Stroud (Heroes of the Valley), and Carlos Ruis Zafón (The Angel’s Game).  I reminisced about the glory days of Hall of Famer Bruce Smith and the Buffalo Bills with Greg Ames (Buffalo Lockjaw),  and held up the line while speaking with Katherine Howe (The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane).  I was already an admirer of her outstanding book, and now that I’ve met her I am an ardent advocate!

In previous posts I wrote of my anticipation of meeting Katherine Howe as well as my mild apprehension of attending a dinner with Mehmet Murat Somer (The Kiss Murder).  Howe met all of my expectations, but I didn’t know what to expect from Somer.  His book was translated into English by a person who originally hailed from Salt Lake City, so there was a chance that he would be accompanied by his translator.  He wasn’t; not only did Somer speak impeccable English, he had memorized the names of the dinner guests in alphabetical order!  He was a cosmopolitan gentleman, holding the door open for the rest of the party, witty and amiable.  Somer crosses continents and cultures with a first class deportment.

The valuable training and the opportunity to meet such esteemed authors are two wonderful parts of Winter Institute, but the true worth of attending is interacting with fellow booksellers.  We are independent by nature, yet surprisingly co-operative.  After meeting so many creative and open booksellers from across the country (and one from far off Sydney, Australia) I was left with a strong desire to roam from state to state, visiting as many independent bookstores as I could!  One store owner was particularly helpful to me, which stands to reason since she was on the panel that discussed customer service!  At the conclusion of the session I approached Kelly Justice, owner of the Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia.  I introduced myself and told her that I would like to visit her store when I come to Richmond to research the novel I am writing, which is set in Virginia.  She asked me if I had any contacts in Richmond and I said that I did not.  Kelly said “You do now!” and handed me a business card.  She inquired further about why my story was set in Virginia and in which time period.  When I told her that Grandpa Art is set in the near future she plucked her card from my hand and wrote The Watch by Dennis Danvers on the back of it.  Kelly recommended it to me because it is also set in Richmond in the future and Danvers, a Richmond resident, nailed the ethos of the city.  I have not yet located a copy, but I will continue to search.  Even if it takes me on a cross-country trek to every independent bookstore along the way!

Merry Christmas … to me!

Okay, so two of the four books are actually for my son (I suppose I ought to verify whether or not he reads my blog), but the other two are for me!  And since the image is too small to read the titles, I’ll just tell you that the four books are Alcatraz versus the Scrivener’s Bones and Elantris by Brandon Sanderson and The Candy Shop War and Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull.  A week ago we were fortunate enough to have both Brandons as well as Robert C. Steensma, author of Wallace Stegner’s Salt Lake City, signing books in our store as part of our annual Staff & Faculty Night.  The event was a success for the store and for me personally, as I now have signed hard cover copies of every title currently available from Brandon Mull and Brandon Sanderson!

Mountain-Con 2008

A couple of years ago I had the good fortune of sitting between Brandon Sanderson and Dave Wolverton (aka David Farland) during a booksigning.  Throughout the evening I was able to pose questions which they graciously answered.  Brandon advised me to attend the large scale science fiction and fantasy conventions in order to network with authors, agents, and editors.  Last month I got my first taste of the pagan ritual that is the sci fi/fantasy convention at Mountain-Con 2008.  This was a local convention, so there were no agents or editors in attendance, but there were plenty of local authors, both up-and-coming and breakthroughs like the Brandons Sanderson and Mull.  I wanted to promote my book Orlando and Geoffrey, so I contacted the committee to find out if I could sell copies at the convention.  They responded with two alternatives: I could purchase dealer space or I could try to be added to the guest list.  I didn’t want to invest money in a dealer space and end up missing out on the writing workshops, but I didn’t feel like I belonged on a guest list with the likes of the two Brandons, either.  So I plopped down the registration fee and went as a regular fan.

The first day I attended workshops led by Paul Genesse, Rebecca Shelley (published under the collective pseudonym R.D. Henham), Eric James Stone (whom I also met at the aforementioned signing), and Patrick Tracy.  I spoke to them between workshops and swapped books with Rebecca.  I felt like my place was on their side of the table, and I intend to see that happen next year.

A range of activities were going on all night long, so there weren’t that many people up and moving at 9 AM on Saturday when Brandon Mull gave his main address.  That worked out nicely, because he went around the room and had us introduce ourselves and explain why we were there so that he could tailor his remarks accordingly.  That gave me a chance to bring up Orlando and Geoffrey and talk about my experience as a book buyer as well.  When I came back to his table at noon to get a couple of books signed he recognized me and we talked about having an event on campus for him.  We have exchanged e-mails since then, but have not firmed up any plans yet.

I attended Brandon Sanderson’s afternoon workshop, then had him sign my copy of The Well of Ascension.  After grabbing a bite to eat I went to Sanderson’s main address on how fantasy enthusiasts do themselves a disservice by trying to be assimilated into mainstream fiction on terms not of their choosing.  That was followed by the recording of a podcast Sanderson does with Howard Tayler and Dan Wells for their website www.writingexcuses.com.  They recorded four episodes featuring guest authors John Brown (whose book Servant of a Dark God is forthcoming), Brandon Mull, and Eric James Stone (who has a piece in the new seasonally apropos anthology Blood Lite).  A two hour workshop conducted by John Brown with Sanderson’s assistance capped off the day.  All in all, I got some writing tips from authors I respect and did some useful networking, so I consider it money and time well spent. Mountain-Con was a nice introduction into the convention circuit for me, and I think I’ll be coming back for more!