The Written Nerd

Can I truly ecap the amazingness that was NAIBA-Con 2008 in a blog post on a day when I have a million errands to run? Nay, I cannot. But I can give you the highlights. THE BUS: NAIBA generously chartered a bus for us NYC folks to get to Cherry Hill. It was a small but talkative crowd, and I felt a little like the best parts of high school field trips -- not for the last time this weekend... THE EARLY BIRD SUPPER: Brian Selznick (author of Hugo Cabret and more recently collaborator on The Runaway Dolls ) is freakin' hilarious. He got co-author Ann Martin (of Babysitters Club fame) involved in a very silly scripted speech that had everyone's face hurting. Ask any bookseller who was there for his impression of a doll speaking into a microphone. THE EMERGING LEADERS COCKTAILS: There were so few of us, and Workman's sponsorship so generous, that we invited all the seasoned booksellers to join us young folks for after-dinner cocktails, which was actually awesome -- it...

Through no finagling of my own, I find myself with Friday, Saturday and Sunday off (it has to do with some shifting of manager schedules at the store; things get back to normal next week). As you may have noticed, I've been a tad busy lately, so I am thrilled about the opportunity to take it easy -- especially as it's rather cold and gray in Brooklyn today, so I'm cozying up with the ALP and doing some serious mental health time. Okay, I'm also poking around on IndieBound.org -- we learned more about how the social networking part works at NAIBA last weekend, and I'm friending folks left and right. I'm booknerdnyc, of course, if you wanna friend me... I'm hoping for chronicles, news, reviews soon. Off to the weekend!

I'm still reeling from the amazing Fort Greene bookstore party on Tuesday (look, ma, I'm in the New York Times! ) Much follow-up to be done with the wonderful booklovers who put their support in writing, which Rebecca and I are furiously working on. But bookselling life goes on, and how. Wednesday morning I spoke on a panel with Lance Fensterman and Ruth Liebman at the Association of American Publishers ' Intro to Publishing course. It was a cool conversation about selling books all the way through to the consumer (i.e. through editorial, publicity, marketing, sales rep, etc.) and what that implies for cover design, flap copy, blurbs, etc. Lance is the most self-deprecating, energetic powerhouse of a book person I know, and Ruth is incredibly gracious and one of the reasons indie bookstores get the cred and attention they do; I was humbled by both of them. Hope the assembled young and eager publishing folks got something out of it; they're the emerging leaders of t...

Because of the overwhelming Fort Greene community response (i.e., we've had more RSVPs than the venue could handle), we've decided to change the location of Tuesday night's bookstore kickoff party to accomodate more people at the event. The party will now take place in the lobby of the BAM Harvey Theater at 651 Fulton Street, between Ashland and Rockwell. (It's close to the DeKalb B/D/M/N/Q/R/W stop, or the Nevins Street 2/3/4/5. I recommend Google Maps or Hopstop.com for a map or further directions.) The good news is, this means you can still RSVP! Just send an email to rsvp_fortgreeneindie@hotmail.com The date and time of the party stay the same at Tuesday, September 16 from 7-9pm. Colson Whitehead will read one of his latest pieces at the party, and Jennifer Egan and Kate Christensen will be in attendance, as well as movers and shakers from the book industry and the Fort Greene community. And we've got the greenlight to make a really big announcement that bri...

Dude, it's a fun day in link land. The IndieBound project has launched its social networking arm: the IndieBound Community . The beta tests were successful , and now anyone can sign up to become part of the community. Not only can you connect with other book lovers, you can also become a "fan" of your local indie stores (book and other), and start conversations around them. I'm on already as booknerdnyc, just like I am on Shelfari, LibraryThing, GoodReads, and LinkedIn -- so friend me already! Luckily, most of my "virtual friends" are also real-life friends/colleagues, so I don't feel like I have multiple social/professional lives to keep track of. And this one is especially cool as it lets me add stores to my network -- I'm excited about the possibilities, and I'll be reaching out to others to join up. And I can't wait until my own bookstore is one of those options! Speaking of indie bookstore communities, the Independent Booksellers...

If you have zero to do today, or you're one of those people who can listen to talk radio and work at the same time, here's a little something: BookExpoCast: "What’s Hot, What’s Good, What’s Next in Graphic Novels" This is a panel I sat on at BEA with others far more expert than I: Nick Smith, a librarian with the Pasadena Public Library, Atom Freeman, the extremely knowledgeable owner of Brave New World Comics in L.A. County, and Tom Flinn with comics/pop culture trade rag ICv2 . Milton Griepp of ICv2 was the moderator. Aside from hearing the slightly annoying (lispy/boyish) sound of my voice, you might learn a thing or two about what's been doing well in various comics markets, and what to look forward to. This was where I learned about the Starman Omnibus , which I read with pleasure this summer, and it cemented my desire to read Scott Pilgrim , which has become a teensy obsession. Happy Friday!

Call me lazy, but I'm posting the whole darn press release from the Brooklyn Literary Council right here -- there's so much information I don't want you to miss anything. And I've just found out that your own Book Nerd will be moderating a panel at the BBF: the 3:00 slot on graphic novels at the "youth stoop" stage, with Ariel Shrag, Ivan Velez Jr., and Brian Wood. Hope to see you there! * * * On Sunday, September 14, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, the Brooklyn Literary Council and Brooklyn Tourism host the annual Brooklyn Book Festival, a huge, free event presenting an array of literary stars and emerging authors who represent the exciting world of literature today. The Brooklyn Book Festival is one of America’s premier literary and literacy events—a hip, smart, diverse gathering attracting thousands of book lovers of all ages. The festival is organized around themed readings and devoted to timely and lively panel discussions. The inclusion of...

Joshua Henkin is the author of Matrimony ( reviewed here by fellow Brooklynite Jennifer Egan). He's also a born-and-bred New Yorker, and he's got a bunch of readings coming up in our town -- see the Brooklyn listings at the end of this post. While his opinions on the state of indie bookstores may not reflect the opinions of The Written Nerd, its affiliate or subsidiary blogs, etc., I am most grateful to him for re-starting the Brooklyn Lit Life series for the fall. And you can be grateful for the free book he's gonna give you! Just email me with your suggestion for the next subject for Brooklyn Lit Life (contact information is helpful) -- first person I hear from, Joshua will send you a signed copy of Matrimony . Read on! (Update: at Josh's wise suggestion, the free signed book will be given to a respondent who emails me with a BLL suggestion between now and next Monday, in a random drawing. So you've still got a shot -- write in now!) Describe your particular lit...

Happy Labor Day, all you bookish types! I'm sure anyone who works in an office is far away from a work computer at the moment -- more power to you. For us retail types, it's a work day -- we're taking bets on whether the bookstore will be dead because all the New Yorkers are on vacation, or jumping because all the tourists are on vacation here. With gas prices and the Euro being what they are, my bet's on a sales uptick, but it's anybody's guess --we'll see at the end of the day. It's also my first official day back from my August hiatus -- and I'm surprisingly eager to jump back into the swing of things. You can read about the progress of my bookstore plans on my other blog by tomorrow or so, but today I want to fill you in on some of what's caught my eye over the past month elsewhere in the world of books. * 7/29 A venerable Brooklyn bookstore is moving - but not closing! * 7/30 Danny Fingeroth has a pretty legit list of his top 10 graphic nov...