I’m in Sheboygan for the state public library conference, half-listening to a panel of earnest librarians discussing the Sheboygan Children’s Book Festival. Later today I am on another panel of earnest librarians, discussing non-fiction books. I am doing food writing. With no technology – we’re going to be talking and holding up books. OK.
I left my wallet at home so I had to ask Mark for $$ so I can go get a coffee at lunch. I’m going to try to find this place.
Now we’ve moved on to the WI Book Fest, that was run by Madison Public Library, for the first time in 2013, and scaled down, after years of being run by the WI Humanities Council. 140 events down to 60, the guy just said. And he’s doing a nice job of speaking with no tech, so perhaps there’s hope for me.
Use Above the treeline to research authors who might have connections to your home town, to lure them to your book fest, he said. And, no duh, get authors who are already on book tour. Pair authors & illustrators, audiobook narrators, cookbook authors & trip to farmers market. Have bikers ride out to meet an author of a book about a bike trip, who’ll be arriving be bike. My brother did that one 15 years ago. Paper insert in Isthmus is expensive but works for like 80% of the audience so we do it.
Targeted marketing based on subject matter of author’s book – that’s a good idea. Like market a math author to the math department at the university. Pitch your book fest as not just the 4 days of the fest itself – Madison had a year long authors series. Count the school kids who get dragged to the author events whether they want to or not, into your gate count.
I walked on the river path, and got lunch at the Weather Center Cafe. It was OK, if a bit “up North” – Colectivo coffee, and I had a breakfast burrito. It came with really good chips, and had a bit too many onions, and dried herbs – that’s the up North aspect. And the free wifi kinda went up and down a lot. I picked a table by an outlet, but discovered that in addition to forgetting my wallet, I also forgot the little brick – I had my iPhone cable, but only USB.
Breakfast burrito – mine looked just like this, but too cold to eat outside, and Alterra is now Colectivo
I went back to the conference, and sat in on a program by a librarian from LaCrosse, who also teaches for the Library School some – she called it “stealth programming” – stuff that your library can do to provide interactive experiences for library patrons – especially kids – that sort of run themselves. Like asking teenagers to post spring break selfies on a wall at the library. She did a great job of presenting with technology – she’s also a storyteller, so a lot better speaker than the usual at library conferences.
Then I had to go do my panel on non-fiction. I think it went OK, except rather than giving synopses and related info about 5 or 6 books, like everyone else did, I planned to read excerpts of 5 books. But I didn’t time my excerpts, and only had time for three. Here’s my list; I talked about Allison Carruth’s review of Michael Pollan’s Cooked, and read a funny Good Read’s review of him; then read from Susan Chang and Alix Witchel, and that was it for time. I had planned to read Ed Behr (olive oil) and Anya Von Bremzen, too.
We stopped at a Starbucks on the way out of Sheboygan, had La Boulangerie oatmeal cookie that was every bit as good as your average pre-wrapped grocery store cookie, and made it back to Madison in time for me to take all the library books back and pick up Chinese takeway for dinner.
started on my iPhone at conference on Thursday, and not finished until Monday, on my laptop during the academic staff assembly meeting.
