The Book Promotors Association
of Canada hosted an informative session last Tuesday (Feb
20, 2007), specifically for those in the business of getting word(s)
out. “The Debutantes – Toronto’s New Literary
Festival and Event Planners,” hosted four execs from some
of this city’s most dynamic book-oriented programming. Each
gave a synopsis of their upcoming year’s priorities to a
roomful of happily munching publicists, representing a range of
publishing houses from large to small.
Audrey Gagnon runs Pages’“This
Is Not A Reading Series,” or TINARS for short. Just
a few months on the job, her’s is a duty made easier than
some of the others by virtue of the event series’ strong
brand personality. She is not beholden to any one venue in town,
though the series has dug in at The Gladstone to good effect,
choosing instead to have the innovation of any one’s evening’s
presentation dictate the experience. From theatre improv troupes
to film screenings to music concerts, even readings while doing
yoga and sanctioned boxing matches, TINARS wins hands down on
the “guaranteed fun” tip. Audrey’s biggest challenge
is getting the bookings done far enough in advance that Pages
can continue to deliver capacity crowds.
Samara Walbohm is co-owner of Type,
one of the newest bookstores in town. Type is a gorgeous space
in a vibrant, community-oriented neighbourhood, Queen West. So
its not surprising that she is developing a program focused on
education and youth outreach. This in conjunction with the more
usual book launches and author receptions. What really seems to
get her passions up (in a good way!) is delving into some of the
more underserved readers such as new Canadians. The WordPlay program
for “reluctant readers” is another good example –
for kids in Grades 3, 4 and 5 that need more overt reminders that
literature can be hip, cool, fun and popular.
Maggie Rust, Executive Director of The
Word On The Street Toronto, has a job that boggles my mind.
It used to amaze me that the crew that puts on this little event
(lol -- 185,000 peeps last year!) do it with a tiny staff of (now)
3. Their challenge is not quite of “we need a crowd”
variety, but rather keeping the event fresh, lively, and responsive
to what’s happening in the world of books. On the lively
tip, this year they have decided to program events on the half-hour
as well as on the hour, which means a faster flip in happening
under the tents and on the stages. One of the biggest things happening
in the publishing industry is digitization, so they are going
there too. This spring TWOTS will introduce a newsletter, an overhauled
website, and if they are thinking like I’m thinking, I can’t
imagine that they won’t have some kind of video blogging
going on, before, during and after that one-day extravaganza.
Amy Logan Holmes had the hardest presentation
to deliver. Her “show” doesn’t quite exist yet,
at least not outside the walls of the OBPO/OMDC boardroom. She
is the Executive Director of the month-long celebration of all
things “Canadian +
book” coming up for the first time in October 2007.
By her own admission the presentation was a little premature,
though the BPAC forum did give her an opportunity to say what
it will NOT be, and we may be be-labouring the definition; its
actually not that hard to imagine, and there are precedents. Live
with Culture, the 14-month media campaign conducted by City of
Toronto, and the former ArtsWeek run by Arts Toronto then Toronto
Arts Council Foundation are both of the same species. Ultimately,
it’ll be an industry awareness campaign. I think of it like
this – all the book-ish events, organizations and festivals
happening during the month of October are the “present”
and the OBPO campaign is the “ribbon” tying it all
up and making it pretty for the people. Amy will be hitting the
road with her roadshow within weeks, so wait to see how it shapes
up.
The event took place at Coca (783 Queen Street
West), a bonus since it’s a restaurant that many had not
yet patronized. The venue boasts a very comfortable room / bar
/ loft on the second floor, itself a very workable space for small
parties or intimate launches.
BPAC did a very good job with the event, hats off to Doug Blair,
Stephen Myers and the extended team. There ought to be regular
chances for those who keep the world informed to be informed themselves.
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