Debut Book Group Expo Draws Book Lovers to San Jose

Susanne Pari, program director; Ann Kent, co-founder; Kathi Goldmark, author liaison; and James Reber, co-founder Kathi Goldmark and Amy Tan Khaled Hosseini at the Opening Salon

Crowds of avid readers were drawn to this past weekend's inaugural Book Group Expo in San Jose, California, by the presence of such well-known authors as Khaled Hosseini, Amy Tan, and Dorothy Allison and Book Sense favorites Sara Gruen, M. Allen Cunningham, Jason Headley, and Harriet Scott Chessman. The event at the McEnery Convention Center featured salon-style discussions and a marketplace with books, gift items, wine, tea, and chocolate tastings. Publishers including Unbridled Books, Harper Perennial, and Viking participated, as did Bay Area bookstores Books Inc., Cody's, and Kepler's. Panel discussions featured California booksellers Kathleen Caldwell of a Great Good Place for Books in Oakland and Elaine Petrocelli of Book Passage in Corte Madera, as well as Kathy L. Patrick of the hair salon/bookstore Beauty and the Book in Jefferson, Texas.

"Practically everyone I know is in [a book group]," explained Ann Kent, owner of Kent Consulting Group and co-founder of Book Group Expo. Over a year ago, she shared book group experiences over lunch with a friend, James Reber, founder of the San Jose Repertory Theatre and co-founder of the San Jose Arts Round Table. Together they conceived the first Annual Book Group Expo, billing it in publicity materials as both "the first ever event to bring book lovers, authors, and other appreciators together in one space" and "a spa day for your brain."

Kent, who spoke to BTW in a conference call that included Reber and PR consultant Kristen Green, was ecstatic about the event. "We wanted to offer serious readers direct access to their favorite authors as well as ones that aren't as well known," she said. "These are people who read 30 or 40 books a year -- they want to make new discoveries." According to the organizers, about 1,000 of these readers, representing more than 150 book groups, attended the two-day expo.

Panel discussions were structured as literary salons to evoke the impression of actual book groups. Reber called on a lifetime of theater experience to design the stages, where borrowed furniture was positioned as in a set. One high point of Sunday afternoon was a skit during "Art of Discussion: Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club." Authors, including Susanne Pari, Audrey Ferber, and Ayelet Waldman, and an incognito Tan, caricatured various undesirable members in "The Book Group From Hell."

Most sessions included a moderator and several authors and combined well-known literary figures with those less well known. After the sessions, many people chose to buy all of the titles discussed.

"We had all of the authors' books available outside of the sessions, immediately after, then people could have the books signed in the area designated as the marketplace," explained Kent. "All book sales went to Cody's and Books Inc. Kepler's only sold sideline items. This was the arrangement that the stores proposed."

Only independent booksellers were included in Book Group Expo, and this was intentional, Kent and Reber said. "Book groups," said Kent, "are all about community, and local booksellers create communities. People in book groups, the most avid readers, are generally found in the independent bookstores. We knew from the start that the bookstores were going to play an important role -- booksellers asked us how they could participate. At first we envisioned inviting about 30 Bay Area stores. But the booksellers told us that with too many bookstores, no one was going to make money."

About 10 local bookstores sold advance tickets for the Expo and received a cut of the two-day advance ticket price of $28. Reber told BTW that he had received feedback from participants that the relationship with independents bookstores was a selling point. "They liked the connection with their local bookstores," he said.

Philip Prock, who handles community relations for Books Inc., was just as pleased with the outcome of the Book Group Expo. "It was a delightful surprise -- we actually sold books," said Prock. "I have done all kinds of book-related expos, events, promotions, but we've never sold much. This [event] was marketing to a very specific group. They were ready to hear the authors and then buy their books. They often bought all of an author's work."

Books Inc. brought along sale books, but they didn't do as well. "The [attendees] were not looking for a bargain," he said. "They were willing to pay over $20 to get in and were really interested in reading the books. They weren't collectors looking for first editions or rare finds, they were book lovers."

Cynthia St. John, assistant buyer for Kepler's, told BTW that the store's array of sidelines sold extremely well at the event, which she described as great.

"I saw a lot of my customers there. Book groups seem to be the way to go," she said. "We collected e-mail addresses and signed up people for book clubs -- we give discounts for a certain number of copies, and we arrange phone calls with authors."

St. John explained that because Kepler's had been closed during part of the Book Group Expo planning process, the store became involved after decisions had been made regarding the sale of books at the event. The store was allowed to sell sidelines, however. "Someone asked me if next year we could please sell books, too," St. John said. "I said that we'd really like to."

Based on Books Inc.'s debut Book Group Expo experience, Prock said the store would "certainly [return], if asked." He continued, "It was a positive experience in every way. All the authors stopped by the booth to talk, and I brought ... signed stock [back to the store.] Several authors told me that this was a terrific opportunity for them -- it offered huge exposure to an audience who will now seek out their work and buy it."

Kent and Reber will soon begin working on next year's Expo, and, Kent said, "Many authors insisted on being invited back." The pair hope to launch similar Book Group Expos in other major "reading cities, such as Seattle and Minneapolis." --Nomi Schwartz