This past Sunday I had the pleasure of provided the books for the South Burlington, Vt, public library annual tea and author talk. This is the second year we’ve helped the library sell books during their author talk; last year the author was Julia Alvarez and this year’s author was the mystery writer, Katherine Page Hall.
I love this event because it allows us to work with a local library which is something we really enjoy. And what makes this event even more special is there’s a Barnes and Noble half a mile away, and the library deliberately choose to work with an independent bookstore. And the author, bless her heart, has stipulated in her contract with HarperCollins that an independent bookstore, if one’s available, should always be used to provide books for her signings. I cannot tell you how gratifying it is that an author and the library are both striving to work with indies. It’s this kind of partnership that will keep indies alive and well.
The tea itself was just delightful: Fancy china, finger sandwiches and trifle. While I was busy selling books, a gracious library volunteer brought me a tasty plate of cookies, sandwiches, strawberries and a cup of tea in a saucer. Patrons were thrilled, the author talk was enlightening about mysteries, and we sold books, which was really just icing on the crumpet.