First the facts.
Author Tim Dorsey will be in New Albany on Tuesday, February 26, first at Destinations Booksellers (604 East Spring Street) from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for a book signing appearance, then later at the Prost special events wing of Rich O’s Public House for what’s shaping up as a rollicking after-party slated to start at 7:30 p.m., with NABC progressive pints on hand and the chance for attendees to order pizza and sandwiches.
Destinations proprietor Randy Smith asks you to come to one or both. Call (812) 944-5116 to reserve a book for signing, and to reserve space at the party.
I may not make the book signing, but of course I'll be at the after-party, and I'm hoping to see many blog readers there. In the passages that follow, Randy introduces you to Tim Dorsey and notes the importance of this event to New Albany. He is right, and as someone who knows how important it is when nationally recognized individuals in your field take time from crowded schedules to drop by, permit me to fully concur that it's not just about Randy or myself, but about the whole city, too.
Time for Randy to speak.
---
The man was born in Indiana, which explains a little. His professional career in newspapers culminated in Florida, which explains a lot.
A local jurist said, "I just have to see what kind of person would writer such 'twisted' stuff." And I promise you'll find yourself laughing your butt off at every turn of the page.
We couldn't be prouder to be hosting Tim Dorsey tomorrow night. We'll have a booksigning beginning at 5 p.m., joining Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville, and much larger cities on the list of host cities. This is a HUGE moment for New Albany, whether you know it or not. Come down and get your copy of Atomic Lobster autographed by Tim. Then consider joining us afterward at Rich O's Public House for the after-party.
I'll personally guarantee you will love any or all of Dorsey's books. In fact, I'll buy them back from anyone who disagrees if they are in our Patron Passport Program. We believe in Tim Dorsey. What's more, we believe New Albany can and will support the visits of national authors. Come prove us right!
Make no mistake. A low turnout on Tuesday will be a major setback for New Albany and the store. You can't imagine how hard it is to convince national publishers to invest their authors' time in our small city when Denver, Miami, Chicago, and even Indianapolis are offering tremendous crowds and sales. If we can't make this event a success, we'll probably stop trying. That will impact your ability to see your favorites in the future.
On the other hand, we can prove to New York publishers that New Albany supports authors and should be considered occasionally for major author tours. We missed out on what could have been a marvelous series including Jim Wallis, Bart Erhman, Randall Balmer and Stephen Prothero discussing the state of politics and religion over four weeks this winter. A massive Dorsey turnout will make our city and our store an account to reckon with on future bookings.
---
How you respond to the Dorsey event is more important than you can imagine.
Believe it or not, New Albany is NOT on the short list for author visits. It takes a lot of physical, psychic, and financial effort to persuade a national publisher to book an author into our town.
Tim Dorsey may not be your favorite (he is ours - we've spent three years trying to lure him), but if you EVER want to see national authors in our town, your attendance (and, we hope, purchases) at Tuesday's event can be determinative.
Randy Smith
No comments:
Post a Comment