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Arranging comics events in bookstores is interesting!
(from the New York Public Library archives)
There are a lot of bookstores who totally get it; when you say ‘comics,’ they say: easel, projector, markers, sound system, what do you need?’ Most of these guys are the ones who are used to dealing with kids events and workshops at their stores — because kids are totally on board with comics, and for stores (and for us), it’s easy enough to translate ‘this works for a picture book’ to ‘this works for a comic.’
The part where the going gets rocky is when you have adults and comics. Stores don’t always have projectors so that all images can be part of the evening’s program (they’re expensive!). Is an audience used to prose going to understand a comics reading? If the local comics readers have traditionally been going to comics stores for their graphic novels, are they even going to come to a bookstore event?
So when you’re working with a bookstore, you have to address all of these and figure out the best way to make the event a success. Sometimes it’s a challenge! Luckily, there are a lot of great stores out there dedicated to figuring out the best way to make books work.
But now I have an author who is providing me with the entertainment of having a whole new type of questions to ask bookstores. You see, he juggles knives and breathes fire and also writes graphic novels for kids.
Work really doesn’t get more fun than arranging pyrotechnic events at bookstores — or terrifying people by offering to arrange pyrotechnic events for bookstores!
