T O P I C R E V I E W
Heather
Member # 3
posted 03-04-2007 11:22 AM
Hey all! I'm starting to try and plan book promotion over the next year. You may or may not know that when it comes to book tours, it's on the author's own dime, so that means that I -- like pretty much anyone else these days -- am limited in where I go. But, thanks to several other reasons I have to travel, and the flexibility I DO have, I will be hitting a few different cities and towns between April and October of this year. So, I'd like to ask all of you who may be in any of these cities about local bookstores you like and know of, youth groups/GLBT groups, colleges and universities, the works, which I may NOT know of to do my best to hit as many bases as I can. Obviously, the bonus here is that you'd get to see me doin' my thang. So, for now, here are the places I am mostly positive I will be in sometime over the next eight months: Washington State Oregon San Francisco Vancouver Chicago and surrounding areas Cincinnati/Columbus, OH Minneapolis/ St. Paul & Duluth And a maybe to Baltimore, Boston and D.C. Ideas? Thanks!
LucysDiamonds
Member # 30315
posted 03-04-2007 11:37 AM
Haha, not to be biased or anything, but Brown has a phenomenally supportive and open GLBTQ community, as well as being really open about sexuality in general. They've brought sexuality speakers in before, and they have study groups called MSEX and FEMSEX for male and female sexuality. I'm not sure how the book tour thing works: do you need a sponsor? Because I have a friend in FEMSEX (I would be in it but I found out about it too late next year for sure though!) and I can ask her to connect me to the organizer to chat... just throwin' that out there. Brown is in Providence, RI, so it's an easy 45 minute train ride from there to Boston. And of course, I would LOVE to hear you speak.
September
Member # 25425
posted 03-04-2007 11:53 AM
If 'Chicago and surrounding areas' includes metro Detroit, I could definitely hook you up with the GLBT people at my old high school. But that's way too far away. Sadly.
Heather
Member # 3
posted 03-05-2007 10:15 AM
Lucys: thanks! Let me ask the publicity folks at my publisher about that per sponsorship, and I'll get back to you. I'm considering perhaps just taking a couple weeks to hit the east coast by train in the fall, so that could actually work out decently. September: yeah, it really doesn't. And I confess that Detroit is one of those places that just depresses me so badly, it's not somewhere I'd make a point of going.
Surferchk07
Member # 32276
posted 03-05-2007 07:23 PM
Im so excited your coming somewhere in WA Heather :-P I've always wanted to meet you *giggles* and I hella cant wait to get a signed copy of S.E.X :-D
cool87
Member # 29292
posted 03-05-2007 07:33 PM
Hey, haven't you already met her Elizabeth ? [ 03-05-2007, 07:33 PM: Message edited by: cool87 ]
blysse_norwood
Member # 26516
posted 03-05-2007 08:12 PM
Any chance of making it to Ottawa, Toronto or Montreal Heather? That would be absolutely awesome! lol
cool87
Member # 29292
posted 03-05-2007 08:17 PM
Yeah, indeed, it would be really cool if she went to Montreal. But I don't even think I could get some free time to go so.... [ 03-05-2007, 08:20 PM: Message edited by: cool87 ]
BiGoddess
Member # 23917
posted 03-05-2007 09:23 PM
*squee* You're coming to San Francisco? Hot-dog! *does happy dance* Alright, now that I've had my fangirl moment... San Francisco is a pretty spiffy city in that you can find gay anything pretty much anywhere (especially if you live in the castro, like I used to...). There are a lot of LGBT-oriented bookstores, but I don't know that a lot of them really cater to the teen age group. Personally, I'm a huge fan of Black Oak Books. I'd marry it if it was human, honestly. Hey, while you're in the San Francisco area, do you think you'll be stopping by Berkeley? Because (1) it's a lovely place, and (2) it's a lot easier for me to get to from where I'm living right now (selfish motives, I know). I'm pretty sure they've got a LGBT youth center there, too, but I don't know a whole lot about it.
Heather
Member # 3
posted 03-05-2007 10:49 PM
I'd love to be able to have time and the means to get to Montreal, period, because it's my fave province and one of my favorite friends lives there who I haven't had a chance to visit in much too long. Alas, that plane fare on top of other fares is just too much right now. Maybe next year. BiGoddess, I should have known you were a 'friscan. But yep: that should fit into the schedule, and it's the one place that connecting with venues won't be too hard b/c I do know most of them already. I'll see about Berkeley too, though: I can just grab the Bart there, no? And Elizabeth, you're a big silly.
Miss Lauren
Member # 25983
posted 03-05-2007 10:58 PM
Ohhh, if only Los Angeles could be worked into there. 'frisco is a good 7-8 hour drive away.
Heather
Member # 3
posted 03-05-2007 11:01 PM
(I confess, I cannot stand L.A. and avoid it like the plague. I won't even visit friends there. So, it's not even someplace I considered. Sorry!)
Karybu
Member # 20094
posted 03-06-2007 12:33 AM
I don't suppose, what with Vancouver already on the itinerary, you'd consider coming to Victoria? Probably not....ah well, I'll just have to take a day off and get my butt over to Vancouver or down to Seattle!
cool87
Member # 29292
posted 03-06-2007 08:33 AM
(Pssst Heather just a small thing to improve your geography skills. Montreal is a city, not a province.... Quebec is the province. A bit like Seattle city being in the Washington state except Washington here is a state and not a province. ) [ 03-06-2007, 08:40 AM: Message edited by: cool87 ]
Heather
Member # 3
posted 03-06-2007 11:11 AM
Just a brain fart. I do know Montreal is a city, just not yesterday, apparently.
BiGoddess
Member # 23917
posted 03-06-2007 12:00 PM
Alas, I don't live in the city anymore. I'm in the suburbs now. But I'm a San Franciscan a heart, for sure. Anyways, yeah. You can just hop on BART to get from San Francisco to Berkeley. You can get a round trip ticket from pretty much anywhere in the city for under ten dollars, so it's pretty reasonable. You'll let us know when you're coming 'round, yes? [ 03-06-2007, 12:16 PM: Message edited by: BiGoddess ]
Surferchk07
Member # 32276
posted 03-07-2007 03:05 AM
quote: Originally posted by Cool87: Hey, haven't you already met her Elizabeth ? I've been graced by her presence a few amazing times yes. quote: Originally posted by Heather: And Elizabeth, you're a big silly. Yeah its the aries silliness in me, all Aries have it :-P And Heather dont you know BART goes almost anywhere....cept space. (yet soon maybe it will!)
Gwaihir
Member # 27276
posted 03-07-2007 04:30 AM
Ooh! I'd love to come. . though I think I'd be too shy. XD Still, I'm glad I live in SanFran. Is this promotional tour like a seminar of some kind or a book signing?
Ecofem
Member # 13388
posted 03-07-2007 11:02 AM
Heather, I hope you can make it to the DC/VA/MD region at some point during your book promotion tour. (Be it first late summer/early Fall or next year so I can attend in person! )
LucysDiamonds
Member # 30315
posted 03-07-2007 12:21 PM
Hey, if you come to the DC area over the summer and then to Brown once school starts again, I might get to see you TWICE! That would rock so hard.
Heather
Member # 3
posted 03-07-2007 01:21 PM
East coast touring could really only happen for me in the fall. It's especially tricky because it's likely that at the same time I need to be doing book promotion, my partner's latest short film will be hitting the film circuit, so that makes scheduling for both of us tricky. So, most likely, if I can do the east coast, it'll likely be over a couple of weeks in September or October.
Gumdrop Girl
Member # 568
posted 03-07-2007 11:18 PM
quote: Originally posted by Heather: (I confess, I cannot stand L.A. and avoid it like the plague. I won't even visit friends there. So, it's not even someplace I considered. Sorry!) i hate LA, too. but c'mon dearie, couldn't you help make this town suck just a little less?
Gumdrop Girl
Member # 568
posted 03-07-2007 11:21 PM
quote: Originally posted by BiGoddess: Alas, I don't live in the city anymore. I'm in the suburbs now. But I'm a San Franciscan a heart, for sure. Anyways, yeah. You can just hop on BART to get from San Francisco to Berkeley. You can get a round trip ticket from pretty much anywhere in the city for under ten dollars, so it's pretty reasonable. You'll let us know when you're coming 'round, yes? Hit City Lights, then Pegasus in downtown Berkeley. Bonus points if Clay's working that day. That would give me plenty of reason to go back to Berkeley for a weekeend.
dailicious
Member # 22471
posted 03-07-2007 11:43 PM
Hm, this may be a very valid excuse to take some time off work this Summer and drive up to Oregon or Washington. Unless, of course, you can swing down closer to Colorado!
Heather
Member # 3
posted 03-08-2007 10:26 AM
'Fraid not, dailicious. Really, when you do book promo, the aim is just to hit the very biggest markets, and I'm afraid CO isn't on the map in that regard. You're generally aiming for the biggest cities and then the coasts. quote: i hate LA, too. but c'mon dearie, couldn't you help make this town suck just a little less? Not unless you'll pay for my therapy after.
veganxwater
Member # 32008
posted 03-08-2007 04:34 PM
How about Plano, Richardson or Dallas(TX)? For colleges there are CCCCD in Plano. And UTD in Richardson.
Heather
Member # 3
posted 03-08-2007 05:09 PM
I really can't add on extra places: bear in mind that isn't just about time (after all, I still have work that needs doing), but also about money. This girl lives lean as it is: most of the travel I'm doing for the book promotion outside my area is either paid for by having photo work scheduled in those places which pays my way, or part of family visits. So, per responding here, it's really about venues within the areas I posted in the first post.
veganxwater
Member # 32008
posted 03-08-2007 06:54 PM
Sorry about that. I should of read better.
curiosity13
Member # 32841
posted 03-09-2007 12:41 AM
yay! chicago! when do you think you would be visiting here? during the summer? spring? fall? (hopefully spring or fall...)
Queer Power
Member # 22292
posted 03-19-2007 06:23 PM
In Cincinnati I would say Hobo Books, but they had a water-main break and were forced to close. In Lexington, Kentucky (just an hour and half away) there's Sqecial-Media which would probably be down for this event - http://www.sqecialmedia.com/ There's also a lgbtq library/meeting space opening in the next month or so at the University of Kentucky (in Lexington again) that could probably host you. A friend of mine is one of the people organizing it, and I can give you her contact privately. There is a lgbtq center in Cincinnati on Hamilton Ave in Northside, but I don't know anyone involved or their contact info. I grew up in Cincinnati, and it was almost always closed whenever my friends and I wanted to hang out there. [ 03-19-2007, 06:25 PM: Message edited by: Queer Power ]
Queer Power
Member # 22292
posted 03-19-2007 06:30 PM
In Minneapolis, I would recommend the Jack Pine Community Center - http://www.thejackpine.org/ It's a really rad space that has a big focus on being intergenenrational. From their site: "The Jack Pine Community Center is a collectively run, intergenerational free space committed to popular education, anti-oppression, and the fight for justice, liberation, and autonomy. We seek to foster self-expression, self-representation and radical activism by providing a family-friendly space for skill sharing, events, meetings and art." In Baltimore, Red Emma's Bookstore & Coffee: http://www.redemmas.org/
Heather
Member # 3
posted 03-19-2007 07:31 PM
Oddly, in six years of living in Minneapolis, I had never heard of that space, even though I can picture exactly where it is. Crazy! Thanks for the Cincy suggestions: given the way Cincy and the surrounding areas are (you're from there, I don't need to explain what I mean, I presume), I'm hoping to be able to do a good deal of promo and support while I'm there.
Queer Power
Member # 22292
posted 03-19-2007 09:33 PM
Since the cities are close by each other, if you do come to Cincinnati, myself and others could also host an event for you in Lexington as well either at the Public Library (it's very easy for us to get rooms there) or the beforementioned lgbtq space at UK. The latter would enable us to tap into University money for promotion, but the former would be a more welcoming space (universities tend to attract only college students and graduates while public libraries are welcoming to almost everyone). Trying to get something at the Cincinnati Public Library would be cool because the library system in that city ROCKS. It's seriously amazing. I don't know what's going on with University of Cincinnati nowadays. When I was in highschool and after I dropped out I helped organize a conference there every year, and we were able to get University funding really easily for speakers and rooms and food and such. So there might be some student group that could do that with you, or the women's studies department or something. I forget her name, but a professor there is a fairly well known (or published anyway) feminist writer.. Edited to add: I just found the website to the LGBTQ Center in Cincy: Here's the website to the http://www.glbtcentercincinnati.com/ Again, I have no idea if they're good folks or not, but there they are. [ 03-19-2007, 09:45 PM: Message edited by: Queer Power ]
mellygirl
Member # 28588
posted 03-20-2007 06:36 PM
Quoted by Heather: "yeah, it really doesn't. And I confess that Detroit is one of those places that just depresses me so badly, it's not somewhere I'd make a point of going." Heather! You MUST come to Detroit. Seriously. I know that it is one of the most troubled cities in the country, and one of the most dangerous, but it is still an amazing place. There is so much there! I would even make the trip out to come see you there!! Not to mention, it is one of the most populated areas in the US, and that population needs some sex ed too Besides, it's only a few hour drive from Chicago... especially if you're on the east side. And, you wouldn't even have to go into downtown if you didn't want. Even just to Livonia or Dearborn or Ecorse would work... All I'm asking: consider it - at least... [ 03-20-2007, 06:42 PM: Message edited by: mellygirl ]