GalleyCat
 
Receive mediabistro.com's Daily GalleyCat Feed via email


Daily Media Newsfeed Click here to receive mediabistro.com's Daily Media Newsfeed via email.

Tuesday May 16, 2006

Starbucks really is taking over the publishing world

And I suppose it had to happen, seeing as almost every block in Manhattan has a Starbucks on it (except in my neighborhood, but that's going to change very soon, I know it. Sigh.) But NYT's Motoko Rich finds out that the coffee company, and many others, have started to take part in a rather different enterprise: bringing authors to sign books for its employees:

"It is easier to get people through the eye of a needle into the kingdom of heaven than it is to get people into a bookstore at 7 o'clock at night," said Suzanne Balaban, publicity director of Scribner, a unit of Simon & Schuster that recently started a program to bring authors into companies. "So we have to constantly reinvent what we do."

A growing roster of corporations, including Microsoft, Boeing, Google and Altria, the owner of brands like Philip Morris and Kraft Foods, have played host to writers in their offices. Even the United States Treasury Department has invited nearly 40 authors to speak over the last two years. Executives see the author readings as akin to other perks like in-house gyms, subsidized cafeterias and financial advice.

The idea is to reach people who rarely buy books and might otherwise never attend a reading. "I scarcely ever go to bookstores," said Carolyn Fletcher, an accountant in the Starbucks tax department, after she had her copy of "Madonnas" signed by Ms. Dean. Ms. Fletcher said she had been to at least 10 such events at Starbucks and bought books at most of them. "I don't think I had ever heard an author speak prior to coming to one of these."

Not surprisingly, some bookstores are leery about the prospect, wondering if workplace signings will take away from bookstore events. "If we are doing an event at our Bellevue store, if there is also a Microsoft event, that can affect sales," said Stesha Brandon, events and programs coordinator at University Book Store. But some people have made the switch for good: "I try to go to as many of these events as I can," said Ms. Minneman-Ioset, who said she had heard authors like the thriller writers J. A. Jance and Ridley Pearson as well as the historian David McCullough at Starbucks. "I used to go to bookstore events, but I don't anymore. Mostly, I buy my books here now."




new on mediabistro.com

Improve Your Web Life: New Sites, New Uses, New You

Streamline your online life with a tour of sites and tools you don't know about, tips for using the ones you do, and sources for easy, free software.
Watch the video

Email This Post

Fill out the following information and click on the Send button in order to send this post, Starbucks really is taking over the publishing world, to a friend.
Friend's name
Friend's email address
Your name
Your email address
Note to your friend (optional, max 200 Characters)

Read more on GalleyCat >

Interested in advertising on GalleyCat?

GalleyCat.com: the first word on the book publishing industry

galleycat-sidebar-shadow.jpg

Editors: Ron Hogan
Andy Heidel




rss-feed-icon-64x64.jpg

more feeds from mediabistro.com

Anonymous Tips

Guidelines For Use

Favorite Posts

galleycat-sidebar-shadow2.jpg

"Why Can't Men Write Anymore?": An Alternate Answer

Michael Chabon & Jeffrey Ford Demolish Genre

deborah-baker-sidebar.jpg
Deborah Baker: Following the Beats Through India

heather-thomas-sidebar.jpg
Our Chat With Heather Thomas

jack-oconnell-sidebar.jpg
The (Long-Awaited) Return of Jack O'Connell

marya-hornbacher-sidebar.jpg
Marya Hornbacher: "No Tortured Artists Here"

sarah-hall-sidebar.jpg
Sarah Hall: "There Is No Future, And England's Dreaming"

isabel-fonseca-sidebar.jpg
Isabel Fonseca: Embracing the Candor of Fiction

stean-sagmeister-sidebar.jpg
Stefan Sagmeister: "Design for Non-Designers"

alex-witchel-sidebar.jpg
Alex Witchel: A Fern Among Roses?

Peter Walsh: "It's Never About the Stuff"

The Last Whiny Editor Email We Ever Ran


Where Will We Find Literature's Radiohead?

A Miss Is a Hit on a Different Target

Your Negative Attitude Won't Save Literacy

The More Book Critics Change, The More They Stay the Same

In Which Philosophical Enquiry Disabuses Me of An Insidious Preconception

It's Hard Out There For a Literary Novelist

jack-romanos-button.jpg
The Exit Interview with Jack Romanos

porochista-khakpour-button.jpg
Flammable Author Refuses to Be Silenced or Pigeonholed

michael-rogers-button.jpg
The Futurist in the Attic

diane-vadino-button.jpg
Don't Let the Pink Cover Faze You

Obscure Literati Cry Out for Amazon's Attention

The NYTBR and the Case of the Misplaced Corpse

ellen-litman-button.jpg
A Chat with Ellen Litman

kimberlee-auerbach.jpg
Tarot Memoirist Draws Winning Hand

Oh Noes! Peoples Stopped Reading! We Is Doomed!

vincent-lam-button.jpg
A Chat with Vincent Lam

eric-kampmann-button.jpg
Eric Kampmann Defends If I Did It Deal

America's Readers a Pack of Bloodthirsty Ghouls

rakesh-satyal-button.jpg
Going to a Town, Feelin' Like a Criminal

Lunch with Leslie & Lesley

anna-david-button.jpg
Chick Lit Is Never a Compliment

Touring the Met with Danny Danziger

Thomas Nelson's Densely Packed Brand Nucleus

Jumping on the Mattress of the Book Review's Deathbed

laura-albert-button.jpg
Laura Albert: "Not Sorry," Moving On

Our Exit Interview with Don Weise

Old Man, Look at My Blog

It's Not Just a Book Review Crisis

Blogs Under Fire in LA

Publishers, Techies Love Each Other Up

Pop Fiction Unaffected by Lit Crit Demise

Librarians Squirm at Cite of Scrotum


Why Does Maureen Dowd Hate Popular Women?

Maureen Dowd Discovers Chick Lit

Terry McMillan Still Bitter

jamesfrey.jpg
Haven't You Forgotten James Frey Yet?

Literary Showtune Parodies!


mb Blogs

TVNewser

PRNewser

FishbowlNY

FishbowlDC

FishbowlLA

UnBeige

MobileContentToday

AgencySpy

GalleyCat

galleycat-sidebar-shadow3.jpg

Links

theBookseller.com

The Book Standard

Buzz, Balls & Hype

Danuta Kean

Eco-Libris

Publishers Marketplace

Publishing Contrarian

Publishing For Profit

Publishing Insider

Publishing News

The Publishing Spot
Publishing Trends

Publishers Weekly

PubRants

Shelf Awareness

Weekly Publishing Moves

...more...

Archives

July 2008

June 2008

May 2008

April 2008

more...


Recent

Doesn't Five Books in Five Months Constitute a Series?

Expanding Fictional Universes Beyond the Printed Page, for Fun and Profit

Scene @ Amy Shearn's BookCourt Reading

cats by Clipart.com, a service of Jupiterimages

Subscribe

Click here to receive the Daily Media News Feed by email.

Job Listings

Featured Listings

Desktop Publisher
The College Board
New York, NY

Mail Order Sales Manager/Assistant Manager
Workman Publishing
New York, NY

Manager Online Subscription Services
Rodale Inc.
Emmaus, PA

Promotion Manager
Workman Publishing
New York, NY

Become a partner


ADVERTISEMENT


mediabistro.com l Member Benefits l Jobs l Freelance Marketplace l Courses l Events l Forums l Content
mediabistro Blogs: Media News l TVNewser l GalleyCat l UnBeige l FishbowlNY l FishbowlLA l FishbowlDC l mbToolbox l PRNewser l AgencySpy l MobileAppsToday l MobileContentToday l MobileMarketingToday l MobileDevicesToday
Site Map l Advertising/Sponsorships l Partners l About Us l Contact Us/Help

JupiterOnlineMedia

internet.comearthweb.comDevx.commediabistro.comGraphics.com

Search:

Jupitermedia Corporation has two divisions: Jupiterimages and JupiterOnlineMedia

Jupitermedia Corporate Info


Legal Notices, Licensing, Reprints, & Permissions, Privacy Policy.

Web Hosting | Newsletters | Tech Jobs | Shopping | E-mail Offers