October will bring … well, that hasn’t been announced yet. Check www.booksandco.com for details.
But the point is that over the years, Books & Co. has hosted a virtual who’s who of authors in every genre and style of writing. And the woman behind these great author visits is perky, smart, always smiling Sharon Kelly Roth, who arranges author events at Books & Co. Since Roth never takes center stage, I recently asked her to share some of her own background and experiences.
Q: When did you start at Books & Co and what was your background before coming to the store?
A: “I started at Books & Co. in 1985. That means on Oct. 15, I will have been having fun at Books & Co. for 27 years. It’s been a glorious time! Before that I was associate director of University and Community Events at Wright State University. Preceding that I was part of a two-person office that helped corporations recruit employees to Dayton. Before that I taught elementary school. Then there was a large bulk of time in between all that when I stayed home and raised four sons.”
Q: Books & Co. is known throughout the publishing world as an important bookstore for authors to visit. How did the store get on publishing’s radar?
A: “Our first major event at Books & Co. was in 1988 when we hosted Tom Peters, an outstanding business book author of that era who wrote ‘In Search of Excellence’ and ‘In Pursuit of Excellence.’ He could only come for a noon signing. We were pleased and somewhat surprised when 500 people were able to make it. A few months later, we invited Helen Hayes to an Afternoon Tea event to promote her autobiography. Again, 500 people showed up for her event. At that time, Dayton was not on any publisher’s tour schedule; Peters and Hayes were in Dayton for other reasons and ‘tacked on’ a visit with us.
"We then realized that people in the Dayton area were interested in meeting authors and would come to events. So we took pictures from those two events and went to New York City to talk to publishers and encourage them to send authors to us. When authors raved about the events and how welcoming and warm the audiences were in Dayton, more authors were sent to us. Gradually, we became known as one of the premier book-signing spots in the country. It was always a thrill to us to look at an author's schedule and see that he or she was traveling to New York, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and Dayton!"
Q: What have been some of the largest events at Books & Co.?
A: “Our largest event was with Colin Powell when 3500 people came to meet him. Other large events were with John Glenn, Emeril Lagasse, Nicholas Sparks, Dan Brown, James Patterson, Jan Brett, Gloria Steinem, Buzz Aldrin, Neal Boortz, Jeff Kinney, Garrison Keillor, Fabio, Mary Pope Osborne, Gary Paulsen, Pat Conroy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sue Grafton, P.E. James, Charleton Heston, Rachel Ray, Vince Flynn, Jodi Picoult and on and on.”
“Our most recent large event was with Chris Colfer, star of ‘Glee,’ as he introduced his new children’s book, ‘The Land of Stories.’ The event was scheduled for Sunday, July 29, at 11 a.m. with line numbers being given out at 10 a.m. To our surprise, people began to form a line at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, July 28. They spent the night on the sidewalk outside our store. By the time of the event, the line went all the way around the block. There was a fun atmosphere and camaraderie among the people in line. That was our first overnight line.”
Q: And the most memorable events?
A: “There have been many, but I especially remember Garrison Keillor being taken by surprise with the size of our store at The Greene. After he greeted the audience, he said he was wondering if he and the audience could fill the space with song. He started singing ‘God Bless America,’ and hundreds of people joined in. It was a glorious sound, and they did fill the space.”
Q: What are your reading pleasures?
A: “My personal favorites are contemporary and historical novels, religion, inspiration and biography. But I make it a point to read the books written by our visiting authors. Because of that I read mysteries, novels, science, cookbooks, kids books, personal growth, business, religion, sports, philosophy, biography, adventure, history,and whatever other categories our authors represent. It’s been a marvelous learning experience.”
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