Find Inspiration in Book Store Displays

 Libraries aren't the only places to find great book displays and book lists. Independent book stores often have staff who are passionate about the books they love and clever at coming up with compelling book displays that put the focus on getting great books faced out so their customers can discover them. Take a look at your local indie bookstore or check out the websites and social media accounts of stores across the country. See how they use humor and unexpected combinations to promote and market the books in their stores. Give them credit if you borrow their ideas and include details about how your patrons can find them. 

One of my favorites is Gibson's Bookstore in Concord, NH. You can view their displays on their Instagram account for some inspiration. Their displays are book focused, clever, and memorable. One of their more genius ideas is that their past displays and curated book lists are available on their website. If a customer saw a title on a display but missed it, they can check these lists and find what they were looking for. They also have a great podcast with curated lists of the books they talk about. 

Tombolo Books in St Petersburg, FL has a number of book lists on the homepage, including an updated list of their weekly bestsellers. Beyond the NYT best sellers that you may have listed on your website or OPAC, showing patrons what's popular in your library might also be interesting for book lovers. Tombolo also hosts a number of book clubs and archives past reads so that people who have an interest in a particular topic or genre can find their next great read. Tombolo has a page devoted to staff picks. Finding someone with your taste in books can be a great way to learn about hidden gems.

Finally, there is Chicago's own Exile in Bookville. Like Tombolo, they offer a staff picks page with a lot of great backlist titles. Their past events page includes links to related books which can be a huge benefit to someone who missed an event or heard about one and is interested in the books discussed. Their page that focuses on preorders may not seem applicable for libraries but highlighting upcoming books and encouraging holds can generate interest in titles that patrons may not have heard about. It is also a way to remind patrons about your holds list. Don't forget your eBook and eAudiobook collections. 

Take time to visit your local indie bookstore and develop a relationship with them. Librarians and booksellers are natural allies!

Book Display Planning - August

I think that it's always easier to plan out your book displays and lists in advance. That gives you time to see what will and will not work with your collection as well as time to develop some of them into passive programs. Some will work better as online lists or social media posts depending upon your physical and digital collections. But don't forget to mention your digital collections in your library on the book displays. Never assume that patrons are aware of all the services you provide. 

First step is to consider the basics that come up every month. Read this post for a list. 

August doesn't have big national holidays to consider. But there are some fun celebration weeks and celebration days that can lead to great displays. 

LibraryReads has released their August list. Voted on by library workers, it's a great way to have a regular display with upcoming titles that are diverse and which will include a variety of genres. You can expand it with other books by the authors on the list, past August titles, or the Hall of Fame titles and authors. If you are not voting and participating, I recommend it! Read more about it here. 

August 1-7 is International Clown Week: This can clearly be made into a display of children's materials. Don't forget to look at adult fiction about circuses and clowns as well as non-fiction in your collection. There are plenty of movies that you can also include. 
The Ringling Circus Museum has an online archive which can be linked to as part of a blog or social media post. 

In the spirit of Summer Scares, don't forget scary clowns. Book Riot has a list to get you started.
For a passive program, hide clowns in your library and have patrons search for them as a scavenger hunt. They will learn more about your library on the way. 

August is also Black Business Month. You can put up a display with biographies of Black entrepreneurs as well as general titles about entrepreneurship, starting a business, and leadership. Reach out to a local Black business leader and ask them to create a list of their favorite business titles. Use your social media to list locally owned Black businesses and partner with them to leave flyers about your programs and services inside. 

ARRR-Gust: International Pirate Month will also be upon us. Displays with youth and adult materials should be easy to set up. Goodreads has a long list of pirate books to get you started. Be broad with how you define pirate and include space pirates as well.  Allow patrons to vote on their favorite pirate and post the daily results online. Don't forget to post staff favorites. 

A final suggestion is National Simplify Your Life week. Your non-fiction collection likely has more than a few books about minimalism, cleaning, organizing, and so forth. Don't forget books about financial simplicity or frugal living. Books on happiness and how to find it would also work as would meditation titles. You could solicit ideas from patrons about how they simplify their lives and share them. 

I hope this has given you a start for August!

Checklist For Monthly Book Displays

 I strongly encourage you to develop a plan in advance for what displays and lists you will put up for each month. They will be less daunting and it will allow you to distribute the task of setting them up among library staff. This will also allow for double-checking to make certain that the titles you will include are diverse and that you avoid perennial best selling authors who don't need our help promoting their books. 

There are a few steps that you can follow every month to start your planning. 

• What programs for adults, teens, and children are planned? Book displays can be used to promote your program as well as market your backlist to patrons. Include signage and flyers about the programs. 
  
  
• Does your local government (city, county, village, township...) have any events that you can promote with a book display? Make a list of your digital titles that relate and link to the page online that has details about the event. 
  
  
• Are there national holidays or days of celebration/commemoration? Planning in advance will let you order more titles if your collection is missing youth or adult materials. 
  
  
• LibraryReads is a national monthly list, voted on by library workers, which represents the titles that were most anticipated. (Here's an infographic which explains how it works.) It's not a best of list but instead is more of a buzz list. The list is released before the start of each month. It's a great way to promote your holds list. (Remember that not all patrons know about all of your services.) Link to the list on your social media and to your digital book collections. If you are a public library worker, I encourage you to vote. You can register at Netgalley  or Edelweiss  for access to advance reader copies. 
  
  
• Are there new services or resources at your library that should be promoted? Use book displays to show off a new database or public service!

Remember of course that your leadership team may have things that they want you to prioritize so checking in with them is a good idea. 

These may all not be applicable every month or you may have limited space and can only put up a few in the building. But book displays can be lists on your library blog, newsletter, or social media. They can also be bookmarks and flyers that your patrons pick up in your building or elsewhere in your community. 

Everyone On Staff Can Help With a Book Display

 When making up your book displays, don't forget to reach out to those staff who work all over your library or library system. You may have someone in facilities who loves space operas and can craft a list of the best in your collection. There may be someone in the business office who is an avid baker and can help you pull new books about baking you have overlooked. Various kinds of library workers may have done deep dives into areas of history, culture, fiction, or film that you are unfamiliar with. I have someone on staff who annually creates a display about heavy metal and we rock into fall. I could look up items of course but it's a fun way to break up routine and those who are invested in a subject or genre can pull out gems that you might not find. 

While your library may have rules about who can perform which tasks, any library worker can give input and make suggestions about what lists or displays you create. It's another way to diversify which parts of your backlist you market by using book displays. Reach out beyond your usual staff members and you may find yourself surprised. 

Goodreads review - Hungers As Old As This Land by Zachary Rosenberg.

 Hungers as Old as This Land by Zachary Rosenberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This horror western is a fast read and it's a testament to Rosenberg's talents that readers seem to be left wanting more of both the world he's created and his characters. What could be a typical western plot of a good town facing invasion by bad men is made fresh with strong female characters, a town established as a haven for Jewish settlers, and bargain between a small town and monsters hiding in the nearby mountains. There is great character development with the two main characters being tough women who can take care of themselves and hold their ground. It's a rich novella that packs a lot into its pages. I can't wait to read something else from this author.

View all my reviews

Book Display Idea - Gen X Horror

 This where I say-  use what I have here or don't. Whatever.

There are many options for this kind of generational display. You could look for books published during a defined time period, for Gen X  you could use the late 70's through late 90's. But don't be doctrinaire, there are plenty of books by members of Generation X that are set during that time period or which have the sense or flavor of that generation. If someone else on staff disagrees with your choices, invite them to add their own choices. Ask patrons for their suggestions on your social media or in your library.

You can add some non-fiction about significant events that took place in the 80's and 90's. There are plenty of examples of terrifying things that took place during those years. Also, check your DVD collection and add some of those. Goosebumps was first published in 1992...

For a passive program, add one for Baby Boomers, Millennials, and Gen Z. Let your patrons fight it out and read some great books. A more active program would involve putting on a short film festival and having plenty of books for people to check out.

 Some great options for titles include: 

My Best Friend's Exorcism, We Sold Our Souls, and Paperbacks from Hell by Grady Hendrix should all be on this kind of display Paperbacks is a non-fiction Stoker award winner and includes information about those paperbacks your parents read. My Best Friend's Exorcism is set in the Satanic panic era (Kirkus called it "The Exorcist by way of Heathers). We Sold Our Souls tells of a 90's metal band whose lead singer abandoned them to become a successful solo act. Kris finds out that he did this by selling her soul to a demon. 

Dark Ink Books issued an anthology called Generation Xed. A collection of twenty-two author's monster, folk, paranormal, and psychological horror short stories, this collection would be an obvious pick. 

The Hunger by Whitley Strieber is on the list of influential vampire novels published in the 80's. It was also an influential film with David Bowie, Catherine Deneuve, and Susan Sarandon. The Wolfen is his 1978 debut novel about werewolves in NYC. Strieber is also known because of Communion, his 1987 non-fiction book about encountering aliens. He still maintains a website on the subject.  

The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay is a horror novel that includes an increasing sense of dread, a slacker lead character, and a woman with a sort of goth flavor who may or may not be a vampire. As Art Barbara looks back on his life, Mercy annotates his memoir, creating a sense of unease as readers decide who is a reliable narrator. Husker Du is the soundtrack for this book.

Clay McLeod Chapman is an author with several options for this display or list. The Remaking follows the same tale as it changes in how it is told every 20 years. With each retelling, there are terrifying consequences. The chapters about a film in the 70's and 90's have a wonderful sense of time and place. Whisper Down the Lane switches between the 1980's and thirty years later. Lies told in the past come back to haunt a teacher. Based upon the McMartin Preschool case and the Satanic Panic, this book explores parenthood, divorce in the 80's,  and mass hysteria. Finally, Ghost Eaters is about addiction to people, relationships, and drugs. When her charismatic friend and former college boyfriend Silas dies after she tries to finally quit him for good, Erin falls apart. She learns of a drug that allows users to talk to the dead... This book has a gothic/punk feel that is appropriate for this display.

Gothic by Philip Fracassi is an option I will include because like Ghost Eaters, it has the right feel, tone, and atmosphere. Writer Tyson Parks is a bestselling author who fears his best years are behind him. He receives an ornate desk as a birthday gift and begins to write around the clock at a frantic pace. Friends and family begin to notice his strange, violent behavior while a mysterious woman begins making inquiries about an artifact... This book is like falling into a movie from the great late 70's horror boom. Gen Xers would have watched them on early cable or in cinema reissues.   

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis is very representative of the 90's. Patrick Bateman is a successful, wealthy, narcissistic stockbroker who is also a serial killer. It's a graphically violent book that was made into a successful film. Any works by Ellis would work on a GenX display.  

Anne Rice had a huge fan base among my friends in the 1980's. The 1994 film version of Interview With a Vampire was also very popular. Rice's vampire tales are Gothic and sensual. She has a fairly large backlist and any can be put on a display, regardless of when they were released. 

Nancy Collins' 1989 book Sunglasses After Dark introduced Sonja Blue to a wide audience. Sonja is a living vampire with a soul and was trained to hunt the vampires who prey upon innocent people. It has a punk sensibility and helped usher in other urban fantasy books. 

Brian Keene came to prominence in the early 2000's but brings a solid Generation X feel to his fiction and non-fiction.  

Clive Barker would be a perfect addition to this display. He became the "future of horror" after the US publication of Books of Blood in the mid-80's. Don't forget the film adaptations of his works.

John Saul was first published in the mid70's but produced many bestselling horror novels in the 80's and 90's. HIs novels have sold millions of copies and anyone reading horror in the 80's and 90's would have been familiar with his work. 

Jack Ketchum  and Peter Straub also published horror in the 80's and 90's. 

Rewind or Die by Unnerving is a series of novellas with the distinctive feel of the horror movies you would pick up at the video store. There are plenty of authors whose works you have in your collection represented in the series. 

Other ideas would include the novels by Stephen King which became movies in the 80's and 90's, horror novels about slashers like My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones and Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix, and the novels set in the Aliens franchise,

I will leave you with this hilarious list: Twitter is Sharing the Disturbing Books They Read When They Were Way Too Young. 

my theory is every gen X person read a stephen king book way too young and that’s why they are the way they are

— Amy (@lolennui) April 6, 2022

Some Lists: 

The Essential Gen X Book List from Penguin Random House - Notable because it does include American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. The movie and the book are both Gen X horror material.

When You're Strange: 5 GenX Films That Shaped My Goth Goth Heart  from Popmatters- Don't forget your DVD collection. You also now have an excuse to put Lost Boys and Edward Scissorhands on a display. 

GenX Horror from Letterboxd - A list from a user that includes many released between 92 and 02 that you likely have on the shelf. 

Gen X Books from Goodreads - Not strictly horror but you can add some of these if your display must live past the horror in your collection.

Where to Get Ideas for Your Displays!

Many library workers are doing multiple jobs or working short staffed. The idea of creating different book displays every month can seem daunting. Never fear! You can borrow ideas from all of those marketing emails that publishers and vendors send you daily. Use the subject line and go from there. Don't feel as if you are obligated to include every book that was in the original list. The purpose of your book displays is to market your existing collection, not to exactly copy someone else's list.

I pulled some ideas from today's marketing emails and have suggested some titles and resources to get you started. What do they mean? What should you put on them? Whatever you have in your collection that will work. The idea is to market your collection and get books faced out where your patrons can see them. 

Wedding Themed Mysteries and Thrillers

Grief is a Complicated Journey 

The Music of the Night  - Phantom of the Opera inspired romance novels

Prioritize Your Mental Health - Mental Health Awareness Month

Historical Fiction Set in the 1960's 

Staff Picks: 10 Books We Unexpectedly Binge-Read

Summer Reading Camp

In addition to these, publishers were also encouraging titles to be nominated for both the Indie Next and Library Reads monthly lists. Either of these lists, the first curated by indie bookseller and the second by library workers, can be easily used as a book display. Use this month's list, last month's, the Library Reads Hall of Fame... 

Go out there and mine those marketing emails for ideas!

Book Display Idea - Read Alikes for The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese is on the top of holds lists, helped by Oprah's selection of the title as her 101st book club pick. We can't buy copies to immediately fill every hold but you can both advertise your holds list and suggest titles from your collection at the same time. 

If your library has copies in your digital collection, include a QR code or information about that service in the display. Never assume that a patron knows about all of your services. If they come into your library, visit your website, or social media looking for this title, you can show them how to get on the request list while also pointing out that there are great books to read in the meantime. 

Ebsco's Novelist is a good tool to use for discovering read-alikes, if your library subscribes. There are read-alikes listed and you can use the "appeal factors" (things like genre, time period, tone, writing style etc) to find similar enough titles in your collection. If you don't have it, you can search your library catalog using subject headings to find other books that are "close enough." Book displays and lists aren't a test. They are a way to market your collection and to help patrons potentially find their next great read. A patron may not care about The Covenant of Water but might see a cover that catches their eye in your display or on your online list. That's a win. 

Options for read-alikes? There are Verghese's previous titles. Those are an easy pick and your library likely owns Cutting for Stone in physical or digital form. Look at other authors who write about India including Salman Rushdie or other books which are sprawling historical sagas covering generations of a family such as: 

The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell
Palace Walk by Najib Mahfuz
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

There are many  titles that are family sagas that are not necessarily about India. 

Barkskins by Annie Proulx
Dust Child by Phan Que Mai
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
New York: The Novel by Edward Rutherford

A secret is to look for read-alikes for these authors or titles if you these aren't part of your collection. 

There are a few lists with read-alikes- 
Books Similar to The Covenant of Water on Goodreads
Read-Alikes for The Covenant of Water from the Arlington Public Library

StokerCon 2023 Panel Report - Promoting Dread: The Publicity of Horror Fiction

Every author, regardless of whether they are self published or on one of the big five presses struggles with how to promote their books. LIbraries can help and that's mostly what I talk about here but I thought I would share some of what I heard at this panel. This won't be an exact transcript of what was said but I will share some of what was shared. I didn't write it up as a simple script because my notes are not a complete transcript. I can assure you that none of the wisdom below is mine and all comes from the panelists. 

The panel was moderated by Emily Hughes and included: Becky Spratford (readers advisory expert, librarian, Horror Writers Association [HWA] secretary, and reviewer), Janine Cross (author, HWA volunteer), Jordan Hanley (Tor Nightfire marketing manager), Solomon Forse (founder of the Howl Society, author), and Nat Cassidy (actor, writer, musician).

The panel discussed what has worked for them as far as promotion is concerned and what outlets and platforms were used. Emily and Becky provided information from the perspective of a publisher and a reviewer. 

As far as reviews are concerned, Becky Spratford reminded everyone that it's impossible for reviewers to review everything. Traditional reviews are generally pre-publication only and libraries order 3-6 months in advance. But your independently published book can be loaded onto Overdrive which is a widely used library eBook platform. 

Social media was mentioned over and over. Nat Cassidy mentioned using videos on social media. Solomon Forse talked about the importance of using social media to promote others and the importance of being authentic. Authors don't have to force themselves to use social media platforms they hate, cautioned Emily Hughes. Social media outlets come and go. The industry landscape is constantly changing. The most important thing is to write the book. Promoting your book is a marathon. 

Janine Cross doesn't use social media. Instead she emphasized becoming a specialist in your local area. Become the person that local media, libraries, bookstores etc come to for information about your genre or area of interest. She repeated Solomon's call to promote other people as a way of growing your community. Local/regional chapters of the HWA are extremely important in building community, reminded Becky. Authors should use connections from community because writing is a lonely endeavour. Nat said that you should lean in and celebrate others. That takes the pressure off you to have victories. Engaging with a community does remove some of the tension when everything can be a one on one interaction. Solomon reminded introverts that building a community online is valid and can be less terrifying. 

Online reviews by readers were also discussed. Jordan asked those in attendance to remember that not every book works for every reader. Sites like Goodreads are for readers. Don't respond if you are tagged in a negative review, cautioned Emily. Also, don't read your Goodreads reviews but it is a way to build a community. 

Save your snark for your cat, warned Janine. Text a friend was a suggestion from Becky. There are haters out there and everyone can become a target. After a while, you will learn who is negative. Those sort of people are a fact of life and everyone encounters them. Own your mistakes, admit when you are at fault, said Emily.  Walk away because drama is not entertaining when it happens to you, said Solomon, who also cautioned that you should never double down if you find yourself in an online fight. 

Nat reminded those in attendance that the internet does things to our heads. Not every thought needs to be expressed, On Goodreads you will see a one star review next to a five star review; for every jerk there is a fan out there. The idea of separating your personal and professional self was echoed by other panelists. Becky suggested putting less of yourself online than you might first be inclined to do and be choosy about what you decide to share. The appeal of social media is that it's a window into someone's world but you should be mindful about what you put out there, said Emily. You can share your personality but never allow success on social media to get into your head. It's not your own world. Janine, who doesn't use social media, said that platforms can change so using a newsletter is a traditional and helpful way to share. Authors can set up a website and put the option to subscribe to your newsletter visible on your site.

Those who self publish can join the Independent Book Publishers Association. It does come with benefits including discounts on a variety of resources and services. Book Sirens is another option to help promote your books. Solomon also suggested that you can send reviewers messages on Goodreads. 

Finally, Becky encouraged looking at Vistaprint to create stickers and pens. Readers love swag and it will remind them of you and your books. You can also ask to meet the person at your local library who works with the sort of books you create (youth, adult fiction, non-fiction etc.). Offer to assist with programming. Join the friends of the library. Work with their writers groups. Becoming a part of your library's community can also help promote your work and help you build a community of supporters. 

(We all know that not all these ideas will work for everyone and that's fine. Perhaps you will be inspired to find something that will help spread the word about your book. But don't tell me how x,y, z won't work. That's also not going to help promote your book.)