Community: Crystal Falls, Upper Peninsula, and more!
Population: Under 2,500
In fall of 2020, after participating in a national summer virtual book club program, called Summer Scares, I decided to replicate that by creating the U.P. Notable Books Book Club. In the spring of 2020, the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA) created a list of 10 U.P. Notable Books. I contacted UPPAA’s then president, Victor Volkman, and pitched my idea to him, which was: virtual zoom book club meetings monthly with the author of each book. He liked the idea, and we agreed to pay authors $200 per talk (cost divided between UPPAA and the Crystal Falls District Community Library). Eight of the ten authors committed. We have already hosted four book club meetings, with attendance ranging from 17-53 households. Currently, our library and UPPAA agreed to continue sponsorship for the club through May of 2022. We have people participating in the club from all over the country!
Replicability:
Other Michigan communities could do something like this. There are Michigan Notable Books selected yearly; they could replicate this book club model. Separate areas of Michigan,or even separate groups divided by age, could do this type of club too.
Creativity and Originality:
Like I mentioned, our library participated in Summer Scares last year, which is sponsored by United for Libraries, Book Riot, and Booklist. They have a wonderful program guide, and the organizers of it are very helpful in assisting libraries to with having chats with the authors of the nine selected books (three for each level: adult, young adult, and juvenille). When our patrons got to meet and have discussions on zoom with the authors of the horror books they just read, they were so excited, that they asked for more types of opportunities like this. That is why I created the U.P. Notable Books Book Club with the gracious help of UPPAA. It is so exciting that UPPAA has agreed to partner with us to host the year two U.P. Notable Books author talks that will carry us through May of 2022. Hopefully, this is a partnership that will last for many more years.
Community Impact:
The support has been immense. The book club participants love it, and I have a whole folder saved of positive feedback emails from members. It is also well-loved by the local author community. Many of them have seen an increase in sales, and the club has really generated an interest in their entire bodies of writing.
