Monday, September 19, 2011

Unusual Benefactor Finances Book Tour

By , New York Times, Published: September 16, 2011

It is trickier than ever for an author to persuade a publisher to finance a traditional book tour. Brick-and-mortar bookstores are decreasing, travel is expensive, and money for marketing and promotion is increasingly being spent online.
Photo -Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times
Leymah Gbowee, author of “Mighty Be Our Powers,” about her work in Liberia.
So it is striking that Leymah Gbowee, a relatively unknown author of a memoir describing her life as a peace activist in war-torn Liberia, has just embarked on an eight-city tour to promote her book, “Mighty Be Our Powers,” which was released by the tiny Beast Books on Tuesday.
The tour is possible because Ms. Gbowee has wrangled an unusual sponsor: Leonard Riggio, the chairman of Barnes & Noble, who is personally covering the costs.
“The nature of a book such as this” usually means that “there wouldn’t be a book tour,” Mr. Riggio said in an interview this week. “Leymah mentioned that she was looking to get sponsorship of a tour that she wanted to do on college campuses and churches, to talk about the struggle for peace and social justice in Africa. So I said, ‘If you need a sponsor, I’ll be glad to do it.’
Full story at the New York Times.

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