Indie Bookstore Book Subscription Rebrand + Relaunch
2021-2022
I partnered with Tim Huggins to rebrand and relaunch a well-known New England independent bookstore’s custom book subscription service. While Tim tackled the financials, I came up with new brand concepts for the service, created and executed a new marketing plan, worked with the team to relaunch its outbound communications and social media, and liaised with vendors to simplify the ecommerce platform. Together, we stabilized the program to ensure its future success.
The Man Who Would Not Bow & Other Stories by Askold Melnyczuk
2021
What an exciting opportunity to help spread the word about award-winning novelist and stand-up Boston literary citizen Askold Melnyczuk’s first collection of short stories, out from Grand Iota Press. The stories in this beautiful little book thrill me. We will launch this collection at Harvard Book Store with Boston Globe columnist Nina MacLaughlin and author Gene Kwak. Warm praise from Kirkus, Consequence Forum, and more.
A collection of nine stories that often explore the links between the lusty and the high-minded and that make an argument for their being not opposing values but flip sides of a coin…. Smart, complex stories…that never fail to hold the reader's interest.
Kirkus Reviews
k+p press & A Season Unknown
2020-2021
When artist and curator team Beth Kantrowitz and Roberta Paul contacted me, they had an idea and a novel. I helped the duo launch their small independent publisher, k+p press — including a brand guide, a strategic plan, and a website. We then turned our focus to the novel A Season Unknown, for which I garnered praise and blurbs, executed a bookseller outreach campaign, secured a book launch, and executed preorder and publicity campaigns.
A new book by young writers, the collected poems of Sonia Sanchez, and a brand-new publishing house
The Boston Globe
Midwest Book Review
The Boston Globe
Metro Boston Independent Bookstore Day 2019
Independent Bookstore Day is a national celebration of the importance of independent bookstores in communities. In 2019, we led the Boston-area celebration.
We coordinated, publicized, and sold out two trolley tours of the 16 bookstores of the metro Boston area. Our 80 readers / riders spent nearly $7,000 at local bookstores.
The BPR News Quiz Gets Book Smart
WGBH - Radio Boston
Independent Bookstore Day: Like Christmas in April
Publisher’s Weekly
Bookstores Band Together for Independent Bookstore Day
Vox
Celebrating Boston Bookstores on April 27
Boston Book Blog
A Whirlwind Romance: A Pop-up Bookstore
2019
The Silver Unicorn Bookstore, based in Acton, MA, in partnership with Clarissa Murphy, hosted a pop-up romance-only bookstore in the week around Valentine’s Day 2019. I was excited when approached with this project idea—romance books don’t get the credit they deserve for making up a huge chunk of book sales. I ran marketing, communication, and publicity efforts for this unique and fun bookstore experience. The shop was stocked with hundreds of romance titles, including contemporary, historical, LGBTQIA+, regency, fantasy, and more.
Get swept away by a whirlwind romance (novel)
Boston Globe
Pop-Up Romance Novel Shop Comes to Bow Market
Dig Boston
Romance-Only Pop-up Coming to Somerville, Mass.
Shelf Awareness
The Sex Myth: A Devised Play
2017
The incomparable Rachel Hills was a guest for an event at Papercuts where she talked about her book The Sex Myth. About six months later, I received an email with news of a play project based on the book. Rachel was looking for a social media coordinator, and I was excited to start in that position. As I started work on building up the brand for The Sex Myth: A Devised Play, I took on work in marketing, communications, and publicity, and became heavily involved in our crowdfunder, which earned $30k. As the project grew, so did my role. As Associate Producer, I led the communication, marketing, and publicity efforts for project. We sold-out the off-Broadway production.
Based on the 2015 book The Sex Myth by Rachel Hills, The Sex Myth: A Devised Play is a storytelling and cultural change tool for a new, diverse generation of gender and sexuality activists. It’s not a script so much as a process - led by each community creating the show, and supported by the team at Break The Sex Myth HQ. The Sex Myth debuted at Northeastern University in the summer of 2016, and did a sold-out run at HERE Arts Center New York City in August 2017.
This Play is Complete Changing Sexual Stigma
Bustle
The Sex Myth and Other Paradoxes
Huffington Post
Cutlass Press
2017-2018
While Marketing & Events Director at Papercuts J.P., I co-launched the store’s publishing operation, Cutlass Press. I acquired and edited three books — a memoir, a collection of short stories, and a novel. I also managed the editorial process of The Papercuts Anthology, an anthology of works by the authors who visited our bookstore in its first year. For all of these books I managed publicity and marketing efforts, soliciting praise, reviews, and coverage.
It takes a village to publish a book. Just ask JP bookstore Papercuts
Boston Globe
Inkshares Publishes First Indie Bookstore Title
Publishers Weekly
Rick Berlin’s memoir is a first, on multiple levels
Boston Globe
Papercuts J.P. Events
2015-2018
Independent Bookstore Papercuts J.P. started in a small location—only 400 square feet. My events series started small, with dynamic author-discussions on-site. As the series gained traction, we had larger events off-site in the community. I planned, publicized, and executed countless events, for authors such as Lindy West (pictured here with 450 attendees), Chris Hedges, Min Jin Lee, and more. I also edited and produced the accompanying Papercuts Podcast.