June 12th at 6:30PM : “Creative Book Launches that Draw an Audience,” with Isidra Mencos

What if you held a book launch and nobody came? It has happened quite often, even to authors who are now household names. Margaret Atwood drily recounts, “I did a signing to which nobody came, except a guy who wanted to buy some Scotch tape and thought I was the help.” Stephen King fondly reminisces, “At my first SALEM’S LOT signing, I had one customer,” a child who asked him where he could find “some Nazi books.”

But a sparsely attended book launch is by no means inevitable. Many authors have mastered the art of drawing a sizable crowd. You can do it, too. In our June 12th meeting, Isidra Mencos will offer you a behind-the-scenes look at how other authors launched their books with creative flair, resulting in notable success. She will present seven detailed case studies, with precise content and marketing data, that each demonstrate the efficacy of a unique approach to launching a book.

Isidra Mencos is the author of Promenade of Desire—A Barcelona Memoir. She holds a PhD in Spanish and Latin American Contemporary Literature from the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught Spanish language, literature, and creative writing. Her essays and articles have been published in Diálogo, WIRED, Chicago Quarterly Review, Front Porch Journal, The Penmen Review, and Stirring Literary Journal, among others. Her essay, “My Books and I,” was listed as Notable in The Best American Essays 2019. Originally from Spain, Isidra lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.