Report from the Preview Party

On Sunday evening, Greenlight Bookstore became a little more a part of Fort Greene when Rebecca and I opened wide the blinds at 686 Fulton Street for the first time. "Wow," said our architect, "it's almost like being outside!" We felt like a part of the street life, as passers-by pointed out our brand-new "Coming Soon!" banner and pressed noses against the window to see inside. And we invited a few members of the community – those who have helped us to get this far – into the space for a look around.

Sunday night was our long-awaited Greenlight Bookstore Preview Party, which was conceived as kind of a big "thank you" – to the Fort Greene Association folks who have helped us connect to the neighborhood, the Community Lenders who have helped us to raise start-up capital, the small business professionals who have worked with us for little or no fee, and the book industry professionals who have given us invaluable guidance. Wine and home-made snacks were served, but the real treat for the attendees was meeting fellow Greenlight supporters, and of course imagining the bookstore that is taking shape.

Our great architects, Frederick Tang of deFT Projects and Jarrett Pelletier, brought along some visuals to help with the imagining, including poster-size mechanical drawings and artistic renderings of the construction plans.
(Don't mind the leftover electrical wiring, which is still draped all over the store!) We also had a mock-up of what the bookshelves will look like, and a couple of 3-D posterboard models of the future store. We gave tour after tour of the 2000 square foot space, until our voices were hoarse from describing the fiction wall, the children's section, the "den" reading area, the cash desk, the author events, and everything else we envision.

In the meantime, the many parts of this community effort got to meet each other. For example, below, from left to right: Fred, Jarrett, Toby Cox (owner of Three Lives Bookstore and a Fort Greene resident), Mike Gross of the Fort Greene Association and the Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Initiative, and Greg Callendar of the Pace Small Business Development Corporation (who helped us secure a small business loan and also lives in the neighborhood).



As the evening wore on, we proposed a toast: to the powerful community that is helping to create Greenlight Bookstore, with the hope that we will be able to give back all that they have given to us, and more.

As you can see by our faces in this photo taken by Mike, Rebecca and I were glowing by the end of the night. I love the way the composition of this shot turned out. Inside the window behind us, you can see the wonderful people who are helping to bring the bookstore together; in the reflection, you can see the beautiful Brooklyn neighborhood we're becoming a part of.

The New York Times, and party pics!

The lovely Susan Dominus of the New York Times city section has posted a great article about the FGIBI bookstore party, and my quest, here:

"A Woman Dreams of Opening a Bookstore, and Defying the Trends"

I'll admit it's made me a bit useless at work: look everyone, I'm in the Times! I promise I'll chill out about it in a day or two, but it's not every day this happens to a book nerd...

The picture from the Times is great, since it includes so many of the people who have supported this project: Sharon from the FGIBI is the one I'm hugging, and behind us are Rebecca (of course), Toby from Three Lives, Sean from Parson Weems, Christine and Vinnie from Word, Hillary from the FGIBI, and Stewart from good ol' McNally Jackson.

And there are more pictures of the party now online! Rebecca's friend, the author Jami Attenberg, has posted a whole slew of them here on Flickr. Lots of my favorite people are in those pictures, as well as lots of wonderful local book people I don't know yet -- check it out!

More to come, I'm sure. This week and next week we're doing our best to contact everyone who expressed their support in writing through the survey -- so expect to hear from us soon if you haven't already.

And THANK YOU all so much again!

Just the numbers...

I'm still afterglowing from last night's party. I'll hopefully have pictures and a full recap later this week, but here's the event by the numbers.

312: number of attendees that packed into the BAM Harvey Theater

3: number of award-winning Fort Greene authors in attendance (Jhumpa, Jennifer, and Colson all showed)

2: number of local politicians who shook my hand (Tish James and Velmenette Montgomery, woo hoo!)

2: number of local rock stars in attendance (Johnny Temple of Girls Vs. Boys and Craig Finn of The Hold Steady)

7500: dollars in small business loans offered verbally on the spot

250: amount of a donation check handed to me, no strings attached (from Chris Kerr of Parson Weems: you rock!)

as yet uncounted: number of surveys in the giant box, waiting to be counted and tallied for more offers of help

1: fabulous new business partner revealed: Rebecca Fitting, Random House sales rep! This is the one I've been telling you about -- we've been talking all summer, and we're out, we're ready, we're hitting the ground running. Rebecca will be blogging here herself later this week, so I'll let her tell you her side of the story. But we're so excited to be in it together.

8: number of members of the Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Initiative, who deserve all the credit for the event (Mike, Steve, Jon, Carolyn, Sharon, Tom, Hillary, Susanna, hooray!)

4: number of photographers telling Rebeecca and I and the FGIBI to "look here, just one more" -- could we feel any more like rock stars?

1: New York Times reporter who's writing about the event for the Friday Metro section

0: bites of food consumed by Rebecca and I during the evening (it was like a wedding, too much glad talking to eat)

dozens: number of book people discovered after-partying afterward at Moe's bar in Fort Greene

infinite: measurement of the love, joy, and goodwill from assembled booklovers; also the measure of thanks due to the Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Initiative for pulling this all together; also the measurement of our hopes for the future

Thank you all so much -- we'll keep you posted!

Today's the day!

... and I'm just trying to keep my head from exploding from anxiety, trying to remember everything, and complete and total joy.

Tonight's bookstore kickoff party at the BAM Harvey is going to be so off the hook (if I'm allowed to use that phrase as a card-carrying nerd). Food. Booze. Raw, sexy space. Colson Whitehead. Jennifer Egan. Kate Christensen. (Maybe) Jhumpa Lahiri. Fort Greeners. Book industry bigwigs. Friends. Loved ones. Supporters. Surveys to find out what YOU want from your bookstore.

And mad, mad media coverage. We've got Brooklyn 12, the Daily News, the Observer, New York Press, and yes, the New York Times herself coming to take photos and get the scoop. I am sure that I will look totally goofy; I hope they just listen to my words instead.

AND -- tonight is the night for a big announcement that will push the bookstore forward by a giant leap. I've hinted about it to some of you -- some of you know the secret -- and the rest of you will find out. This something (or someone?) is stone cold kick ass, and you're going to love love love.

Okay, I have to get back to work for a couple more hours before I start getting too excited and using more inappropriately street phrases. Can't wait to see you all tonight!

Tuesday's Bookstore Party: VENUE CHANGE!

Because of the overwhelming Fort Greene community response (i.e., we've had more RSVPs than the venue could handle), we've decided to change the location of Tuesday night's bookstore kickoff party to accomodate more people at the event.

The party will now take place in the lobby of the BAM Harvey Theater at 651 Fulton Street, between Ashland and Rockwell. (It's close to the DeKalb B/D/M/N/Q/R/W stop, or the Nevins Street 2/3/4/5. I recommend Google Maps or Hopstop.com for a map or further directions.)

The good news is, this means you can still RSVP! Just send an email to rsvp_fortgreeneindie@hotmail.com

The date and time of the party stay the same at Tuesday, September 16 from 7-9pm. Colson Whitehead will read one of his latest pieces at the party, and Jennifer Egan and Kate Christensen will be in attendance, as well as movers and shakers from the book industry and the Fort Greene community. And we've got the greenlight to make a really big announcement that brings the store closer to reality than ever!

BAM (the Brooklyn Academy of Music) is a neighborhood and a city institution, and the Harvey lobby is a big beautiful space -- I'm so excited to be there! So adjust your travel accordingly, and feel free to bring friends and loved ones. See you at a fabulous party on Tuesday night!

Catching Up: Read all about it!

It is officially the end of my "fallow time" of rest and reflection, and I'm excited to jump back into the Brooklyn bookstore quest. Despite the break, lots has happened this month -- most importantly, the announcement of the Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Initiative's fabulous party on September 16!

The awesome Fort Greene volunteers and I have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes, and the work goes on: inviting authors, finding donations of food, drink, supplies, etc., and getting the word out. And I've gotten to do a number of cool interviews in the last couple of days with local papers who are understandably interested in this unique project. So I'll let those reporters (and bloggers) tell the story. Here's some of the press we've been getting, with my favorite quote from each piece. (I updated this list on Monday 9/8...)

Bookselling This Week: "Neighborhood Organizes to Help Make Bookstore a Reality"
"The Fort Greene Association is working with Stockton Bagnulo to help make her bookstore a reality. The group has created a flier announcing the Fort Greene Bookstore Initiative as well as a Bookstore Kickoff Party scheduled for September 16."

The Brooklyn Eagle: "Fort Greene Drafts ‘Book Nerd’ To Open Indie Store"
"Jessica Stockton Bagnulo is a woman who knows what she wants.... Now, residents of Fort Greene have essentially drafted her to open a bookstore for them and are throwing their full weight behind her dream."

The Brooklyn Paper: "Granted, she vows to open a bookstore"
"The winner of $15,000 grant to open a bookstore in Fort Greene says she is confident she can break the spine on her shop next year — and is hoping a “Bookstore Kickoff Party” can help her find more investors and get some juicy real estate tips."

ClintonHillBlog: "Fort Greene: Moving Towards a Bookstore"
"I heard about the potential plans to open a bookstore in the ‘hood months ago. Now, a local advocacy group is working with BK Library Power Up winner Jennifer Stockton Bagnulo to make this happen here!"

Gowanus Lounge: "Fort Greene Working to Get an Indie Bookstore"
"It seems like a statement of incredible optimism these days that a neighborhood would be working to get an indie bookstore... yet that’s exactly what Fort Greene is doing."

The New York Observer: "Hello, Brooklyn Literary 100! Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Initiative Announces Launch Party"
"Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo, the events coordinator at the Nolita bookstore McNally Jackson, has been public about her intention to open a new independent bookstore in Brooklyn since at least January, when she won a $15,000 grant for the project from the Brooklyn Public Library. Since then, she seems to have zeroed in on Fort Greene as her neighborhood of choice, and the Fort Greene Association, which administered a survey to 380 locals and found that 74% of them wanted a bookstore in the neighborhood, is trying to help her make it happen."

Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn: "Ft. Greene Wants An Indie Bookstore And They're Doing Something About It"
"It's a movement. Not only do Brooklynites organize to protect and support a beloved literary institution but they also organize to make a new one happen!"

Racked New York: "Fort Greene Needs a Bookstore"
"Fort Greene is so DIY and literary!"

The Real Fort Greene: "Is a bookstore finally on the way?"
"It looks like eager neighborhood residents have recruited a self-described “book nerd” to open up a store. Now all Jessica Stockton Bagnulo needs is a location and capital."

Shelf Awareness: "Notes: Surviving and Thriving in a Difficult Economy"
"The result: with the support of the Initiative, Bagnulo, who is events and publicity coordinator at McNally Jackson Books in New York City and a graphic novel columnist for Shelf Awareness, plans to open a store in Fort Greene."


And there's more to come, from the Daily News, the Observer, and others. If you haven't yet, RSVP by email to get the scoop on the party night, or email me here if you want to know more.

I'll be updating you on what I've been doing to prepare on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Party Time!

I'm still trying to maintain my fallow time / industry-standard hiatus / enforced recharging until the end of August. But I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this unique and exciting joint venture with the Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Initiative! Here's the beautifully designed invitation -- for you!



The Fort Greene community feels so strongly that they need a bookstore in their neighborhood that they are supporting me in my efforts to create one, and throwing a party to rally community support and resources. This level of commitment to a local bookstore before it has even opened is unique, I believe, in the contemporary book industry, and reinforces my love for Brooklyn as a place where community is a powerful force.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions or would like to know more about this project. As September begins, I'll be writing more about the Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Committee, our partnership and planning process, our goals, and the fabulous writers we have lined up for this event (sneak preview: the Fort Greene-based authors of The Intuitionist and The Keep will both be in attendance!) And I'll be keeping you posted on the process of finding a space, securing funding, and all of the ins and outs of opening an independent bookstore in Brooklyn.

For now, I hope you'll RSVP via email for September 16 as early as possible, to show your support for local business and for books. See you there!