Monday, May 16, 2011

A novel approach - pop up bookstore



On the ground floor of a townhouse at 547 Hudson Street, in Manhattan's West Village , there is a book store that only sells one book: Martian Summer: Robot Arms, Cowboy Spacemen, and My 90 Days With the Phoenix Mars Mission.

Imagine, walking into a bookstore and seeing over 3000 copies of one book. You'd either find it really humourous and want to purchase the book or for the more curmudgeon types, be really annoyed. The idea was the brainchild of the 32 year-old first time author Andrew Kessler from Brooklyn, New York who wrote Martian Summer. Looking for an idea that would generate publicity about the book on a small budget, Kessler tapped friends and colleagues until he found a generous landlord who was willing to support the arts. Normally rents in this area go for over $1000 a square foot.

While pop-up stores aren't new, this is a fun spin that's helped raise the author's profile and generate some sales. The store is open for just a month (April 12- May 15) and to date Andrew has sold over 500 copies.

Any fun pop-up store experiences you can share?

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