Danielle Spence
Editor-in-Chief
Anderson’s Bookshops and North Central College have collaborated for over five years to host author events at venues located on North Central’s campus.
Students, staff, faculty and the community are invited to hear the authors and/or celebrities speak. During the College’s fall term, authors such as Chris Matthews and Mitch Albom promoted their latest book on campus.
Judy Brodhead, associate professor of English and coordinator of Cultural Events, handles the planning and negotiations of the on-campus author events.
“Anderson’s came to me and asked if we could form a loose partnership between the two institutions,” said Brodhead. “They were very interested in our new venues such as Meiley-Swallow’s thrust theatre and Wentz.”
North Central has multiple theatres on campus. The oldest, and most historical venue is Pfeiffer Hall, which holds 1,000 people. The latest edition on campus, Wentz Concert Hall, holds 600 people.
Deciding on where to hold an author event depends on the availability of a venue. A rehearsal may need to be rescheduled or an author event venue will change locations.
The College takes priority in inviting authors that have written books that students are studying or “if there is a connection to what (the students) are reading and interested in,” said Brodhead.
The on-campus event is part of the author’s book tour. Publishers send authors to bookstores all over the country to encourage book sales. Connecting with the audience creates an emotional connection with the author and their readers.
Anderson’s Bookshops is an independent bookstore that has thrived in the Naperville community since 1875. Next year the staff will celebrate 50 years in the bookselling business.
Six generations of the Anderson family have sold books to Naperville customers. Becky Anderson, one of the clan, shares the love of books with Anderson’s clientele.
“It’s the experience when (the customers) walk into our doors with our bookshop. We have people here that are voracious readers and they know a lot about books,” said Anderson.
The Naperville bookshop holds in-store author events on a daily basis. When the store doesn’t have the capacity to accommodate the amount of people that would like to meet an author, they hold the event at North Central’s venues.
“Once the publisher knows that you can bring an audience in then they want to send you other people,” said Anderson. “It’s the amount of books sold, which increases the likelihood of them sending other people.”
Publishers know that Anderson’s Bookshops is a bookstore that creates a personal connection with their customers by hand- selecting novels that they believe the Naperville community will want to read.
“This is a community place where people can meet and talk about great books and meet some incredible personalities,” said Anderson.
For the upcoming winter season, Anderson’s Bookshops will host Ann Brashares, author of “The Here And Now”; Roland Lazenby, author of Michael Jordan: The Life; and Emily Giffin, author of “The One and Only.”
So what is the secret to hosting beloved authors time and time again?
The relationship between the independent bookstore and its customers that make the publishers want to keep sending their authors.
For a full list of Anderson’s Bookshops upcoming author events visit www.andersonsbookshops.com or cal 630-355-2665.
