Wednesday, January 26, 2011

B&N Dumped the BWG

Long before I was a member, the Bethlehem Writers Group was just a writers group. The group was actually started by Barnes and Noble, presumably in an effort to bring in customers. You know the sort of group, the ones advertised in the bookstore's newsletter. The ones that meet for a few months and eventually disband. For one reason or another, this was not our fate.

Over the years the group grew and shrank. Members came and went. I joined.

Eventually we had a strong group of core writers meeting on a regular basis and decided to give ourselves a name and compile a collection of Christmas stories, A Christmas Sampler: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales, which brought more members to the group.

And, through it all, we met at Barnes and Noble. This was a source of some awkwardness when Indie bookstores asked us where we met, but, since our roots were in Barnes and Noble, there wasn't much to be done. So, we continued meeting at B&N, buying coffee and recommending books to each other.

Until yesterday, when B&N dumped us. Without warning. By email. Ouch.

It seems the store where we met is doing away with their meeting space. Effective immediately.

So, the Bethlehem Writers Group is looking for a new home. But we'll keep meeting. And drinking coffee. And recommending books. Just not there.

4 comments:

  1. Good luck, Emily. Certainly a venue is one of the hardest things for writing groups. I've been looking for years for a stable home for my tiny memoir critique group, and end up feeling like a tumbleweed. Keep us posted.

    Jerry
    Memory Writers Network

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  2. Thank you, Jerry. I'm happy to report that we've found a new home at Moravian College. Starting Feb. 1st we'll be meeting in Reeves Library. We have hopes that this will be a good permanent home for us.

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  3. The BWG will live on, despite Barnes&Noble!

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