Food unites readers, writers

Visiting with a fascinating author over fine food in pleasant surroundings sounds like a win-win-win situation, which is one more "win" than most of us get even on our best days. Chalk it up to another way in which creative thinking driven by a struggling economy results in a really good idea.

Restaurants and booksellers are finding themselves likely partners for author events that succeed in providing a writer with a friendly audience, a bookstore with sales and a bistro with diners.

"Partly, it's just another way to get books to where the people are," said David Unowsky, events manager for Magers & Quinn Booksellers in Minneapolis, which has partnered with Beaujo's Wine Bar in Edina for two events, the most recent being an evening with local author Julie Kramer talking about her latest mystery, "Missing Mark."

To some extent, he said, "the model where the author comes to the bookstore, talks for 20 minutes and signs books is relatively new," noting how the 1950s beat writers read their works in coffeeshops, or how the author Samuel Johnson's Literary Club met weekly at the Turk's Head Tavern in London in the late 1700s.

Granted, Johnson's posse was a men's club, whereas women are the more likely demographic these days. A previous sold-out Beaujo's event featured Heather McElhatton, author of "Jennifer Johnson Is Sick of Being Single." The event cost fluctuates depending on the price of the book, but in Kramer's case, $50 bought patrons an autographed book, dinner, wine and the opportunity to talk with an author in an intimate setting. Advance reservations are limited to 20.

In Stillwater, a similar partnership has been in place for several years between Valley Booksellers and the Dock Cafe. Their monthly Totally Criminal Cocktail Hour lets whodunit fans mingle over cocktails and appetizers with their favorite writers, and get their books signed.

So far, "it's just about crime," said Valley Booksellers owner Molly Rice. Authors talk about how they develop plots or what goes into creating a memorable character -- the inside dirt, if you will.

Rice said that such evenings work with the right combination of people and place. An event at another restaurant proved problematic when the acoustics kept people from being able to hear one another -- fine perhaps for jovial dining, but not for thoughtful discussion.

The Totally Criminal Cocktail Hour, which costs $10, requires advance reservations. The next is Oct. 7 and features William Kent Krueger and his new book, "Heaven's Keep." For more information on attending, go to site.booksite.com/6051/.

A slightly different marketing twist was presented this summer when the Glensheen Mansion in Duluth hosted the release of the fourth printing of "Will to Murder," written by John DeSanto, who was the prosecutor in 1977 when Elisabeth Congdon and her nurse, Velma Pietila, were killed at the mansion. The $20 event included a discussion with the author, book signing, and a tour of the mansion with DeSanto offering his insights.

From the author's perspective, such beyond-retail events are more relaxed.

"You get a group of people, and they're there because they want to be there, as opposed to bookstores where maybe they're interested in your book and maybe they're not," Kramer said. "I have no problem addressing people -- if they're in a bookstore, they're fair game -- but it's so much nicer as an author to walk into a room where you know people want to hear about your book. It doesn't get much better than that."

Magers & Quinn also has two partnerships with venues that are less formal and less food-oriented, but put fans and authors together in an intimate atmosphere. (For details, go to www.magersandquinn.com.) The Big Bang Book Club is a monthly gathering to discuss serious books about science, and meets at Grumpy's bar in Minneapolis. Books & Bars is a book club for all that meets at the Bryant-Lake Bowl in Minneapolis.

"We're trying to build some community," Unowsky said of the restaurant events. "And, they're all buying the book."