Linda-Marie Barrett has been a fixture on the Southern bookselling scene for more than 35 years. A resident of Asheville, N.C., Barrett worked at Malaprop's Bookstore from 1988 to 2017, rising up through the ranks to become general manager. In 2014, she began working with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance as the bookseller liaison, was promoted to assistant executive director in 2017, and named executive director in 2020. In Creating a Salon: The Magic of Conversations that Matter (Agate Publishing, Sept. 10), Barrett instructs readers on how they can successfully host salons, using as an example The Black Swan Salon, a group of women who have gathered regularly since 2017 for conversations facilitated by Barrett.
Why are salons trending?
I think people are really craving being together in a more intentional way, and having more than just conversations about their day but, rather, intentional discussions, such as about literature, although that's not what my salon focuses on. Most of the themes in my salon start with books, but I do think people simply want to be together in thoughtful ways where they can talk about things on a deeper level.
What’s the difference between a salon and a literary salon?
A literary salon would focus more on works of literature and go deeply into them, like a deep dive. Mine's more of a salon in the tradition of Gertrude Stein, where people would talk about philosophy, science, music, issues of the day. That's what we do in my salon. I often do use books as resources and to give me ideas about what to talk about, but we don't dissect the book as a piece of literature. It's more of an inspiration and reference.
How can salons benefit the book business?
Books can easily be the center of a salon, and when I spoke on the panel “Beyond the Book Club” at New Voices, New Rooms in Atlanta, booksellers were excited about the idea of creating a salon that is more like an elevated book club. You could choose to do something like focus on books made into movies, or cookbooks. I loved one idea that I heard at NVNR—the group discussed a book about absinthe and then had a tasting. You can do anything that's book-related and make it interesting and personal. The literary salon is already a growing movement in the book industry: booksellers want to offer customers a richer experience, because there's so much competition for events these days. You could focus on authors in your salon, and have authors engage in conversation instead of making a straight presentation to a passive audience. I think customers respond to a fresh approach, and authors would appreciate a deep conversation format as well.
How can booksellers organize a salon series?
You need to think big picture—what your purpose or goal for the salon is—and make that clear to your staff. Think about the structure, the format, timing, if it's going to have a certain focus or theme. Think about how to monetize it, how to ticket and bundle it, to make it work. I think a ticketed approach to special events is always a good idea. M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, S.C., has several salon-like experiences—“Wine and Books” or “Lunch and Lit”—that have been successful. I would then reach out to the leaders of your store book clubs and tell them what you’re thinking of doing and get their support. Book groups are your built-in audience; they’re used to moderated discussions and book-centered experiences. And look around for partners in your community who might want to do something with you, like bars or movie theaters or even art museums. If you're doing it with authors, what are your hopes for them? Because they want to sell books. The more preparation you have going into it, the better.
