For Publishers

HIGHLIGHTS

• Gibson’s is the oldest continuously operated independent bookstore in New Hampshire, founded in 1898.
• We’re located just over an hour from Boston and Portsmouth; close enough to be convenient for authors but distinct enough to draw from a separate book buying market.
• Gibson’s is well connected to the local community through numerous partnered events, including NH Public Radio, Stonyfield Farm, Red River Theatres, New Hampshire Writers’ Project.
• Our multifaceted events marketing includes print, broadcast, social media and online outreach.

• Gibson’s has held over 286 events after hiring an Events Coordinator in June 2009
• We are able to scale to very large in-store events; examples include:
  • 300 for Jan Brett with over 300 books sold
  • 150 for Bill McKibben with 70 books sold
  • 170 for Howard Dean with 75 books sold
  • 150 for George McGovern with 100 books sold
  • 125 for Mike Lupica with 100 books sold

• We also offer larger off-site events; examples include:
  • 900+ for Jodi Picoult at Capitol Center for the Arts
  • 900 for Dan Brown at Capitol Center for the Arts
  • 100+ for Lynne Olson at NH Historical Society Library
  • 165 for Sarah Vowell at Red River Theatres
  • “Writers In the Spotlight” author series at Capitol Center for the Arts features $6 tickets to cover facility use and joint statewide advertising effort leveraging CCA’s distribution list of 80 media outlets statewide.

• With 4,000 square feet, Gibson’s has room to carry back list and we actively hand sell those titles as well as new books for events. We report sales to the New York Times and BookScan.
• We have established numerous community partnerships
  • Literary organizations: NH Writers’ Project, Concord Reads (one book-one community program), Concord Literary Festival, Poetry Society of NH
  • Non-profits: NH Charitable Foundation, The Women’s Fund, the SPCA, NH Humanities Council, NH Businesses for Social Responsibility, NH Audubon, The Nature Conservancy, NH Peace Action, NH Capitol Region Habitat for Humanity,
  • Schools and libraries: New England Council of Teachers of English, NH Library Association, Concord Public Library, New England College, St. Paul’s School, several local public and private schools.
  • Other organizations:  Stonyfield Farm, Red River Theatres, Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Concord, NH Historical Society

• We have an active store book club and we serve dozens more in our area. We’ve hosted a very successful “Book Club Night,” with sales reps recommending titles.

• Concord is the state capitol and its central location in New Hampshire serves as a regular stop for tourists heading north to the Lakes Region and White Mountains or west to Dartmouth and Vermont.
• We regularly draw people from a wide area, north to Plymouth, west to Hanover (Dartmouth), south to Manchester and Nashua.
• Gibson’s is 30 minutes from Manchester Boston Regional Airport.
• We’re easily accessible, just off I-93, on the Concord Coach line (express coach from Logan airport and Boston’s South Station, w/wi-fi, online ticketing) & with an adjacent parking garage.
• Gibson’s is walking distance from hotels and restaurants in downtown Concord, less than a city block from partner venues.

• Gibson’s runs a weekly events ad in the Sunday Concord Monitor and features events on NH Public Radio through underwriter spots.
• We provide events authors diverse online advertising:
  • E-mail newsletter to over 1,500 subscribers
  • Facebook page with over 700 fans
  • Twitter feed with over 500 followers
  • Store Web site as well as advertising on partner sites resulting in hundreds of page views for each event, including:
    • NH Center for the Book, Library Thing, NH 365 (which goes out to 10 media sites in southern NH), visitnh.gov (website and print brochure in hotels and visitor centers), Poets & Writers calendar, Yankee Magazine calendar, WMUR Community Calendar, Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce Calendar
• We’ve established a rapport with arts reporters at two daily newspapers (The Concord Monitor and New Hampshire Union Leader) and two weekly arts/culture papers (The Hippo and The Insider), as well as two NH Public Radio shows. We advocate for author interviews and encourage reviews of event books, and build good will promoting these pieces on social media.
• Gibson’s creates a unique poster for each event, shared with a network of librarians, teachers, book clubs, and community organizations in order to build buzz for each event.
• Our “Coming Events” shelving area in front of the store features each book and poster.
• Gibson’s signed books section features recent event books; post-event photos go up on Facebook with a reminder that signed copies are available in store.

• In store, we can seat 70+, and can hold 170-180 with standing room. We have a sound system w/microphone for large events.
• Capitol Center for the Arts (CCA), is the largest theatre in NH, with two stages, seating from 250 to 1,300. THey have 40,000 e-news subscribers and 50,000 households on mailing list, plus over 2,000 Facebook fans.
• Red River Theatres, Concord’s independent movie theater, is next to the store and has seating for 70 in the screening room, featuring state of the art multi-media equipment, or 165 in the main theatre.
• For all off-site events, tickets are available online, by phone, or in person at Gibson’s or our partners.
• We can accommodate author requests to hold a reception to meet fans or a traditional signing table or both, in-store or at off-site venues.