These are just some of the topics you can expect to see with Book Scene: San Diego.
The past of bookselling: Wahrenbrock’s. The store is now closed but it was one of the largest and oldest bookstores in San Diego. Interview grandson to Vernon Wahrenbrock of the Ye Olde Book Shoppe (eventually Wahrenbrock’s Book House after the two stores merged) on Broadway downtown. Wahrenbrock’s was eventually run by Chuck Valverde, a bookman whose impact on local collectors and sellers continues to this day. Interview a Valverde family member and the local collector and head of the Valverde Society (a local informal gathering of book collectors who named themselves in his honor).
The past of bookselling: Adams Avenue Book Row. Back in the 80s and 90s, the center of the used bookselling trade in San Diego was Adams Avenue in Normal Heights, where as many as a dozen bookstores plied their wares. Today only one, Adams Avenue Books, remains. Interview booksellers from closed stores and the current owner of Adams Avenue Books.
The present of bookselling: Interviews with used bookstore owners and independent bookstore owners/managers.
The future of bookselling: Are E-books killing off the printed book? Amazon and online sales killing the brick and mortar store? Amazon opening its own store in Seattle and next in San Diego? Fewer publishers, more self publishing, and fewer readers? What is the future for the book? We’ll interview experts in the field to see what they think.
Music and the Book: San Diego is home to one of only 16 nonprofit membership libraries in the US, The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. I’ll find out about their holdings and what makes them tick.
Special Collections: Local university libraries contain rare book rooms where the Special Collections librarian brings in rare and old books and manuscript collections. I’ll interview the librarians at UCSD, SDSU, and USD to find out what special items San Diego has in their university libraries that draw researchers from across the country to our city.
Public Libraries: interview local librarians at our public library system on the challenges facing modern libraries. We’ll tour the new Downtown library, including its rare book room, and find out about some of the small local branches. Which is the smallest, the busiest, etc.? What programs do the public libraries offer?
Borders and Books: San Diego is closely connected to our neighbor to the South so how does that impact book culture in America’s Finest City?
Literacy Nonprofits including Words Alive and others
Genealogy libraries: the Genealogy collection at Downtown Public Library and the Family History Center and the Carlsbad Library resources
Museum reference libraries: Museum of Art, Air and Space Museum, SD History Center, Natural History, and Museum of Photographic Arts, etc.
Annual free Twainfest literary festival in Old Town and their book booth giveaway of free books to all participants through donations
Write Out Loud’s story box theatre project and their short story performances
One Book, One San Diego and The Big Read 2018
Book shopping on a budget: Goodwill Bookstores are popping up around the county. We’ll look at the thrift store trade and the local Friends of the Library booksales (including the Book Cellar from the Rancho Santa Fe Library Guild and the Alpine Friends of the Library store).
Fine Art Books and Letterpress printing in San Diego
Book School: what does it take to become a librarian. We talk to librarians, interview the local programs, and also talk about other types of book school, including the California Rare Book School, and interview locals who have attended.
Book Repair experts on rebinding and building book boxes for special books
Miniature Book Society
Book Clubs: San Diego has an active book club community. I’ll interview people from major book clubs locally.
Fans and Conventions: ConDor Con: sci fi convention with books? What niche events are happening in San Diego. Left Coast Crime will be in San Diego 2020.
Antiques Road Show in San Diego: I’ll get a sneak peek behind the scenes at their book appraisal area during the show’s local taping in 2018
Comic-Con: It’s not just comic books and films. Authors come to San Diego for Comic-Con and I’ll have a behind the scenes view of that process and what it’s like to be an author at a signing at such a venue.
Comics and Manga: I’ll interview local comic people, including the owner of Comickaze in Liberty Station and San Diego Comic Art gallery. IDW Publishing.
Publishing in San Diego: San Diego used to have one of the big names in publishing in town: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. We’ll take a look at that past and what smaller publishers work out of America’s Finest City today.
Local Authors Exhibit annually at the San Diego Public Library (Jan 26 2018)
Local author groups: San Diego Writers, Ink; Authorpreneurs; SD Writers and Editors Guild; PEN; local chapter of the Society for Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators; SD Memoir Association; Partners in Crime (local chapter of Sisters in Crime); Writers Coffeehouse; local chapter of Horror Writers Association; local chapter of Romance Writers of America
Book Collector profiles: find out about local collectors and the types of books they specialize in.
Important local authors in SD history: Raymond Chandler, Scott O’Dell, Brian Selznick, Kathleen Krull (Trixie Belden), Raymond Feist, David Brin, etc.
Did you know Jules Verne wrote a book with San Diego connections and he wrote to a local dentist’s wife to get his San Diego description correct? Did you know that the author who invented Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys came to the 1915 Exposition and stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado? I’ll profile other authors from history that have unexpected San Diego connections.
Book Scene: Road Trip Edition: travel to bookstores out of town; travel to the Los Angeles Book Fair: interview with members of the Zamorano Book Club and the Book Club of California (two bibliophile societies founded in 1928); travel to the International Printing Museum in Culver City; travel to the Roxburghe Club of San Francisco
Book Scene: Shorts: A series of short book collecting tips from experts. Learn the ins and outs of identification, value, condition, terminology, and book care.