I want to get the Billtown Blue Lit ball rolling. This campaign is meant to raise the funds to start the primary project of Billtown Blue Lit, the readers series.
We want writers of literary fiction to come to Williamsport, PA to read us their work. This campaign will fund the stipends, travel, and food for the readers, the rewards for our donors, our staff & intern salaries, and our primary advertising campaigns
with public radio and the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.
While this campaign is running, I will be working primarily to form a board, on foraging partnerships with the local library and book store to raise awareness of our first readers' books.
Here are 12 objectives of the project. Some of these are underway or in the research phase, but all of them need your help to come to fruition.
1. Bringing the writers to town will provide an opportunity for Blue Lit to contract with local hotels/B&Bs to board the writers. Blue Lit will ONLY feed the authors at local, independently owned eateries.
2. There will be an opportunity for folks in the community to hear these authors read their work, get exposed to new authors, and to meet them and ask questions at the reception and Q&A that will follow each event.
3. Blue Lit will work with
The Pajama Factory (local artists' haven) to start a writer-in-residence program which will provide an opportunity for a writer to work on her stuff in a place that's designated to artists.
4. Blue Lit will host a writer's workshop (like the one Tin House does, that's what I've linked), and provide more culture to the community and commerce to the independently owned businesses
in the town.
5. Blue Lit will consistently fundraise to provide a scholarship fund for deserving, gifted writers of single mothers.
6. Bule Lit will employ local college students as marketing interns, and eventually as office personnel.
7. Blue Lit will work with
Otto (independent book seller) to feature the books by the visiting readers, and with the
community library to feature the same books.
8. Advertising is key. Blue Lit will run print and radio campaigins for each reading the 30 days prior.
9. Blue Lit will provide a stipend that's on the high end for visiting writers ($1,000), and we will allow the visitng author to sell her books at the event.
10. Blue Lit will work to give writers additional venues by launching an online literary journal, and contests that award cash prizes to new writers. (a la
Glimmer Train)
11. Blue Lit will contract with local freelancers with whom I already have a working relationship to put together the marketing materials (brochure, flyers, website, etc). These will be printed at the local
print shoppe.
12. Blue Lit will do a book group focusing on the most recent work of the visitng writer. This will generate hype, and will also raise funds.
