Ensconced in YA turns ONE! Day 2: Left Bank Books Appreciation Post and Blogoversary Giveaway!

I would be remiss if I didn't include how awesome local bookstores are and how vital they are to bringing awesome authors into town for events. That's why a love letter to Left Bank Books, our local bookstore here in Saint Louis, gets a whole post during my anniversary week!

I am so excited to have Antony John, one of the great YA authors in St. Louis, present his thoughts on our beloved local bookstore, Left Bank Books. As you all know, he wrote the wonderful Five Flavors of Dumb and Elemental, the first book in a dystopian paranormal trilogy.

Since this is the first Left Bank Books[http://www.left-bank.com/]-sponsored giveaway on Christina's much-lauded blog, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to explain exactly how the giveaway came to be (it's not as random as it seems), and why it's proof that St. Louis is an awesome city.

Here are some things people told me about St. Louis when I moved here in 2008:

1. It's a city that feels a lot like a town. (Which, I think, means that it has the amenities of a city without the overcrowding. Those amenities include some astounding indie bookstores.)

2. It's a city that loves books. (Very true, as it turns out. St. Louis has the second-ranked library system in the US. Also, the intersection beside Left Bank Books has been designated "writers corner," [http://www.missourireview.com/tmr-blog/2011/10/word-missouri-st-louiss-literary-heritage-comes-to-life-in-the-central-west-end/] with bronze busts of neighborhood authors and poets: Tennessee Williams; T. S. Eliot; Kate Chopin; and soon, William Burroughs.)

3. Where the rest of the world operates on the principle of six degrees of separation, St. Louis has streamlined things to two degrees of separation. (It's true! Going to events here is kind of strange, because within five minutes everyone has worked out that they all have the same friends. I don't understand how this happens, although it definitely saves us from awkward small talk.)

When it comes to bookstores, though, two degrees of separation becomes one degree. If you are an author in St. Louis, booksellers and librarians will TRACK YOU DOWN. Admittedly, it wasn't a particularly challenging task for the folks at Left Bank Books -- I can see the store from my house -- but as soon as I arrived in town they offered to hold a launch event for my first book, helped to set up school visits, and gave my books such prominent window placement that I felt like I was someone famous, like Jonathan Franzen (coincidentally, another St. Louis-raised author). Since then, they've organized YA panels for me, given me free all-weekend tickets to Comic Con, and helped me meet countless other authors.

Left Bank Books (and the other local indies) aren't doing it for financial gain, either, let me tell you. The profit they make from book sales at these events probably wouldn't buy a six-pack of Bud (or Schlafly [http://schlafly.com/]). It's all about their role as promoters of literature and reading in St. Louis -- a job they take VERY seriously. They even team up with local bloggers like Christina, because awesomeness should be shared among all bookish folks, you know?

Here's a final St. Louis tidbit: The city's indie bookstores were the first to band together to promote each other. Left Bank Books, Main Street Books, and Subterranean Books are just three of the six members of the St. Louis Independent Bookstore Alliance [http://stlindiebook.com/]. The Alliance has become a model for other cities, and is cooperative bookselling at its finest.

So if you're ever in St. Louis, please stop by Left Bank Books and say hi to Spike the cat.

To help us celebrate local bookstores, Left Bank books has generously donated a signed copy of Elemental by Antony John (US only).

Goodreads Book Description:
Sixteen-year-old Thomas has always been an outsider. The first child born without the power of an Element—earth, water, wind or fire—he has little to offer his tiny, remote Outer Banks colony. Or so the Guardians would have him believe.

In the wake of an unforeseen storm, desperate pirates kidnap the Guardians, intent on claiming the island as their own. Caught between the plague-ridden mainland and the advancing pirates, Thomas and his friends fight for survival in the battered remains of a mysterious abandoned settlement. But the secrets they unearth will turn Thomas’ world upside-down, and bring to light not only a treacherous past but also a future more dangerous than he can possibly imagine.

Today's question/comment: Please talk about your local bookstores. How have they affected you?

Enter to win some terrific prizes, including a signed hardback copy of Elemental (US only)!!! There are other prizes that are International :-)

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