BookCourt at 163 Court Street in Cobble Hill closes its doors tomorrow after 35 years in business. By all indications, this is an instance of the owners stepping away while the business is thriving and retiring after a successful run that transformed a neighborhood. With a great collection of contemporary and classic fiction, children’s books, non-fiction in a variety of disciplines (and store bestseller’s for 30% off), the store will be missed. A bright and airy space larger than most shops, it was also one of the best places in New York City to host a book launch. I was glad to help organize two launches for Granta at the store in 2014 and 2015 as the NYC-based publicist and events coordinator for the magazine.
Granta event April 2015 at BookCourt. l-r: Eric Ozawa, Yuka Igarashi, Rachael Allen.
In April 2014, Granta 127: Japan was published, edited by Yuka Igarashi and she was joined by poetry editor Rachael Allen to host contributors Tao Lin, Kimiko Hahn, and translators David G. Boyd and Brian Bergstrom. A year later, in September 2015, BookCourt hosted Granta again, with publisher and editor Sigrid Rausing introducing readings from recent contributors Jesse Ball, Tracy O’Neill, Greg Jackson, A.M. Homes, and Peter Gizzi.
Tao Lin at Granta 127 launch (Bookcourt, April 2015) from Vesto PR on Vimeo.
Granta event September 2015 at BookCourt. l-r: Greg Jackson, Peter Gizzi, Jesse Ball, A.M. Homes, Sigrid Rausing, and Tracy O’Neill. (Photo by Isabel Brito-Farré.)