Books & Beyond and Sundance Resort Team to Create Reading Series

Continuing the growing trend of effective collaboration among independent businesses, Books & Beyond's Karen Dallett teamed up with Utah's Sundance Resort to present the Fireside Reading Series. In spring 2002, Dallett, whose store is located in Heber City, Utah, and Sundance launched a series of author readings in the Tree Room library of the resort, located at the base of 12,000-foot Mount Timpanogos. Recognizing the success of that series, the executive board of the resort recently approached Dallett with the idea of hosting a biography series at Sundance, which is owned by Robert Redford, but is a separate entity from the Sundance Film Institute.

The Fireside Reading Series, which has featured a number of authors including Stephanie Rosenfeld, Will Bagley, and Mark Spragg, became very popular, drawing its audience from resort-goers and from the nearby Park City and Provo/Orem area. The success of the readings prompted the Sundance executive board to not only invite Dallett to host a biography series, it also offered to underwrite everything -- authors' airfare, accommodations, and meals. "We can say to any publisher that we're doing an independent literary series at Sundance, in this beautiful wilderness area, and [the publishers] don't have to pay for anything, and we can get some very interesting authors," Dallett told BTW.

The biography series will begin in late July and will run biweekly until the week before Thanksgiving. Dallett is tentatively calling the series the Biographers Brunch. The food will be prepared by the award-winning Tree Room restaurant at the resort, and the books will be sold by Books & Beyond. The reading, brunch, and book will be offered as a package that can be pre-purchased or bought at the reading. The cost has yet to be determined. Sundance will also carry the books from the entire biography series in their general store and sell them for Books & Beyond.

Authors currently slated to read are Doris Roberts, Anne Edwards, Erik Larson, Christian Appy, and Bob Schieffer.

"We're anticipating a sellout for the biography series," said Dallett. "Why wouldn't we? It's beautiful here, and, with the authors we have, I think we'll do exceedingly well. And it's the cat's meow for authors as well." --Karen Schechner