Today is the last day of programming here before tomorrow's annual Halloween announcement of the Summer Scares Spokesperson. That means it is the perfect day to talk about what happens from November 1-September 30.
The short answer is....still Horror. But I know that it not intuitive to everyone. To help I invited Lila Denning, acquisitions librarian, book display guru, horror reviewer, and much more to tell all of you how to promote Horror all year long.
Take it away Lila. And after reading this, visit her blog-- Passively Recommending Books for book display advice all year long. [Spoiler alert, Horror shows up all the time.]
As October ends, Halloween Librarians may grow sad as the time to have horror shine comes to an end. The rest of our collections can come out of hiding in November as the calendar moves towards the winter holidays. That sort of thinking is increasingly obsolete as horror’s profile in publishing continues to rise. Libraries need to change the marketing of their collections to demonstrate an understanding of horror readers, from the most intense to casual fans. If you are skeptical, ask yourself when is crime fiction or science fiction season? Horror fans deserve the same year round attention that other readers receive.
Passive readers advisory tools such as book displays and book lists both help your patrons find their next great read while allowing your library to bring backlist titles to your patron’s attention. View them as a marketing tool to show off the depth and breadth of your library’s collection. That includes horror outside of October (as well as romance outside of February but that’s for another blog.)
Winter and holiday horror is released every year. Recent titles include the collections Christmas and Other Horrors: A winter solstice anthology (2023) and The Darkest Night: A Terrifying Anthology of Winter Horror Stories (2024) as well as novels like Candy Cain Kills (2023), Dead of Winter (2023), Where the Dead Wait (2023), and the forthcoming Our Winter Monster (2025). A book display or list with winter themed crime fiction and horror would give your patrons plenty of options. There are horror titles that you can match up with almost any holiday or season. When you set up displays or lists, include horror. There are plenty of terrifying thrillers and mysteries that are released throughout the year. People love to read frighting and suspenseful fiction all year. Spring break and summer are great times to promote horror. As someone who lives 15 minutes from the beach, I can promise you that “beach read” doesn’t mean light and humorous to everyone.
The Bram Stoker Awards occur every year in summer. The long list as well as the previous year’s nominated titles make for a great midsummer book display or list. Don’t forget Summer Scares, a joint effort between iRead, NoveList, Book Riot, and the Horror Writers of America, designed to promote horror reading in the summer. There are middle grade, young adult, and adult titles chosen every year. The current and past selections, as well as other titles from the authors who have been chosen also make for a great summertime display.
Pick a trope or theme and add books from across your collection. Witches, shifters, haunted houses, grief, unexplained death, and dysfunctional families can be found in many fiction and non-fiction titles. Someone who loves a theme in one genre already has an entryway into finding a horror novel they will love. These kinds of displays and lists can be put up year-round. Don’t worry about mixing up genres in a list or book display. If you check the bibliographic record for crime fiction or horror, you will see multiple genres listed. Even publishers will list several genres on their own sites, promoting individual titles.
Horror is being blended with other kinds of fiction regularly now. Those readers you may have decided don’t like horror are watching horror movies and streaming series. Harness a popular horror story in another medium to promote your horror backlist. Horror themed movies and streaming shows are released all year. Find read alikes in your collection and allow things that are already on your patrons’ mind to help move your backlist titles. Think broadly when you consider how similar a title is to a given movie or show; don’t get trapped into thinking readalikes need to be a precise match.
Enjoy mashing up genres in your book displays and lists! I hope I have shown you that you can add horror to your passive readers advisory efforts all year. Many of your patrons seek out scares and thrills as part of their regular reading. While October is peak time for scary tales, let your spooky collection shine every month.
No comments:
Post a Comment