How To

How To Start a Reading Series

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Article: So you want to start a reading series? Here are 12 things to consider – on the League of Canadian Poets Web site, in 2004 (and several years following).

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1700 words.

So you want to start a reading series?

There are a number of thing to know about starting a reading series, and here are some general things to consider:

  1. Why do you want to start a reading series? You should take some time and create a list of reasons why. These reasons can form the basis for an Artistic Mandate – a requirement when requesting grant money.
  2. What are the parameters for the series?
  • Will it have featured performers or only an open stage?
  • If it has featured performers, there are a number of things to consider: How many features and how long do they read? (e.g. grabbapoem! has 1 featured performer reading for 40 minutes and an extended open stage, Syntactic Sunday and Strange Tongues have 2 features reading for 15-20 minutes, and an extended open stage, most other series have 3 features reading for 15-20 minutes, and a good open stage). Most Open Stages have between 10 and 15 spots, readers reading for between 3 and 5 minutes. Some series do not have open stages.
  • Will the series only have fiction or poetry, or a mix?
  • Will the series be a weekly series, every other week, or once a month. Will it run in the summer? Will it run in the dead times (December 15 – January 5, August).
  • You need a title for the reading series. Just a suggestion: if your series is a poetry-only series, the title of the series should indicate it (e.g. The Art Bar Poetry Series). If it is a fiction only series, or a mix of poetry and fiction, the title could use “Reading” (e.g. The I.V. Lounge Reading Series, The Harbourfront Reading Series, The Idler Pub Reading Series). There are exceptions to this (Parallel Chaos Series, Strange Tongues, Lexiconjury, grabbapoem!). Please note that it is sometimes handy to have the name of the series connected with the pub/place it is held. This works well for the I.V. Lounge, and Harbourfront. If the venue ceases to exist, as in the case of the Idler Pub, you are in a bit of a predicament. If the venue becomes a problem, you may have to move the series, and change its name.
  • You need a venue for the Series. The Art Bar has moved 5 times in its 12 year history, usually because the series outgrew the venue. Things to look for: location (is it off the beaten track, or in the heart of the city), size of stage/reading area, number of seats, smoking/non-smoking, wheelchair access, sound system, whether the venue requires payment for the use of its space, food that is served at the venue (is food served at the venue, what kind, is it any good, is it well-priced?), do the kind of readers you plan on booking for the series fit with the venue and location of the series? You may also want to run a series at a high school or university or college, or a public library – these often have good spaces for having readings.
  • Start and end times. Most series start either at 7:30 p.m. or 8:00 p.m., and end between 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
  • You should be aware of all other reading series in the city, and which nights they run and how often, where they are situated, what type of readers they have. You should get to know the organizers of these series. You shouldn’t run head to head with another established series if you are offering the same kind of readings.
  • Payment to readers. Do you want to pay readers, and if so, how much, and how will you generate funds to do this? Some series require the purchase of tickets to attend, others have people at the door collecting “cover”, usually $2 or $3, and this money is split at the end of the night between the features (a payment that could be anywhere from 20 to 40 dollars, depending on the turnout). Other series pass a hat for voluntary donations. One can also go through the grant process, by filling in applications for grants. Ones to consider: Federal (Canada Council), Provincial, Municipal, or Organization Grants (League of Canadian Poets has a Canada Poetry Tours funding, and Readers in Public Places).
  1. Booking readers for the series. I send out an email that has the following: a) invites poet to read at the series, b) a proposed date for the reader, c) how much we will pay the readers, d) how long you want the reader to read (includes introductions and asides) e) asks reader to show up 15 minutes early and check in with the host, f) asks for proper contact info (address, phone, cell, other email addresses that may be preferable, g) ask reader to stay for the other features and the open stage, out of respect to the other features and the readers in the open stage, h) talks about the venue, the location, the other readers on the bill, what the stage is like, the number of people in the typical audience, i) mentions unusual things with the series, for example: there is a Q&A session after the reading, or, we expect them to provide 50 copies of a poem that we would distribute to interested audience members.
  2. Promoting the Series. One should attend the other series in the city and hand out bookmarks, flyers promoting your series. There are a number of newspapers that have free listings, and one should be organized far enough ahead so one can give them a list of who is reading by their deadline (some places, like Toronto Life have a 3 month lead time!). You can build an email list, by getting people to leave names and email addresses, put this into a distribution list, and send out a BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) out listing next month’s reading.
  3. Web Site. Maintain a website, and promote this. Make sure there is content on the site, and that it is updated regularly.
  4. Return readers. How often do you have a feature back? I have seen two series (I.V. Lounge & Poetica) have the same person feature three times in one year. There are two monthly series (grabbapoem! and Syntactic Sunday) that have people back no sooner than 2 years. The Art Bar Poetry Series has a 15 month policy (unless the poet has a new book-length collection coming out from a major publisher, in which case it is 12 months). In some cases, features become aware of your policy, and they expect a reading every year at the same time – but they should be made aware that featuring at the series is a privilege, not a right. If someone has read for 3 consecutive years, I let them know that we will be giving them a skip the following year.
  5. Requests for Readings. Most reading series allow for people to request readings, others are like some journals that do not take unsolicited material. If you are open to people requesting features, I highly recommend that you see the performer on stage at another series, performing for at least 15 minutes. If this is not possible, and the person does not have a book-length collection from a major publisher, you can ask other people that run series, and get their opinion, and people that you trust in their judgement, and ask them about the performer. People should understand, that a request to read does not automatically mean that they will get a feature. Don’t feel sorry for someone who has applied to read that you don’t think should read – if they are true artists and continue to work on their pieces they will feature down the road. I strongly recommend against a closed door policy. Just because someone’s material is poor, the delivery is not good, and some of their material is full of hate, saying nothing new about the latest failed relationship, I have seen poets like this change in a period of a year or two into very good poets. They had to get through this material first before getting onto the good stuff.
  6. Some final points. Don’t add someone to a full night – you will get last minute requests, even though your series is fully-booked for 3-4 months, and you will feel compelled to help them out – don’t – you have to be able to say no, or your series will be affected by this. You may want to work with another person or two to help with the series – this is helpful when requesting funding from the Canada Council. You have to have an artistic head and administrative head, a mandate, a plan for the series, a brief history, and so on, and this is easier to do when you are not the only one running the series. Do not give out home phone numbers or email addresses – if someone requests this, retrieve the requestor’s info, and forward this to the person they wish to contact, and they can decide if they want to contact the person. You may want an exit strategy – if this is a series you think should continue, but you no longer want to be a part of it, you should have others that can take it over.