A reading at London’s Southbank Centre, featuring a cast comprising Ruth Wilson, Toby Jones and David Alade, kicked off Max Porter’s author tour for his novel, Shy, published by Faber on 6th April.
He has already taken part in events hosted in various bookshops across the country including Waterstones, Canterbury on 3rd April; Blackwell’s, Oxford on 4th April; and The Portobello Bookshop, Edinburgh on 6th April. He will visit The Book Hive, Norwich at The Octagon Chapel on 13th April. Festivals including Cúirt International Festival of Literature, Bath Festival and Hay Festival will also be featuring events as part of the tour.
Porter will host an evening of poetry, spoken word and music on 29th April, which will be in partnership with the National Literacy Trust. The event will take place at the Exchange in Birmingham, where Porter will read from and discuss his work, as well as showcase voices from across the city, including Birmingham Young Poet Laureate Iona Mandal. The author will be joined by sound-artist Bill Daggs and young people from youth groups across the city who will have taken part in an author-led workshop on Shy during the day.
The marketing campaign includes a collaboration with Lewes-based brewery, Beak, on the launch of a bespoke beer. Cans of Shy-branded beer will go on sale in mid-April featuring an extract of the book on the inside of the label. The partnership will include social media promotion, beer sponsorship at events and a campaign with licensed indie bookshops offering customers a free can with every purchase of the book.
Book trade activity has included exclusive editions of Shy for Waterstones and independents, and a limited run of signed and hand-printed screen prints in partnership with The Private Press for Waterstones and independent bookshops across the country. Assets have included sticker packs, bookmarks and posters.
Faber is partnering with Waterstones Deansgate on a hand-painted window display, created by Hull-based artist Alex Hunt. Other highlights include a mega-site billboard in Brick Lane and advertising across central London, along with a series of animations featuring a commissioned music track by Roly Porter
The publisher said: “There were so many creative opportunities to tell the story of Shy using music and striking visuals throughout the campaign. We are so grateful to the book trade for all their support and delighted to be supporting the Literacy Trust with a special event in Birmingham.”
