Your Party
Primer
FROM PUBLISHING
TRENDS (MAY 2001)
It’s
nearly BEA — which must mean that party season is on
us again. What to do, where to go? While the fashion
and film pack are given free nights galore at breathtakingly
trendy Park with its planted tree in the middle
of the floor and psychedelic fish-tank in the VIP bar
upstairs, we publishing types must grit our teeth a
little and hope that in a couple of years, once Gwyneth
et al have quit it for the last time and we’re finally
allowed past the hallowed ropes, the windows will still
be cleaned regularly before the reading or book launch.
Actually, that’s a little unfair. Bridget Harrison
at Nadine Johnson, superhip PR for all places
new and hot (including Park) does do some book events.
For instance, the boxy backroom APT (not, fyi,
referred to as “apartment” but just by the letters as
all people in the know will know), the new cool lounge
in the meat-packing district, was launched with a book
party for Anna Johnson’s Three Black Skirts.
The room was given at cost as the demographic of the
attendees seemed right, and it’s a formula that’s worth
discussing. If you can prove that your guests are going
to be young, groovy, gorgeous, and rich, you’re likely
to get a freebie. If, however, the suits on publishing
salaries are going to turn up, you may find that somehow,
there won’t be an available room for months in advance.
Elsewhere, DKNY harbors a few literary enthusiasts
looking for good ways to extend the sense of “lifestyle”
over “trend” that Donna Karan has always promoted. They
launched their own literary series at the flagship store
on 60th and Madison last autumn with Candace Bushnell’s
Four Blondes party, followed soon after by Brit-lit
chick India Knight. The books, says PR chief
Patti Cohen, definitely don’t have to be fashion
related, though they would of course be looking for
appropriate cross-over with the store, focusing on potential
customers for them, as well as building the international
DKNY brand. Prices are negotiable. By the way, Ralph
Lauren is another fashion name open to exploring
industry cross-promotion; contact Brooke Livingston
at corporate HQ.
Thirty blocks down Madison, on the corner of 41st, with
appropriately spectacular views of the Public Library
sits the small but elegant Library Hotel. Designed
so that each floor corresponds to categories of the
Dewey Decimal system, you’ll find that accordingly your
room will be filled with anything from science texts
to erotica. Some $80,000 was spent at the Strand
Bookstore to finish off the décor properly. On the
top floor, with a terrace folding out at either end
is the writer’s den and poetry garden where parties
for up to 135 (as long as the weather is good enough
to allow you to spill outside) would be enthusiastically
hosted. Contact “honorary librarian” Adele Gutman
for more information. All writers will be welcomed,
and it’s worth negotiating in case management has a
soft spot for the writer in question (writers will also
get better rates on rooms there). Check out sister Hotel
Giraffe, which also has a great party room.
Way over west at 505 West 23rd is the nearly new Half
King. The bar/pub is particularly sensitive to writer’s
needs as its founder is Sebastian Junger. Inspired
by the wooden simplicity and cosiness of Europe, there’s
a long central bar and different rooms at different
prices, which can start as low as $300, but you’ll have
to buy your own.
Heading on downtown, Housing Works Used Book Café
still hosts some of the best parties in town, from
the annual New Yorker bash to the irrepressible
McSweeney’s open party. The bookstore helps by
promoting open events with its own (reasonably extensive)
mailing list. If you want to rent the whole space for
a private party, rates are $500 per hour after hours,
or $750 if you want them to close shop early.
Contacts: Nadine Johnson, 212 228-5555; see Bridget
Harrington. The Park 118 10th Avenue bet. 17th
& 18th Streets, 212 352-3313; see Nadine Johnson.
APT West 13th between 7th & 8th Avenues;
contact Nadine Johnson. DKNY HQ 550 7th Avenue,
New York, NY 10018, 212 768-5800; see Erin Hawker. Ralph
Lauren HQ 650 Madison Avenue, NY 10022, 212 318-
7000; see Brooke Livingston. Library Hotel 299
Madison Ave. at 41st St., 212 938-4500; see Adele Gutman.
Hotel Giraffe 365 Park Avenue South at 26th St.,
212 685-7700; see Rose Revicki. Half King 505
West 23rd St., 212 462-4300; see Anthony Tousi.
©2001
Publishing Trends
