When Port in a Storm bookstore owner Jan Coates thinks of her responsibility to her community, she thinks beyond providing good reads and quality literature. “I wanted to explore how we can extend the connection between authors and readers outside the store,” the Somesville store owner says, “I wanted to focus on bringing children a passion for books and reading.”
To that end, Coates has developed a new fund in conjunction with the Maine Community Fund: the Island Books and Authors Program Fund. The fund will enable Coates to bring authors out of the bookstore and into schools and libraries on Mount Desert Island, the surrounding islands, and Down East communities. “Usually, for these children to experience programs like this they need to leave their schools and travel to events. We want to bring this experience to their space, to their classroom.”
Coates began the program last year as a pilot project. Coates managed to interest two Maine authors in epic journeys involving cars, ferries, and lobster boats: Toni Buzzeo, author of the award winning The Sea Chest and other children’s books, and Kathryn Lasky, who has written more than 150 children’s books, including the popular Ga’Hoole series. The authors agreed to extend their promotional visit to the region to include the schools on Swan’s Island and Frenchboro. Port in a Storm underwrote all costs, including donations of books for each child, the classroom and the school library. The program was such a success that Coates decided to try to find a way to make island books and authors more permanent.
Coates’s hope is that she will raise enough money to endow the fund at the Maine Community Fund, allowing her to offset the costs of transportation and lodging, paying small honoraria to authors, and providing books to the children for four author visits annually. There will be two special events planned in July to support the fund.
Isle au Haut author Linda Greenlaw and her mother, Martha Greenlaw, will sign copies of their new book at the Islesford Dock Restaurant on Little Cranberry Island on July 10 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The restaurant will be preparing recipes from Recipes from a Very Small Island and a brunch will be available from 10 to 2. There will also be a book signing at Port in a Storm at 3 in the afternoon the same day. In addition, the Somesville bookstore will be holding a Harry Potter book release party on July 15, starting at 11 PM. A portion of the proceeds from both events will support the fund.
Librarians and teachers appreciate the effort Coates is extending on their behalf. “There’s just not enough people and not enough time. This program will make doing what we would like to do easier,” explains Swan’s Island librarian Candi Joyce. “I am really excited. I can’t wait to see what happens with this.” Joyce has been working with Coates to lay the groundwork for the program, and Coates calls her the “heart and soul” of the operation. Coates emphasizes that she cannot operate this program without “crucial community support — I am very grateful that people have been so supportive and helpful.”
Donations to the fund can be sent to: Island Book and Author Fund c/o Maine Community Foundation, 245 Main Street, Ellsworth, ME 04605. Questions about the fund or upcoming events should be directed to Jan Coates at 207-244-4114.