One of the toughest considerations for any large, community-wide program is how to engage as many participants as possible. Reading, so often a solitary experience, changes as people share their experiences of stories and storytelling together.

Which book will speak to the most readers without excluding too many others? Would a book with mature themes prevent younger readers from taking part? What author can capture a community's interest and attention with a visit? What twist can add something fresh to next year's program?

With summer arriving, now's a good time to keep our eyes out for books and authors to highlight during fall and winter programs. The selection process can seem overwhelming at times, but with shared feedback it becomes so much easier.

For this newsletter, we've included:

A county-wide program which combined both inventive and tried-and-true ideas to get readers participating in novel ways...

One college's One Book event that involved students in the selection process...

An interview with Jamie Ford, as he shares some of the surprising moments that make speaking at libraries, colleges, and sometimes prisons rewarding...

A Colorado library hit the jackpot when knowing their audience helped them find the right author...

And an interview with Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni explores how focusing on our diversity, different backgrounds, and what sets each of us apart is sometimes the magic element for making everyone feel included.

Author Jamie Ford has become well-known in literary circles for his New York Times bestselling novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which is a popular choice with many book clubs, common reads, and all campus reads programs around the country. This September, you'll have another reason to pay attention to him. His second novel, Songs of Willow Frost, will be published on September 10, 2013.

Any idea how many Community/All Campus Reads type events you've done over the years?

More than I can count. Let's just say I have enough frequent flyer miles for a round-trip ticket to Mars. Delta flies there, right?

What do you like about the Campus/Freshman Class Reads structure as a literary event format? Any thoughts on how they could be more effective?

I think any shared experience aimed at college freshmen that doesn't involve hazing or beer bongs is a grand idea. And college events are unique in that the students at that age are still searching for self-definition, so how they internalize fiction and react to certain themes always prompts very interesting discussions. Plus there are no Sparknotes for my books, so the students actually have to read the darn things.

This year, the Monroe County "One Book, One Community" wowed visiting author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni with their organization, planning, and community support. We asked Cheryl Johnston, one of the event's co-chairs, to share some of the skills and tricks to pulling off a successful common read program. (For more on Chitra, see her interview below).

What did you learn from last year's program that will help with your next event?  What are you changing, what worked well?

We know that we absolutely have to host an Author Event. Our publicity and programming really rely on the promotion of a great book choice, but with the added bonus of bringing a contemporary author to our county.  Our second year of One Book One Community we were unable to bring in the author and it made programming a bit more difficult.  Because we chose March, a Civil War novel, we were able to generate quite a bit of interest in the Monroe community and offered events that had broad appeal to Monroe residents who truly value the history of our city and its connections to the Civil War.    

This year, we were able to bring Chitra [Banerjee Divakaruni] here and it was a huge incentive for students and community members to read the book and meet the author. We also learned that we need to start planning early.  It is very important to choose a title well in advance and announce the choice early which allowed time to plan events as well as to solicit financial support.

What advice or tips can you share with us about hosting a community reads program?

I think the recipe for success is to find community funding for your program.  When individual groups and organization make a financial commitment, they will become more involved and will then attend events and promote the events to others.  The other secret is to choose an accessible book that invites conversation.  Find a book that will stimulate a wide variety of readers from young adults to senior citizens.  Consider choosing a companion read for younger audiences.

Within her novels, New York Times bestselling author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni brings to life the South Asian experiences, culture, and diversity in both America and India. Her latest novel, Oleander Girl, explores the conflicts between the old world and new, the difficulties of finding love in a broken world, and the courage needed when we travel to strange, unfamiliar lands.

Any idea about how many Community/All Campus Reads types events you've done over the years?

Maybe thirty or thirty five. I've had a great time with all of them!

Would you share some notable experiences you've had at Community/Campus Reads events you've participated in?

Students have come up to me several times to say that they don't like to read but my books pulled them in. Several college students told me that mine was the first novel they'd read to the end. Several have shared their one amazing story with me. Administrators have told me that reading the book has brought parts of the campus community--departments or offices--closer to each other and allowed them to articulate issues of race and prejudice that they would have felt uncomfortable bringing up. In many cases, it has brought the city and the campus closer together as firefighters or other emergency personnel have come on campus to give presentations.

Perhaps my most memorable experience was when a college freshman came up to me and told me he had been thinking of dropping out of college, it was too big and overwhelming, and too different from the way he, as the first in his family to go to school, had been brought up. But when in his English class they wrote and shared their One Amazing Thing stories with each other in small groups, he began to connect and not feel so out of place. He made a couple of good friends within his group, and they gave him the moral support to hang in there.

Hosting an author for a literary event is an engaging way to generate new readers, and inspire those who already like to read. But finding the money to bring in a well-known author can be daunting. However, budget limitations should not make hosting authors a non-starter. Consider holding a ticketed, VIP reception with the author as an additional activity to the main, public presentation.

If you have rules against charging for an event, ask your Friends of the Library to host it, or some other organization that can sponsor a fundraiser. You might have a $100 per ticket, wine and cheese exclusive reception with personal invitations going to foundation members or select patrons. Or perhaps a coffee and cake with the author at $25 a ticket, open to whomever wants to pay to hang out with the author in a smaller, more personal setting.

Books In Common has considerable success getting authors to participate in a fundraising activity, typically held just prior to the public event. We keep them short, about 30-45 minutes. Adding a fundraising component to your programming helps generate both funds and more local interest in the event. Sometimes, we've seen these VIP fundraisers raise all, or a large part, of the budget necessary for hosting an author. If this suits your community, go for it, and let us know if we can help!