Simon & Schuster has posted the first episode of Bookstore Blitz, a new digital series in partnership with McNally Jackson bookstore in New York City. The first full episode features Anna Marie Tendler, artist and author of Men Have Called Her Crazy, and was filmed at McNally Jackson's Rockefeller Center store. Future guests will include Ed Helms and Bethany Joy Lenz.
Hosted by S&S executive editor Stuart Roberts, Bookstore Blitz gives guests five minutes to spend $100 at the bookstore. Roberts introduces the guest and lays out the rules, then the clock starts and they are off to make their choices from among the 57,000 books across two floors.
After the five minutes are up, the guest takes their haul to the register to check out. If they go above the allotted $100 limit, they have to decide which books to put back and which to take with them. After they've checked out, Roberts interviews them about the books they chose and why. The episodes will appear on the Simon & Schuster flagship imprint's YouTube channel as well as Instagram and TikTok. Posts will be amplified by @mcnallyjackson.
"The goal is to showcase artists and tastemakers across all creative mediums and entertainment sectors (actors, directors, musicians, comedians, models, visual artists, athletes, influencers, etc.) by diving into what our guests love to read, the series aims to showcase books as the real engines of culture," S&S noted.
"There is a video series for seemingly every kind of enthusiast," S&S publisher Sean Manning said. "Cinephiles have the Criterion Collection's Closet Picks. Music fans have Amoeba Music's What's in My Bag? Sneakerheads have Complex's Sneaker Shopping. Chili pepper masochists have Hot Ones. And now book lovers have Simon & Schuster's Bookstore Blitz. However, this series isn't just for devoted readers. It's also for people who don't regularly (or ever) read--aiming to counteract any notion that books are boring or pretentious, prove how much fun and enlightening they can be, and offer recommendations from notable authors, artists, entertainers and personalities about what to read next. While it might seem contradictory to use video to encourage reading, the enduring phenomenon of BookTok has shown just how powerful and persuasive video can be for initiating and energizing readers, and we at the Simon & Schuster flagship imprint hope Bookstore Blitz can do the same."