Taking our show on the road

Digital meets analog... and a can of spray paint

Welcome to our 100 or so new subscribers who cheerfully braved the pouring rain last week at the Brooklyn Book Festival and showed us some love. You’re the best! And you had very cool umbrellas.

The day started inauspiciously when we noted the forecast which kept extending the rainy period hour by hour, but the people made everything fun. And we made new friends.

Digital meets analog, under an umbrella

The highlight for us was getting to pilot our digital-meets-analog story dispenser, otherwise known as a spray-painted Smith Corona typewriter you can tap with your phone to download a story. Everyone loved this little orange baby! Those between the ages of ten and forty thought it was way cool and vintage and fun. Those over forty waxed nostalgic, reminiscing about writing on their parents’ typewriter or teaching themselves to touch type on one. (That’s what I did, when I was nine, and I distinctly remember my pinky finger repeatedly getting jammed between the keys.) And kids under ten just wanted to come press all the keys, which of course brought their parents over.

It was a great conversation starter, and a way for us to talk about how Galiot is approaching all aspects of publishing in an unconventional way. It was also a good way for us to make note of what to refine. For example, this brand of NFC chip seems a bit finicky. Some people were having trouble opening the link. So we’re working on improving all this to make sure the experience is seamless: you tap your phone, and a Galiot web page opens. While this is the same tech that’s used for, say, Apple Wallet, NFC doesn’t require a transaction. It just means “near-field communication” and is a kind of secure chip that allows, well, exactly what it says: communication over very short distances between a programmed chip and a device.

Last Sunday, plenty of folks were able to download a short story, and the look on their faces when they went from typewriter to story on their phone was priceless.

Nice day for a frog

Also fun was our frog game. It’s a version of tiddlywinks, except with frogs. Because who can resist shpoinging a frog into a bucket? And the bucket doubled as a container to catch the leak from the center of the tent, so in effect people were shpoinging a frog into a pond. Everything was so soggy and puddly, it was really a perfect day for frogs. We had some rather wet moments pushing the sagging tent roof puddles off with an umbrella and sending water cascading down all sides.

We ran two raffles—one for a bundle of books, one for a 25-page manuscript consult. We’ve notified the winners (although we haven’t heard back from one of them, so, book bundle winner, if you’re reading this, be sure to respond so we can get you your prize!) We spoke with many writers, and of course many readers. We were on our feet talking for seven hours straight, with a short escape to procure bowls of steaming pho for ourselves and our neighbors.

New and upcoming

In other news, we’ve selected who we’ll be working with for book cover designs and for PR, and we are super excited! More on both of those in the near future.

And Anjali will be on a panel at Emerson College discussing the future of publishing on October 24th. Free and open to all! Use the QR code in the photo to register.

Warm wishes from fall-ish Boston, and may you not succumb to too much pumpkin spice.

Anjali & Henriette