EVENTS COORDINATOR
If you're interested in working at Wolfe & Kron Books, fill out the info below, email the pertinents, and then give us a call.
Yes, as in call the store. Please.
Wolfe & Kron Books is hiring an Events Coordinator / Bookseller.
Starting as part-time at $21/hr this position is for someone interested in a long-term career as a bookseller. Candidates must already have or be willing to complete certification trainings through the Professional Booksellers School, with course fees paid for by Wolfe & Kron Books (waived for those with over 3yrs Book Event experience). Depending on success of Events planned and executed by the Events Coordinator, this position is intended to develop into a full-time / salary position over the next 1-3yrs. Yes, your paycheck is, while not commission based, directly dependent on the work you’ll be doing.
The primary focus for this position is in the Development, Co-ordination, and Execution of events including:
Individual author events
Book release parties
Community outreach
Craft workshops
Supper clubs
Fundraisers
Book clubs
Holiday / Farmers markets hosted at / organized by other businesses
Themed multi-author + artist / vendor market events like MerMay or Pirate Day
All employees are required to work at least three shifts a month on the floor at the bookstore to ensure they are familiar with our customers, and our inventory. Since our team is small, there will also be times when shifts will need coverage due to employee vacations, or because someone is out sick.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
Plan, schedule, and co-ordinate in-person author events, community events, and workshops
Manage local partner business relationships to host book clubs & author events
Track success rate of events based on attendance, ticket sales, book sales, media coverage, and other ROI
Select Holiday / Farmers markets and other Pop-up opportunities and set inventory stock requirements and order timing
Handle donations, collaborations, etc for local fundraisers by non-profits and community groups
Write up and post events on the Wolfe & Kron Books website, social media, newsletter, and local events calendars
Identify and track books to promote on their release days
GENERAL BOOKSELLING
Match customers to books they'll love based on a depth of knowledge across genres
Open and close the store, and maintain inventory tidiness and shopability throughout the day
Contribute book reviews / recs, Social Media posts, shelf talkers,
Read incoming ARCs and provide inventory recommendations both of new / upcoming releases, and backlist titles to pair or sub for ‘hot’ titles
QUALIFICATIONS
+3yrs bookselling / book industry experience
Demonstrated success organizing and executing events both small/intimate large-scale
Working knowledge of office software, including managing spreadsheets and handling data entry
Well-developed communication skills, including comfort answering the store phone, calling customers, speaking with business partners, publishers, and authors, and drafting emails / creating templates
Previous retail or hospitality positions with repeat customers
REQUIREMENTS
Ability to lift and carry 50lb boxes of books, climb ladders, and stand for extended periods of time
Reliable transportation to and from work in Asbury Park, and to off-site events
Availability during store hours including nights, weekends, and holidays
Punctuality and task management, including self-directed work, are a must
As a retail store, we do wind up open through many of the major holidays, but close during Sea.Hear.Now. and on both Christmas Eve/Day and New Years Eve/Day.
We are a small (tiny) indie bookstore stocking Collectible, Used + New Titles for readers YA and older, dedicated to centering LGBTQIA2S+ and BIPoC / AAPI authors, with a focus on Speculative Fiction. Our inventory beyond books is tightly curated to platform Queer Makers in the TriState area. We often eschew shelving the ‘big deal’ titles, preferring instead to highlight overlooked authors in a publisher’s back catalog, those who haven’t made it on the shelves of general interest bookstores, and books published by small indie presses. Our goal is to introduce readers to the books the Social Media Influencers have yet to find.
However, knowing the trending titles, both in mainstream and in niche genres, is key to successfully recommending an esoteric author.
Our customers expect hands on treatment and an awareness of / affordances to their needs, be those of physical access, or neurospiciness. Our readers look to us not only for book advice, but as a point of connection with the queer community, and a third space of belonging. This is a store where we say hello to every person who walks in the door, where we shape ourselves to make them feel comfortable*, and where we expect to see customers come back over and over. As booksellers, we present ourselves professionally, but this isn’t some department store perfume counter. Dress to be you, but specifically the you that’s ready to climb a 7ft ladder, or load 50lb boxes of books out for an event.
We are not here to please summer tourists. If they don’t “get” our store, or are mad we don’t have the books they expect to find at a beach town bookstore, that’s fine.
We are here for our year-round readers, and for the visitors to Asbury Park here to be part of our community.
The books we stock are not the Beach Reads or Bestsellers found in big-box stores. They are the first books to be banned, or to be quietly removed from the shelves of stores less willing to stand up for a cause. We are here to remind readers that reading is an act of rebellion, and that the fiction we choose to read does dictate how we interpret the world.
Show some spine. Get shelved.
BENEFITS
PTO / Vacation accrual
Sick time accrual
Physical / digital / audio ARCs
30-50% Employee discount (cost + sales tax)
Professional development courses paid for by Wolfe & Kron Books
Conference and Book Event tickets covered by Wolfe & Kron Books
Free parking! ... indoor bike rack coming soon
*...unless they're determined to make us, or any member of our community uncomfortable, or put us at risk... you know who we mean
FOR CONSIDERATION PLEASE PROVIDE
a Resume / CV
Cover Letter telling why you should work here (can be the same as in the form, or feel free to switch it up)
List of 1-5 books you have read for each in the following genres with a shelf talker (2-6 words) or 1-2 sentence “why should I read this”
Mystery
Horror
Memoir/Biography
Science Fiction
Poetry
Narrative Non-Fiction
Fantasy
Romance
OTHER
EMAIL SUBJECT: ATTN - [your name] wants to be your Events Coordinator