Fully Booked

Writing in the books blog for the Guardian, Giles Foden wonders where all the literary salons have gone. He says the clubs that were set up to support culture such as the Groucho Club and Soho House in London are full of people more interested in talking about money that “the potentiality for syllabic verse in English.” and the pubs that once hosted nights where young writers mixed with elder statesmen have long gone.

To be honest, we’re drawn to Foden’s alarm because only this week PSFK friend Floyd Hayes sent us news that he was setting up a literary night in New York as a kind of protest to slumping literary standards. Floyd says:

Fully Booked is an idea that came to me when reading an article in The Week concerning the woeful state of adult literacy in the US. It struck me as particularly sad that 40% of Americans under 44 did not read a single book in a year.I conducted a little research on adult literacy causes and issues and wondered how I could make a positive difference in this area.

Anyway, I was sitting discussing this in The Room in SoHo, when I realized the bar would be a fantastic venue for a short story telling evening and lo, Fully Booked was born.

It’s interesting to see Floyd, who is not a writer or come from the publishing business, decide to stand up and create his own event. The first Fully Booked will be on Sunday April 6th and will feature 3 story-tellers, 15 minutes for each tale. 7pm-9pm.