The National Book Awards, a 60-year-old ceremony that recognizes some of the country's best authors, is an important event for the literary crowd—but an exclusive, invitation-only one with a guest list that typically skews to an older crowd. So in an effort to expand the audience and accessibility of the National Book Foundation's annual gathering, the Association of American Publishers' Young to Publishing Group hosted the first House Party on Wednesday. Held concurrently with the awards, the event took place in the offices of Random House and saw more than 450 twenty- and thirtysomethings in the publishing, media, and arts industries mingle, bid on auction items, and nosh on a casual menu of burgers, fries, dumplings, beer, and jungle juice cocktails.
The idea was conceived by Kate Childs, chair of the Young to Publishing Group and executive assistant to the president and publisher of the Random House Publishing Group, after she spent last year in a bar with only a Twitter feed to follow. Childs approached the foundation with the suggestion to create an event specifically for junior employees of publishing and literary agencies (a group that might, in the future, attend the formal award ceremony) and formed an ad hoc committee to plan the affair at the Random House headquarters. The team then sought sponsors to help underwrite the evening and tapped Jes Gordon and her crew at ProperFun to build an environment suitable for guests.
What developed was a casual office-party-like fete that showed a live feed of the awards and integrated sponsors like Web-based photo printing and sharing service Pixable, preppy clothing company Robert Redd, and the Huffington Post. Encouraging the sponsors to supply more than just product displays was important to the committee, which didn't want to the participation of additional companies to feel forced and who also wanted to provide more incentive for attendees to purchase the $30 to $45 tickets. "When you have to be budget-friendly, you have to be careful about which sponsors you approach," said Childs. The planning team selected more independent, start-up businesses.
To build up excitement for the night, the Young to Publishing Group also solicited online nominations and votes for its own awards, in categories not covered by the National Book Foundation's prize. This included Best Blog to Book, Favorite Hero(ine) Under 35, and Most Innovative All-Around Campaign. Planners also coordinated with the foundation to line up a Twitter feed and added a charitable component in the form of a silent auction, which raised $2,000 for Literacy Partners.
Not only were Childs and the committee pleased with the turnout for the inaugural event, the National Book Foundation was happy with the results. “We at the National Book Foundation were thrilled to be part of the N.B.A. House Party, and we applaud the organizers’ initiative,” said Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation. “Bringing a live feed to hundreds of people creates a wonderful excitement, which we hope to not only duplicate but expand next year, using this year’s streaming as an example.”
![E19552standalone](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2010/11/e19552standalone.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![The House Party brought in props and decorations to Random House Publishing Group's offices, contrasting a live feed of the more formal National Book Awards event with a life-size zebra, string lights, and bright-colored centerpieces for the cocktail tables.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2011/11/e19552img_6214.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Sponsor Archie Grand, a Scandinavian notebook maker, provided guest books for attendees to sign as they entered the event.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2011/11/e19552img_6262.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Kate Childs, who conceived the event, is planning to scan the messages and drawings scrawled in the sign in books and create digital version to draw more people to the Young to Publishing Group's Web site.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2011/11/e19552img_6285.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![In lieu of gift bags, guests received copies of the books nominated for the 2010 National Book Awards, including Karen Tei Yamashita's I Hotel.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2011/11/e19552img_6222.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Books and paper products comprised a large part of the decor, as did the baskets of items up for auction.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2011/11/e19552img_6258.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![With packages and products donated by the Andaz Wall Street, Zipcar, and the DivaDance Company, the Young to Publishing Group's auction included a total of 11 gift baskets, divided into categories like 'the political junkie,' 'the fitness guru,' and 'the prepster.'](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2011/11/e19552img_6235.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![The planners of the House Party partnered with payment system Square, which offers a small gadget that can be attached to iPhones, iPads, or phones operating on the Android platform for credit card swiping. Childs said more than half the bids were made through the device.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2011/11/e19552img_6261.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![To produce an interactive event, the planning committee encouraged sponsors to create activities for guests. Clothing company Robert Redd designed a scavenger hunt using color-coded cards.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2011/11/e19552img_6191.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Rather than serve formal food in the office setting, the planners brought in Pop Burger and Rickshaw Dumpling House to supply nibbles.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2011/11/e19552img_6293.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![More than 450 guests attended the first National Book Awards House Party.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2011/11/e19552img_6289.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)