From my wife Marilynn Richtarik’s previous books, she’s learned that if any significant publicity is going to happen, she has to make it happen. It doesn’t hurt that she’s married to a journalist-turned-marketer who knows a little something about making the phone ring and the inbox fill.
So in the month or so since “Hopdance” was published, here’s what has happened.
Thursday, May 4 – Marilynn and a Fulbright Scholar poet shared the stage at the Crescent Arts Center as part of their postings at Queens University Belfast. Marilynn read from the book, describing the circumstances surrounding each scene. A recording of her presentation was later made available on the Culture Northern Ireland website to accompany an article about “Hopdance” she wrote specifically for the online publication.
Saturday, May 6 – Enthusiastic review of “Hopdance” by Sarah Gilmartin in The Irish Times.
Wednesday, May 10 – Marilynn could be heard on The Arts Show, presented by Marie-Louise Muir on BBC Radio Ulster. A recording of her portion of the program is here.
Friday, May 12 – The Irish Times publishes a commissioned article from Marilynn about the 20-plus years she spent researching Stewart Parker that resulted in her award-winning 2012 biography, Stewart Parker: A Life, as well as this edition of “Hopdance.”
Friday, May 12 – Dublin launch hosted by The Lilliput Press, featuring Stephen Rea.
Saturday, May 13 – Marilynn and Lynne Parker (Stewart’s niece who wrote the foreword for “Hopdance”) are heard on The Book Show on RTÉ Radio 1.
Tuesday, May 23 – Publication of the aforementioned article on the Culture NI website.
Tuesday, May 23 – Linen Hall Library event in Belfast. Author Glenn Patterson was the host, with Marilynn discussing the book and reading from it. Audience members included Stewart’s brother and sister-in-law, as well as Stewart’s first college girlfriend, who flew over from England for the event.
Thursday, May 25 – Insightful review of “Hopdance” on the Culture NI website written by Connal Parr, vice chancellor’s research fellow in the humanities at Northumbria University.
Sunday, May 28 – Third review of “Hopdance,” this time from Deidre Conroy in the Sunday Independent. Three reviews, all positive!
More to Come
- Review anticipated in the Irish Independent on June 3
- “Hopdance” will be featured in 15-minute increments Monday-Friday on The Book on One, a radio show on RTÉ Radio 1. The show is an abbreviated reading of a book, one book per week. We’ve been told it will be featured the week of June 12.
- Marilynn will read and talk about the novel as part of the Belfast Book Festival, June 10.
- Marilynn will read and sign books in Edinburgh, Scotland, on June 23.
- She’s also trying to arrange a bookstore reading in Dublin in the next few weeks and is working on coverage of the book in Culture Hub, a magazine and website that covers Northern Ireland arts.
All in a day’s work for an English professor and a marketer—well, except for our real jobs.
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