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Staunton, Virginia and New Town as the East Coast's "Book Town" Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr. Michael Organ Staunton, Virginia and more specifically the New Town historical district has the potential to become the leading "book town" on the East Coast of the United States. Richard Booth created the first book town in Hay-on-Wye, Wales in 1961. Essentially, what Booth did was encourage second hand book and rare book dealers from across Great Britain to locate in Hay-on-Wye, a tourist town with a Medieval castle on the Welsh/English border. Hay-On-Wey, Book Town Today Hay-on-Wye has approximately 40 bookshops and is known as the "Second-hand Book Capital" of the World. The towns efforts have been imitated elsewhere around the world. Examples of other book towns include Stillwater, Minnesota, Sidney, British Columbia, Dalmellington, Scotland to name just a few (See Attached list Appendix A). Book Towns have become tourist destinations on their own, although they seem to work best when combined with other tourist features such as historic sites, good hotels and inns and interesting geographical settings. The availability of inexpensive storefront space is also essential. Staunton and the New Town historic district fit all of the above criteria. In addition, the area has the advantage of regional book activities that would support the creation of Staunton as a book town, including the Green Valley Book Fair and the Virginia Festival of the book in Charlottesville. There are a minimum of 14 business spaces in New Town that could be used as stores for second-hand and rare book dealers. In addition, there are many other spaces that could be easily adapted throughout town. We would suggest that the Virginia Endowment of the Humanities and other regionally based foundations could be contacted about the possibility of a planning grant that would encourage rare and used book dealers to come to Staunton to establish a book town. Drawing points for book dealers would include: q Centralized mailing and shipping facilities q Shared advertising q Uniform design of signage and logos for participants q Organization of fair and festivals q Development of themes (Shakespeare, Civil War, etc.) q Organization of writing retreats and seminars housed in local inns and hotels q Linkage to other cultural activities in the region (Shenandoah Shakespeare, Virginia Festival of the Book, Green Valley Book Fair, Frontier Museum, Wine Tasting, etc.) A project like this has tremendous positive potential for further enhancing Staunton's reputation and a cultural and historical center, as well as a vibrant tourist center. An International List of Book Towns
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