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Pennsylvania author Larry Portzline will appear at several independent bookstores in the Southwestern U.S. in September to promote his Bookstore Tourism concept and book. Portzline will offer a presentation at each stop and sign copies of "Bookstore Tourism: The Book Addict's Guide to Planning & Promoting Bookstore Road Trips for Bibliophiles & Other Bookshop Junkies."

Harrisburg, PA (PRWEB) August 29, 2005 -- Pennsylvania author Larry Portzline will appear at several independent bookstores in the Southwestern U.S. in September to promote his Bookstore Tourism concept and book. Portzline will offer a presentation at each stop and sign copies of "Bookstore Tourism: The Book Addict's Guide to Planning & Promoting Bookstore Road Trips for Bibliophiles & Other Bookshop Junkies."

Portzline's Southwest tour includes the following dates and locations: 7 p.m., Fri., Sept. 16, Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, AZ (special event with John Villani, author of "The Best Art Towns in America"); 3 p.m., Sat., Sept. 17, Bookworks, Albuquerque, NM; 3 p.m., Sun., Sept. 18, BookPeople, Austin, TX; and 5:30 p.m., Mon., Sept. 19, Beauty and the Book, Jefferson, TX. Portzline will be available for media interviews before and during the tour.

Also, Portzline will be a featured speaker at the American Library Association's 25th Annual Charleston Conference on Thur., Nov. 3. His own upcoming group trips include New York's Greenwich Village on Sat., Sept. 24 and Pennsylvania's Brandywine region (with bestselling author Lisa Scottoline) on Sat., Oct. 29. More road trips and appearances are planned for 2006.

The goals of Bookstore Tourism are to promote independent bookshops as a group travel niche and to support reading and literacy. Some of the organizations now considering Bookstore Tourism as a promotional tool or outreach program are the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, National Public Radio, ABEBooks.com, the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, and the Southern California Booksellers Association. The latter group held its second "bookstore road trip" for booklovers in the San Diego area on Aug. 27, and included several author readings on the journey (its first excursion was in Los Angeles in May).

Publishers Weekly said, "Bookstore Tourism might be the beginning of a new concept in bookselling." Kirkus called Portzline's book "Engaging reading and an invigorating guide to an appealing and promising concept." The Chicago Tribune said, "This little volume might be just the thing to get people not only reading again but visiting their local independents. Spread the word." USA Today called the concept "A charming alternative." The Boston Globe said, "Larry Portzline has taken a novel idea on the road."

For more information about the project, visit Portzline's website at BookstoreTourism.com or his daily blog at BookstoreTourism.blogspot.com. Portzline's weekly podcast is also available on his website and on iTunes.

A writer and college instructor in Harrisburg, PA, Portzline was a jury member for Publishers Weekly's 2005 Bookseller of the Year Award.

CONTACT:
Larry Portzline
BookstoreTourism.com
P.O. Box 6067
Harrisburg, PA 17112
Phone: 717-541-0710

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Source :  http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/8/prweb277284.htm