Christine Gordon is the Programming and Community Engagement Manager of Melbourne’s pre-eminent independent bookshop chain, Readings. She considers this the best job in Australia. Gordon was one of the founding members of the Stella Prize, sits on the Victorian Women’s Trust Board and has been a judge on various literary awards. She is passionate about Australian literature and ensuring that reading continues to allow possibilities for everyone. She speaks to ArtsHub about wrangling authors and audiences.
How did you become Reading’s community engagement and programming manager?
I was a huge fan of Readings, Carlton even before I worked there. I would visit the shop in my lunch breaks, attend author events and read [its] newsletter cover to cover, circling titles I wanted to read with a red pen. During this time, I was working in women’s health at the Royal Women’s Hospital running [its] health promotion program. Parenting gave me a break to consider what I wanted to do with this one wild and wonderful life and, in a moment of bravery, I rang Mark Rubbo, Readings’ managing director. I asked him for a job. He very graciously employed me despite my not having any retail experience. All of this happened more than 20 years ago. I still consider it my lucky break.
What are the pros and cons of doing your job?
The greatest gift of working in the book trade is that it is an ‘all in’ experience. Every day, new ideas and stories are thrown at you. It is a privilege to be surrounded by thought leaders, communicators and creators every day. However, I had not intellectualised the impact of working in a bookshop on my leisure time. I used to visit Readings prior to working there to relax, to consider, to gift myself time. Visiting bookshops was my recreational joy. Now, even when I’m far away from Readings and I visit a bookshop, I’m inspecting it – looking at their displays, their front window and their events program. Now I am always thinking about work one way or another. I cannot seem to turn myself off anymore, unless I’ve got a good book to read… See the paradox? I’m always working.
What’s a typical day/week for you?
I work primarily Monday through to Thursday. Every single day is different. I don’t believe in 20 years I have repeated the same action plan each day. But I do answer one trillion emails each week from authors, customers and publishing houses. I try to clear my email chain as quickly as possible every day. I attend meetings to discuss plans for festivals and partnerships. I attend up to three events per week at our shops, interview authors for our podcast and plan for Readings’ end of the year celebration of community (A Day in Carlton). At any given moment I have at least 20 things on my to-do list and in my head, I carry an eternity of intentions.
Readings shops host around 360 events per year, and we look after another 100 or so book selling events across Melbourne, including at the wonderful Melbourne Writers festival, Clunes, the Comedy Festival, the Wheeler Centre, the universities and other academic conferences. My role is juggling a lot of logistics and expectations.
What are some of the misconceptions of your job?
My job has not one iota of glamour about it. It’s about stacking books, trolleying books across car parks late at night, it’s about putting out chairs, making sure microphones work, ordering wine, washing glasses, organising staff, making sure books are ordered, returned, displayed, answering questions about opening times, booking numbers, access issues and making sure everyone involved feels seen, and considered. It’s a physically and emotionally driven role and I love it.
If you were hiring for the role, what qualities would you look for in terms of an ideal candidate?
You must love reading new books. But, really, it’s all about attitude and gumption.
Any interesting developments in terms of author publicity?
The rise of BookTok has been a gift to many authors in the industry; however, I never underestimate the power of a good old-fashioned word of mouth recommendation. Often at events I say to the audience – take this night and talk about it. You are the influencer. You can sell this book and you can make a difference by talking about it at your next dinner party or barbecue or book group.
Read: So you want my arts job: Writing Coach
I also believe that literary prizes can change the life of a book. The Stella prize is one example of how a book can change everything. This is not new news, but it now seems to be the quickest way to receive external publicity.
