Press release Kerry Slattery turns over Skylight Books General Manager reins to staffer Mary Williams – effective Jan 2015 Slattery continues as Managing Partner of Skylight Books LLC November 25, 2014 It was announced to the Skylight Books staff Monday night by current long-time General Manager and Co-Owner Kerry Slattery that staffer Mary Williams will take over as General Manager in January 2015. Slattery will serve as an advisor for the transition, and then continue as Managing Partner of Skylight Books, LLC, owner of the store. “I have thought long and hard about what Skylight needs today – and I believe Mary has the right combination of leadership, vision, practicality, knowledge of books and the book industry, the ability to create teams, and the willingness to do whatever it takes,” says Slattery. “18 years ago when we opened, we had 6 employees and one storefront – and no one knew who we were. Now we have 20 employees, a popular Arts Annex, and we are included on best bookstore lists around the world. But there are new kinds of challenges, and we are constantly looking for ways to serve our customers better, become more efficient and improve our profitability. “ One of the first items of business will be to create a Strategic Plan to define where Skylight is now and where it should be in five years. Williams has worked at Skylight for over six years and became Events Manager five and a half years ago, booking and managing more than 300 in-store and off-site events per year, including in-store events with Junot Diaz, David Mitchell, William Gibson, William Vollmann, Jeanette Winterson, Jeffrey Eugenides, Amy Goodman, Allie Brosh, T.C. Boyle, Eileen Myles, Patti Smith, as well as emerging writers from local schools and universities. She currently serves as the Immediate Past President of the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association, and has been on that Board for four years. Before coming to Skylight, Mary worked as a freelance copy editor for academic journals, as an assistant publicist at Newmarket Press in New York, and as a bookseller at the Strand Bookstore. She received a bachelor’s degree in English literature and creative writing at UCLA, where she also served as Arts & Entertainment editor at the Daily Bruin. Currently, in addition to working as Skylight’s events manager, she facilitates a private book club and continues to write fiction, working on a novel. “As a lifelong book lover, I can think of no job I would enjoy more than managing an independent bookstore,” says Williams. “What Kerry has created in Skylight is a community gathering place, a hub of Los Angeles literary culture, and a venue where some of my favorite authors have come to speak. It’s been a pleasure joining her team and working with such a talented staff for these past six years, and it’s a real honor and privilege to take on this new role. I look forward to tackling the challenges ahead and carrying on the work that Kerry has done so exceptionally since the store’s founding eighteen years ago.” Skylight’s strong staff of longtime booksellers includes manager Steve Salardino and head book buyer Charles Hauther (both 18-year veterans) and business and finance manager Christine DeAngelis, who will continue as key members of the Skylight team. “The growth and vitality of Skylight Books is the achievement I’m proudest of in my life,” Slattery says. “We’ve continued to retain our unique personality and viability through challenging times, while “rolling with the punches” and embracing many changes in the bookselling world. But now I’m 70 and I’d like to focus on some writing projects I’ve been thinking about and to take longer camping trips with my life partner, Ben DiGregorio, in our home-made teardrop trailer (Deadwood, South Dakota is next on our list)! Skylight Books Background Skylight Books is a general bookstore serving the historic Los Angeles neighborhoods of Hollywood, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Echo Park, and Downtown; located in the shadow of Griffith Park and its iconic Observatory, and surrounded by the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, R.M. Schindler, and Richard Neutra. Skylight’s eclectic clientele challenges the store to provide the cutting edge of culture including the best in literary fiction, graphic literature, books on music, art, film and theatre, Los Angeles regional culture and history, children’s books, political theory and more. Skylight opened November 1, 1996 on the former site of another local bookstore landmark, Chattertons, and in 2008 expanded to include its Arts Annex. Located 3 1/2 blocks north of the Sunset/Vermont Metro station, just next to the Los Feliz 3 cinema. ### SKYLIGHT BOOKS 1818 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027 skylightbooks 323 660-1175 CONTACT: Kerry Slattery cell: 323 719-0465 / kerry@skylightbooks or Mary Williams mary@skylightbooks
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 20:39:37 +0000
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