About The Book Works

The Book Works was established in 1976 by Milane Christiansen. An independent bookstore, The Book Works specializes in new books with a focus on literary fiction, nonfiction, science, memoir, art architecture, cookbooks, gardening and children's books. It carries an eclectic selection of fine stationery, cards, journals, gift items, vintage pottery (Bauer), and garden statuary. In 2006, Lisa Stefanacci purchased The Book Works, and the tradition continues!

The Book Works is located in an upscale mall, Flower Hill Promenade, that is immediately off of the Interstate 5 Freeway in San Diego (approximately 100 miles from Los Angeles). This location assures easy accessibility from all over the county and ample parking.

C L I E N T E L E
The Book Works serves loyal, longtime customers who live throughout coastal San Diego, particularly from the affluent communities of Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe. Our clientele is internationally sophisticated and highly educated, in part due to the large academic and research communities that are located nearby (e.g., The University of California, San Diego, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, The Scripps Institute of Oceanography, The Neurosciences Institute).

A U T H O R   V I S I T S
The Book Works has hosted a long list of prominent authors from other disciplines, including cooking (Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Alice Waters, David Tanis), current events (Paul Krugman, Simon Winchester, Chalmers Johnson, Peter Irons), and literature (Joyce Carol Oates, Khaled Hosseini, Amy Tan, Lisa See [an off-site event] Luis Alberto Urrea, Indu Sundaresan, Jincey Willett, Lisa Fugard). For these events we often accommodated hundreds of people and sold hundreds of books. Selected previous events

S C I E N C E   S E R I E S (aka BRAIN-MIND)
The Book Works also has a long history of hosting eminent scientists. Previous author visits have included Francis Crick, winner of the Nobel Prize (The Astonishing Hypothesis); Antonio Damasio (Descartes Error, Looking for Spinoza); and Oliver Sacks (The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat; Awakenings).

In 2006, Lisa Stefanacci purchased The Book Works and formalized the scientific author visits by developing a Mind-Brain Series. Dr. Stefanacci has a Ph.D. in neurobiology and has held positions at UCSD and The Salk Institute. Her expertise in this area, combined with her acquaintances with well-known scientists and their work from all over the world, has brought these events to a new level, with larger attendance and more frequent author visits, all of the highest quality.

In November of 2006, Eric Kandel, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000, spoke on his memoir, In Search of Memory. Other visitors in 2006 included Helen Fisher (Why We Love), Dr. V.S. Ramachandran (Brief Tour of Human Consciousness), Terrence Sejnowski (Liars, Lovers, and Heroes), and Matt Ridley (Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Genetic Code). The 2007 Mind-Brain series includes David Linden (3/07, The Accidental Mind), Freeman Dyson, an internationally reknowned physicist, member of the National Academy of Science and Fellow of the Royal Society of London (7/07, Scientist as Rebel), Oliver Sacks (invited for fall 2007, Musicophila: Tales of Music and the Brain), and V.S. Ramachandran (invited for fall 2007, The Man with the Phantom Twin). Selected previous events

The response to the Mind-Brain Series has been overwhelming. There is a large, first-rate neuroscience community in San Diego, one which might only be rivaled by Boston, and a correspondent enthusiastic community. Our educated clientele actively look forward to our science events. In turn, the authors consistently comment on the level of participation, the size, and the sophistication of the audience.

M E D I A   C O N T A C T S
The Book Works has excellent contacts with local media and we arrange interviews for our authors in The San Diego Union-Tribune and in community papers including The North County Times, The Reader, San Diego CityBeat and The Del Mar Times. We coordinate author appearances on the local PBS talk radio, These Days, with host Tom Fudge, and we arrange appearances on local television stations such as KFMB-Channel 8 and KUSI-Channel 9. In addition, The Book Works maintains an active website and sends monthly newsletters to customers.

S T O R E   &   C O M M U N I T Y   A C T I V I T I E S
In addition to hosting author appearances, the store organizes and hosts live music every Friday night (a 27-year tradition); we sponsor five book groups (fiction and nonfiction) in the store and host many other private book groups; we host 2-4 writing workshops per month, storytime for children, seasonal book review events, and community eventssuch as fundraising nights for local schools. We are also developing a relationship with the local public libraries so that we can exchange information, advertise for each other, and co-host special events.