To launch the Michael Chabon’s new novel, “Telegraph Road”, the publisher Harper Collins’ marketing team plans to convert Oakland bookstore Diesel into a pop-up music store called Brokeland Records.
The book, planned for a Sept. 11 release, is set in Oakland, Calif., in 2004, and in it, main characters Nat and Archy run a used-records store called Brokeland Records that is threatened by plans for a new megastore nearby on Telegraph Avenue.
From Sept. 7 to Sept. 14, the pop-up store will sell used jazz records provided by an independent record dealer named Berigan Taylor.
Harper is creating exterior Brokeland Records signs to temporarily replace the Diesel signs, as well as Brokeland Records bags, buttons, and stamps for book purchases made during the week. There will also be a landing page for “Diesel in Brokeland” on Diesel’s website.
On Sept. 12, the pop-up store will host a launch party for Mr. Chabon that will also serve as a fundraiser for 826, a nonprofit organization that provides writing classes and tutoring for students. Mr. Chabon will donate an 8-track player and a “Telegraph Avenue” mixtape that will be raffled off as prizes.
Clever.