On Tuesday, May 20th, Readings at the Woodside was held at the Woodside Tavern, the oldest bar in Dartmouth. Located at 209 Pleasant Street, the place was dark and homey, as all good taverns should be, and looked smaller than it was from the outside. With dark wood, dark furniture, dim lighting, and smelling of onion rings, it was the perfect place to be during a crisp, cool evening in May. People sipped on wine or what was on tap, ate from their pub-style menu, and sampled their renowned mild curry dishes. Behind the bar, the staff scrambled to fill the orders from the 55 people in attendance. Tickets were sold at $10.00 in advance or $12.00 cash at the door, with the proceeds going to the presenting authors.
The sold-out audience showed up early, well before the 6 pm door opening to this debut event, grabbing the limited seats to hear two Dartmouth authors read from their novels. Both books were nominated for the 2025 Nova Scotia Book Awards: Charlene Carr, We Rip the World Apart, published by HarperCollins, and Susan LeBlanc, The Nowhere Places, published by Nimbus Publishing. The event was moderated by the bestselling author Donna Jones Alward, When the World Fell Silent, published by HarperCollins. The readings began at 7 pm.
The stage area was thoughtfully set up with an area rug, three antique-looking chairs for the authors, and three end tables. One holding a lamp, one with books, and one with a vase of tulips, sitting on a doily. Dartmouth Book Exchange was nicely set up on one of the two pool tables in the back, selling books by the featured authors. Their book display was strategically positioned where the authors were planning on signing their books following the event.
The event was a remarkable success, with conversations interspersed with readings from the books and questions from the audience. It was such a success that plans are in the works to organize more readings. As many as three times a year, focusing on local authors and literature. Dartmouth Book Exchange has been asked to be the official bookseller for these events!
