Last night, I helped my friend Jodi Kantor launch her new book, HOW TO START.
It was a beautiful evening, and honestly, it didn’t feel like a book launch so much as a room of relative strangers slowly realizing they were all holding a shared question.
Book launches are one of those gatherings that look simple. You’ve got the stage, the mics, the stacked books, the rows of chairs. You listen to the conversation. People clap. Maybe they linger after and get a book signed. And then they leave, mostly as strangers as when they arrived.
What we wanted instead was something that takes some design to pull off, but is so worth it when it works. We wanted people not just to hear the ideas in Jodi’s book, but to locate themselves inside them. And, to find each other through them.
How do you take a crowd of people who don’t know each other, ranging from college students to seasoned journalists to curious strangers, and help them feel, within the span of an evening, like they’re part of the same conversation?
Esther Perel, Jodi, and I focused on three specific mechanisms to activate the night.
Instead of sending a voice memo to my friends, I’m sending you this debrief, dear Group Lifers, on what we did and how we did it. Group Lifers can listen to the full replay above by clicking on the play arrow.
What I kept noticing all night was a particular kind of recognition spreading across the room. That feeling of: Oh, it’s not just me.
As always,
Priya
P.S. Join me this Wednesday, April 22, at 12 pm ET for a Substack Live BREAKDOWN with chef Nasim Alikhani of Sofreh and Sofreh Cafe, one of Brooklyn’s most beloved Persian restaurants. Nasim isn’t just cooking, she’s creating a gathering space that bridges cultures, introducing guests to the flavors and textures of her native Iran while shaping an experience people want to return to. We’ll talk about how she decides what belongs in her space, how she guides people into the unfamiliar, and how a place becomes more than just a place to eat. You can add it to your calendar here.
