 |
|
| Dan Christiaens | |
Dan Christiaens, longtime sales rep in the western U.S., has retired after nearly 30 years of book slinging for Norton and after nearly 50 years in the book business. He started his first bookstore job in 1975, and for years considered bookselling to be his "bartending" job while trying to make it as an actor. But then bookselling won the day, and as he puts it, "acting became my sales technique." Norton hired him in 1996, and since then he has worked with independent bookstores in every state in the West.
Christiaens says he loved his time in the trenches with "the most passionate, funny, cheerful, and energetic people in the world for these many years and will miss being the 'Norton Authority,' " a role he now hands to his successor, Jill Owens-Leigh, who joins the company from Powell's Books in Portland, Ore. In post-retirement, he plans to do acting again, as well as work the floor in a bookstore somewhere and volunteer in the National Parks.
There will be two celebrations of Dan Christiaens and his career. The first will be in Seattle, Wash., at Ravenna Third Place, on Monday, September 16, 6-8 p.m. The other will be at the Tin House in Portland, Ore., the night before the PNBA Trade Show, on Saturday, September 28, with time to be announced.
He can be reached via e-mail.