TBR readers enjoy some book talk and food
The Bates House in Setauket was brimming with book and food lovers the evening of Sept. 24.
TBR News Media hosted its 2nd annual Cooks, Books & Corks event at the venue, with 100 ticket holders in attendance to chat with 17 authors and to sample entrées, desserts and beverages from 18 establishments. Cellist Alison Rowe was on hand to provide the background music.
The event was organized to raise funds for a paid intern for TBR’s six newspapers next summer. The intern will be selected from students attending Stony Brook University’s School of Journalism. Ticket holders had the opportunity to stroll through the Bates House to sample food and chat with authors, as well as buy books. A few of the attending writers even took to the stage to describe their works to the audience.
During the event, publisher Leah Dunaief thanked the crowd for attending, and she said after last year’s Cooks, Books & Corks she received many compliments, including that it was a highly dignified event, and she hoped those in attendance found this one just as grand and exciting.
Laura Lindenfeld, interim dean of SBU School of Journalism and executive director of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, attended the event.
“What an important time to be involved in journalism,” she said, addressing the attendees.
Lindenfeld said the opportunity to work with SBU journalism students was amazing, and she said they tell “important stories grounded in truth.”
As the author of “Feasting Our Eyes: Food Films and Cultural Identity in the United States,” the interim dean said she couldn’t turn down the opportunity to attend Cooks, Books & Corks. She said those involved were building community, a word she said ties into communication.
“I love the idea that the word communication comes from the word community,” she said. “It’s about a sense of belonging, being together and making meaning together. And I can see that happening in this room here.”
Lindenfeld thanked the attendees for supporting the fundraiser for an intern to have the opportunity to get experience in the field.
“We just want to get them out in the world, telling good stories that make a difference and then help us really be open to change,” she said.
