Promotion as Art: Thinking Beyond the Book Trailer. (Mitchell Douglas, David Flores, Ellen Hagan, Monica Hand, Parneshia Jones)

En route to a National Book Award win, Nikky Finney promoted Head Off & Split with a series of short films by David Flores. More than book trailers, these thoughtful vignettes revealed the person behind the poems: a voice of witness speaking candidly from the places that birthed the project. This panel gathers five poets with Flores to discuss their unique collaborations with the filmmaker, the need for more innovative book promotion, and what happens when spreading the word becomes art.