Charitable Group Created to Support Local Literary Events

Three local residents have created Palisades Village Book Friends, a charitable organization that will provide financial assistance for the community literary events hosted by Katie O’Laughlin and Village Books and others.   ’Our goal,’ said co-organizers Michael Doyen, Susan Nash and Kelly Anderson, ‘is to ensure continuation of the tradition started by Village Books of having weekly author readings and book signings in the Palisades. We have contracted with Village Books to act as a host for future literary gatherings and as a liaison for school and community educational events.’   Book Friends has raised over $17,000 since its formation in early February, enough to underwrite events hosted by the bookstore into the summer. The organization needs additional community donations to keep the literary charity going.   ’We call on all readers and friends of books to help support our literary traditions in the Palisades and continuing local access to books and authors,’ Doyen said.   Donations can be sent to Palisades Village Book Friends, P.O. Box 1553, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. Suggested donor levels are: $100 – $499, Caldecott Friends; $500-$999, Newberry Friends; $1,000-$1,499, Booker Friends; $1,500-$1,999, Pulitzer Friends; $2,000 and up, Nobel Friends. Of course, donations in any amount will be gladly accepted.   (Book Friends’ tax-exempt status as a public charity is pending. Assuming tax-exempt status is obtained, donations made now will be retroactively deductible to February 5.)   ’This ongoing financial support will provide vital cash flow for my store,’ said Village Books owner Katie O’Laughlin. ‘When I stay open late to host speakers’sometimes two or three times a week’the money will pay for my extra labor costs and other related expenses.’   The organization’s officers are Michael Doyen (president and chairman of the board), Kelly Anderson (secretary) and Susan Nash (treasurer). All are long-time residents of the Palisades and lovers of books.   Doyen and his wife, Denise, have lived here since 2002 with his wife, Denise. They have two sons: Paul, a student at Lewis and Clark College, and Max, who attends Calmont School.   Anderson has been working part-time at Village Books for three years and keeps the store’s Web site updated. She and her husband Bill, residents here since 1986, also have two sons: Max, a senior at New York University, and Spencer, a freshman at Duke.   Nash, a graduate of Stanford Law School, worked as a business litigator for eight years, first at Latham & Watkins (1982-1985), then at Munger, Tolles & Olson from 1985-1990. After working part-time for 18 years, she returned fulltime to Munger last September as Of Counsel.   ’Mike Doyen and I knew each other from my first stint at Munger,’ Nash said. ‘We asked another lawyer at our firm, Steve Guise (a former Palisadian), about forming a nonprofit organization for charitable literary purposes. Steve did the work to incorporate PVBF pro bono.’   Village Books is located at 1049 Swarthmore Ave. Contact: pvbookfriends@earthlink.net.