Left Bank Books in St. Louis, MO, is celebrating 45 years in business, and they’ve created a unique event to celebrate.

Writers Under Glass.

Beginning at 5:00 p.m. tonight, authors Mark Tiedemann, Ann Leckie, Kevin Killeen, and Scott Phillips will collaborate on a short story… live… in the store window.

Here are the rules given to the authors:

1. Each writer gets two turns at bat; the order they go is selected at random.
2. Writers cannot change a word of what another has written.
3. Anyone can submit a suggestion to the authors, and authors MUST use selected curveballs or face the wrath of the MC! Submitting a curveball enters you into a free raffle to win a fabulous Left Bank Books prize!
4. When your turn’s up, your turn’s up! The next writer will finish the sentence.
5. There are no rules! (Except, of course, those listed above.)

And the storyline:

Phil, a time traveling private investigator, has come back to stop the theft of a rare first edition. He knows the book was in Left Bank Books. He doesn’t know the title, doesn’t know the author – but it has a red cover.

In an email to customers and on their website, Left Bank Books wrote:

Come inside for cake and beverages, to submit curveballs, and chat with special guest Heather Brewer! Follow #WritersUnderGlass on Twitter for live updates!

From a marketing perspective, there are so many things about this event that I love.

I love that they are celebrating with local authors.

I love that Left Bank Books customers are encouraged to participate in the writing activity by submitting curveballs, and by doing so are rewarded with a chance to win a door prize.

I love that Left Bank Books created a unique hashtag (#WritersUnderGlass) and are posting live updates on Twitter.

I love that anyone can watch the writing event through a live-stream video on the Left-Bank Books website. And also featured on the page are the books (with buy buttons) by the participating authors.

And I love cake.

Happy birthday, Left Bank Books!

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To learn more about the history of Left Bank Books, Jarek Steele wrote this nice piece on their blog.