Authors Night, and the Winner is Christie Brinkley

By Katlean De Monchy–

East Hampton is book country. In fact, Alec Baldwin, one of this area’s prominent residents, took Hilaria to Authors Night as one of their first dates, 15 years ago. That might seem odd, but not to someone who lives in East Hampton. And that’s what Hilaria remembered, when I caught up with her inside.
Christie Brinkley, another celebrity identified with the Hamptons, said that Authors Night was symbolic of a tight-knit community. “Even tonight, you can see it’s a real community in a world that really needs community now.”
But to be part of that community, first you had to pay your $150 and get inside. It was a hot Saturday afternoon in Herrick Park. Book lovers outside were impatient. They were armed with lists and strategies, but no tote bags. Not allowed until check-out. For some there was another barrier to entry: the line for a drill called the step and repeat:
Woman in floral dress posing at a branded event backdrop.

Katlean De Monchy

When the ropes came down there was a stampede to certain tables. Bobbi Brown. Novelists. Molly Jong-Fast has a huge following. That woman who wrote the dishy book about Lorne Michaels. Griffin Dunne was here. Neil deGrasse Tyson (who also had a sold-out program on Sunday night at Guild Hall) is treated like a rock star, even though he lives in East Hampton.
Readers also made a beeline for another star writer, this one visiting from Washington DC: Maureen Dowd of The New York Times. And for Hilaria Baldwin.
Two women engaged in a lively interview under a tent at an event.

I hit Christie Brinkley’s table first, because that had the biggest crowd, as well as other people interviewing her. Her magnetic smile and her small town girl charm had the crowds capitvated and seduced.  At 71 she has that youthful energy every ageless person aspires to.

She talked to me while she signed books. She is clearly a multi-tasker.
She told me: “And at various times in my life, whenever I thought about writing a book, everybody always said, it’s gotta be called ‘Uptown Girl,’ so –”
Hello, Hi
“I just figured,  I’ll go with it. It’s instantly memorable. With the music. So it all works.”
More hellos, and signing. Asking an assistant “How are we doing? It’s much more crowded than last time.”
Back to me: “And it was very opportune that Billy’s HBO documentary is out now. It’s an incredible, I mean, richly textured documentary. And Alexa and I are in part two…”
“How are you doing?
Two smiling people posing closely at an event.

Christie Brinkley with a fan (Photo credit: Katlean De Monchy)

“Between the book and the documentary, you know, you really get a big picture of that part of my life. My life in Paris, my life in Greece, my life in Mexico, my life, you know, all around my modeling,” Brinkley said.
I can confirm that the book is chock full of stories, between the 100 photos. Kirkus reviews said it was  a “thoroughly engaging glimpse into a colorful life well lived.”  I can tell you that, no matter how well lived her colorful life, up close, she is still a stunner. She knows how to talk, smile, be charming — all at once. That’s why I call her the winner.
I’m guessing she sold the most books. Did you know that the publishers donate the books, so all proceeds go to the library?
Wilbur Ross looked kind of lonely at his table. He had very few customers. Perhaps the ones who wanted his wit and wisdom about Risks and Returns had already gotten that last year, when he was here as well. In any case, he was there, waiting with a pile of books and an eager smile.
An elderly man at a book signing event with stacks of books.
Onward to Hilaria Baldwin. She is a star in her own right, besides being Alec’s wife. A yoga instructor and entrepreneur. Mother of seven children who is able to slim down immediately after each birth. And now, once again, an author. There were large crowds around her table. Her book is “Manual Not Included.”
“It’s a bit of a  memoir,” she tells me. “But there is no manual for, like, any of this — parenting, lifing, womaning, partnering.” (I think she may have invented some new subjects there –“lifing?” “womaning”)
“So there’s some humor in there. There’s some sad stories.”
I asked about her feelings about East Hampton. That’s when she told me about their first date. “It’s been 15 summers that we’ve been together. So it’s a lot of memories.”
I mentioned thatt she had packed in a lot for someone who is only 41. How did she do it?
“A good sense of humor. Gotta be flexible. But I’m not gonna stick to this rule too much.”
“I can break rules sometimes.”
Man signing a book at an outdoor event with people in the background.

Neil deGrass Tyson (Photo credit: Katlean De Monchy)

That huge circle over there was around the table of Neil deGrasse Tyson. In case you are wondering where the deGrasse part of his name came from, it was his  father’s grandmother, who immigrated from Belize in Central America. Dr. Tyson’s show on Sunday night at Guild Hall is completely sold out. He’s a local hero, a national hero. a TV star. And he has so much energy. Buying his book feels like an investment in star power.

And there was Stewart F. Lane, one of our many local theatrical producers, with his wife, Bonnie Comley. For his book, “It Happened at the Plaza,” he took solo credit. The Plaza is just one of the many Broadway theaters he has had an interest in. He is a great theater historian.

 

Man smiling while holding a book about The Palace nightclub.

Stewart F. Lane (Photo credit: Katlean De Monchy)

Another mob, another media star: Maureen Dowd, from The New York Times. Her book, “Notorious” is a dishy walk through her interviews with the stars, not just in Hollywood, but in commerce and Washington and fashion. That means Andre Leon Talley and Tom Ford as well as Tina Fey and Elon Musk.

Close-up portrait of a confident woman with red hair and red lipstick.

Jill Brooke and Maureen Dowd (Photo credit: Katlean De Monchy)

I saw Jill Brooke, who used to be a correspondent at CNN, at Maureen’s table. I’m sure the two of them know people in common. As for “Notorious,” The Los Angeles Times, rather than review the book, ran excerpts from it as “Five juicy stories from Maureen Dowd’s interviews.” And they were indeed. The book is 400 pages, which seems like a lot. But she has been writing these things since 1986, and has a way of getting prominent people to just blurt things out.

 

Two smiling women posing at an indoor event under a tent.

Louise Braver and Representative Rebecca Seawright, loading up on books.

Who else did I visit? I ran into Rebecca Seawright, who is the State Representative for part of New York City and Long Island. (She seemed to have bought at least two copies of “Uptown Girl,” if I am guessing right.)
I did see the perma-tanned George Plimptin pass by. (Thank you, people who corrected me when I misstyped, after saying “perma-tanned” “George Hamilton”) I heard he was the plus-one for the novelist Katherine Bryant. Her book “Give My Love to Berlin,” came out in May and describes the dangers to gay couples during the rise of Nazi power.
It was no surprise to see Jessica Seinfeld signing books. It was her second time. This outing was for “Not Too Sweet,” which came out in November, just in time for making Christmas cookies that would be Good For You.
And I saw Alec Baldwin as he was ducking out at the exit. He has a lot of things going this weekend, so a visit to Authors Night might have been low on his list of priorities for once.
So, it was the most successsful Authors Night ever. There were 2,000 book lovers. The dinners all sold out (even the one with Wilbur Ross, so I guess people did want to find out about “Creating Success in Business and Life.”) And the night raised $500,000 for the East Hampton Library.