Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About A Boy) and Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius) are two of the most acclaimed authors of this generation. As rock stars of the literary world, they have crossed paths a number of times over the years with some of their favorite musicians.
So when Hornby had the idea to call upon those musical friends to donate set lists for Setlists For Young Voices, an auction to raise money for youth literary centers they had a number of friends to draw upon. Then they brought in fellow author Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier And Klay) to bolster the number of set lists.
The result, which goes live today at https://www.youthwriting.org/bid features signed set lists from Rush, Def Leppard, Nine Inch Nails, Jim James, Patti Smith, R.E.M., the Who, Death Cab For Cutie, Maxwell, Janelle Monae, Dixie Chicks, Steely Dan, ASAP Rocky and about 100 more artists, all to raise proceeds for Hornby's Ministry Of Stories and The International Congress Of Youth Voices, which brings teen writers to Puerto Rico this summer.
The auction begins today at 10 PM EST today and runs through May 2. I spoke with Hornby and Eggers about the auction, the one show of these set lists they wished they had seen, why they feel this is much better than a benefit concert and how these youth literacy centers constantly restore their faith in humanity.
Steve Baltin: Of all these set lists you've accumulated what s the one show for each of you that you would have most wanted to see?
Dave Eggers: The majority of these are new. Once we put out the word that we were looking for these bands sent us their current set list. But there are a few older ones, like R.E.M. sent two from '89, one from London and one from San Francisco, sort of in honor of our two home cities I guess. And the set lists are signed by all four band members. This is before Bill Berry left. So those are pretty cool, though there's a chance I was at that show. Back in '89 I would've been there probably. The first other package we got in the mail was from Chrissie Hynde, who sent a couple of Pretenders' set lists from Europe. The envelope at least had a Paris return address, so that was incredibly exotic and fun to get. And Patti Smith sent a bunch of set lists from Italy, always with the letterhead from like a hotel in Venice, for example. So when you get her lists it has her amazing calligraphy, handwriting and this incredible letterhead from an Italian hotel. So some of these just have so much history or character. But that's a good question. There are also set lists from Rush's last tour, which I didn't get to see, so maybe I wish I were there. What about you, Nick? Anything?
Nick Hornby: In terms of wishing I were there probably the Prefab Sprout one because I don't think they tour anymore. They don't really exist and I'm a huge fan of Paddy McAloon, the songwriter.It's one of those things where if I'd known I'd probably wouldn't get the chance again I would have gone to that show. It's sort of the reverse principle of why everybody goes to see Bob Dylan. They always fear it might be the last time they get to see him, so they go like 20 times in 10 years. But Prefab Sprout are more hermit like than that, so I'm sorry I missed that.
Baltin: Will there ever be a benefit concert as well just because it could raise so much attention?
Hornby: I'm busy that decade, but Dave has volunteered to do like a Live Aid thing.
Eggers: I was just telling somebody yesterday, Steve, how hard it is to make any money off a benefit concert. It's almost the worst kind of fundraiser you can possibly put on because you end up spending a year with logistics and so much money just to get everybody in one place and do it right. And by the time you've done that, the possibility of making money on top of it, for the underlying cause is almost zilch. We actually have in the distant past put on a few fundraisers for our centers, concerts with incredible lineups, and we were shocked by how hard it is was to actually come out ahead. So the beauty of the set lists, and this is all Nick's idea, our only expense, honest to god, is the stamps that it's gonna cost to send the set list to the winning bidder for each one. There's no other cost, so every dime will go to the Ministry Of Stories and the International Congress Of Youth Voices. That's the way to do a fundraiser.
Hornby: The other great thing is we ask nothing really of the participants in terms of time or effort or energy. And I think both Dave and I, because we have been involved a lot in charity work over the last 20 years, feel that we've called in about all the favors we can (laughs). And we're always asking people to turn up at this place and do that thing. And to be able to say to people, "Just pick the piece of paper up, sign it and stick it in the post," that's a pretty good ask. I don't feel too embarrassed about saying that.
Baltin: If this auction is successful do you see this becoming an annual fundraiser?
Hornby: Yeah, it hasn't been too much trouble for us and I can definitely see that we might get a head of steam going and maybe people will say, "Hey, why didn't you include us last year?" So there's definitely a possibility of that. You think, Dave?
Eggers: Yeah, it's exactly that. You're gonna find a lot of people that missed out on it this time on both sides, bidders and bands, because it's a new idea. And it's such an easy thing to do one time a year it will probably double or triple in size next year. And what's funny is that it takes some bands a little while to dig up some of these old set lists and we've had some musicians say, "Wow, I'd have to go to the storage unit just to get that." But they have them. What's amazing is how organized some of these bands are. I don't know if I would have had access to something like that, a set list from '89.
Hornby: What really pissed me of is when I said to Dave, "This is what I'm thinking of doing," then the first photo he sent me was two R.E.M. set lists from 1989. And I thought, "Ah, who is gonna go one better than everybody else?" It just blew my stuff away.
Eggers: It's a thing where Nick and I will text each other, "I got the Lumineers." And then when Michael Chabon joined in...
Hornby: That put us in a different league as well.
Eggers: Suddenly it's like, "I've got Rush."
Hornby: Chabon got Rush and Steely Dan?
Eggers: Steely Dan and Def Leppard I think came through Chabon, which I don't think either one of us would have had a connection to Def Leppard.
Hornby: It's interesting who reveals their connections as well because I didn't think Michael Chabon would have a connection with Def Leppard but apparently they're there for the taking with him.
Baltin: Who scored the NIN because I am a massive Trent Reznor fan?
Hornby: I think that must have been Chabon, wasn't it?
Baltin: So he is the rocker of the three of you?
Eggers: I guess so. That surprised me too.
Hornby: Maybe next year we should start to think about who else would be very well connected in terms of literature and music. I don't know who the best-connected person would be actually. We did do alright.
Baltin: It sounds like there's a fun competition there. So is there the one set list that would be the "Holy Grail" for you guys?
Hornby: A '65 Stones would be good.
Eggers: I think we need a Beatles from Hamburg set list.
Hornby: I'd love a Dylan one as well.
Baltin: Talk about the centers and what you get from being involved with them.
Eggers: We've taught a lot of these centers, The Ministry Of Stories and 826 Valencia. And I've got the luck of being around still mostly very well-read high school students who maintain your hope I guess in literacy. These centers are safe havens for kids that love to read and love to write and gravitate toward that world. So the International Congress, every center around the world, 50 odd centers like ours, sends two students, almost like a Noah's Ark of the best and brightest young minds in the world, they all come and gather and they're all dedicated to their section between writing and activism, using the written and spoken word for social change. There's no possible way there's a more inspiring and hopeful place in the universe than when these 100 students gather because they're all so idealistic, they all have a moral clarity that we no longer have as adults. And they have no doubt they are the ones that can fix everything that's broken in the world.
Hornby: I got two teenage boys, who don't really read books much to my frustration. But I was talking to the youngest one about literacy a few weeks ago. And he didn't know the word illiteracy. I said, "It's people who can't read and write. When I was a kid there were a lot more people like that than there are now." And he said, "Wow, I can't imagine not being able to read." And I thought, "This is ironic for a kid who doesn't read." And he said, "Everything's reading. You'd just be so out of the loop with your friends if you couldn't text and read what people were saying and using Twitter and Instagram." It had never occurred to me that partly the reason we have increased literacy is that these kids are desperate to be able to manage that stuff. So maybe it's not quite as catastrophic as we fear in terms of very basic literacy. But I think Dave is right, the more the internet becomes some kind of cesspit of nonsense then I think people will have a hunger for something a little more solid.
Baltin: What is the one thing for each of you that you want people to know about these centers and where their money is going?
Hornby: For me, the kids who come to the Ministry Of Stories are 100 percent guaranteed to have richer internal lives and maybe a better shot at a job than they would if they didn't come..
Eggers: I'll also say, Steve, when I was last at the Ministry I talked to two students who had recently presented papers at Parliament. So they got to talk to ministers. They were invited to present to a number of ministers in the Parliament. I've told everyone for 17 years, if you come into one of these centers your faith will be restored because whether it's students working afterschool on homework, which is so basic, but they're getting it done and these are mostly first generation immigrants, mostly parents who don't speak English, but you're seeing them with a passion for the written word, you're seeing them succeed, you're seeing them going to college, the first in their family to go to college because they've had this help over many years and you're seeing them fall in love with books. Most kids have read all the Harry Potter books, that's just sort of a standard for young people these days. That's 2000-odd pages, that's more than I read when I was a kid. So literacy rates worldwide are way up from when we were kids and definitely doubled or tripled from when our grandparents were kids. So on the whole it's getting better.
