MERYL LEVINE started Creating Connections, L.L.C. in the spring of 2006. She brings to the Company a vast knowledge of event coordination, school programs, author visits, fundraisers, successful networking skills, an ability to think “outside the box”, and having an attention to detail par excellence.

It all began after college, following her dream of owning a bookstore. The Book Den in Fort Lee, New Jersey opened in the spring of 1974, being nationally recognized for planning bestselling author signing events, i.e. bestselling author Robert Ludlum, former NY Yankee Jim Bouton, football great Jim Brown, et al., and for being the youngest female in the United States to own a bookstore in 1974.

Closing her store after 7 years to pursue another passion, Meryl became a fashion coordinator on Madison Avenue, NYC, for the designer Andre Courreges.

Getting an itch to get back into books, Meryl opened and managed the first Doubleday Book Shop in the Short Hills Mall, Short Hills, New Jersey, receiving corporate recognition for operating the store with the highest gross contribution and for having the third highest volume store in the chain. While at Doubleday, one of her major signing events was with the actress Sophia Loren.

After leaving Doubleday, her next foray into the book business was with Salem House Publishers, a publisher that carried a vast array of English imprints. Immediately becoming National Accounts Manager, Ms. Levine called on all independent bookstores, chain stores and wholesalers in all of NYC and northern New Jersey.

Moving on from Salem House, Meryl became Sales Rep and then National Accounts Manager for Putnam Publishing Group, NYC. In 1991, as a sales rep, Ms. Levine was named Sales Rep of the Year and received recognition and rewards for selling the most copies of a book in a year. Notable author signings included Art Buchwald, Tom Clancy, Robin Cook, Amy Tan and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

The urge to start her own book fair company soon came to fruition with the opening of Book Fair Enterprises, Inc. As owner and president of the company, Meryl provided adult and children’s books to about 150 schools, organizations and school districts. Ms. Levine had the distinction among book fair companies in New Jersey, of carrying one of the largest selection of multicultural books. Some of the author visits she coordinated and set up were with Eric Carle, Tomi DePaola, David Adler, Floyd Cooper, Anna Quindlen, Pete Hamill, Amy Hest, Patricia Polacco, Irene Kelly, et al.