Give the Seward House's executive director, Peter Wisbey, and his staff a great deal of credit for bringing in James L. Swanson, who spoke to several hundred on Thursday night at East Middle School about his book, “Man Hunt: The 12-Day Chase For Lincoln's Killers.”

The partnership between the Seward House and Cayuga Community College's Foundation that brought him here can only be deemed a great success.

Wisbey will be the first to tell you that when he invited Swanson to Auburn after helping him by phone to get information and photos for his book, there was no evidence that the book would hit the New York Times bestseller list several weeks in a row since its release in February. Yet, he was smart enough to know that bringing authors to Auburn is something that the local community will eat up.

It is a win/win for everyone. The Seward House continues to showcase its great institution and build on its already stellar reputation. The reading public gets to hear how and why an author took on a project or why they decided to go in a certain direction. A good crowd can also generate sales and word-of-mouth buzz for the author.

Swanson told those assembled that the Auburn audience was a little intimidating from a size aspect; since most of his 100-plus appearances since the book came out were in smaller venues, such as bookstore signings.

This is the second author home run for the Seward House. They were able to pack Westminster Church on the Loop Road with the appearance of Pulitzer Prize winner Doris Kearns Goodwin (who will hopefully come back) with her publication of the New York Times best seller, “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln,” a few years ago.

While the focus of many organizations trying to raise funds is to bring in the big-name celebrity - whether from movies, sports or television - having authors come to a community once was all the rage. And it drew crowds.

The Onondaga County Public Library has capitalized on the desire to have authors with its Rosamond Gifford Lecture Series that has included the likes of Margaret Atwood (“The Blind Assassin”), Robert Caro (the Lyndon Johnson biographical trilogy), David Halberstam (“The Fifties”), Alexander McCall Smith (“The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency” series) and Amy Tan (“The Joy Luck Club”). It has made a name for itself as a place for readers from all over the region to visit.

Hopefully the Kearns-Goodwin and Swanson appearances are the start of a trend that singles out Auburn as a place where great authors are not only heard, but well received. It is also an opportunity for Auburn to put itself on the map as a tourist destination that not only has great historical sites, but events for readers that are worth a drive.

Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be e-mailed at cozguytho@aol.com