“When there are fewer bookstores in the landscape, there are fewer book sales and fewer people just aware of books.”
“If independent bookstores disappeared, authors would be screwed,” said Dennis Johnson, co-founder and publisher of Melville House, a bookstore and press based in Brooklyn. During the pandemic, some stores pivoted to online events Books Are Magic in Brooklyn, for example, hosts several Zoom events per week. Independent bookstores and Barnes & Noble also host events with authors - the Booksmith in San Francisco hosted 300 events a year before the pandemic, a representative said - that can raise awareness about books and encourage sales. Black bookstores, in particular, have become a space for making debut authors more visible, she said. “Discoverability is essential, and it’s very difficult,” said Regina Brooks, the founder and president of Serendipity Literary Agency in Brooklyn. “If you want to support debut authors, or mid-list authors, or certain voices, those books are going to be more apparent in an independent bookstore,” she said. But books without large marketing campaigns behind them have a greater chance of being discovered at an independent bookstore. Authors generally get paid the same amount no matter where their book is sold, said Allison Hill, the chief executive of the American Booksellers Association. If you want to support up-and-coming authorsįor those who want to discover and support new writers, rather than waiting for splashy releases, independent bookstores tend to be a better option. Here, booksellers and literary agents offer advice on how to evaluate your book buying options.
But massive retailers like Amazon continue to dominate the bookselling business, and readers may be torn between the desire to support local bookstores and the convenience and price of online delivery giants. The last year has seen expanded options for buying books online, as more bookstores have developed websites, and e-commerce sites like gain traction.
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