The US Market: What we learned at the 13th Winter Institute
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2:41 PM, 22 March 2018
Since 2014, the Kobo Rakusten scholarship has sent two emerging New Zealand booksellers to the annual American Booksellers Association Winter Institute. This scholarship covers conference costs, flights and accommodation as well as the opportunity to intern as a bookseller at an American indie bookstore. As Manager of Time Out Bookstore, I received this scholarship in 2014 and my boss Wendy Tighe-Umbers was so impressed with what I learned and brought back, she said she would send me again. When Memphis was announced as the 2018 location, I immediately put my hand up. I accompanied this year’s scholarship winners, Tanya Gribben from The Women’s Bookshop in Auckland, and Cassie Richards from Unity Books in Wellington.
Following the four day conference, Tanya and Cassie were stationed at two of the USA’s most well known bookstores. Tanya was stationed at the relatively new bookshop, Nashville’s Parnassus, made famous by it’s well known owner, author Ann Patchett. Parnassus was established for the people of Nashville, for writers to connect with readers; for readers to connect with books; where you can be sure local authors will be stocked.
Cassie headed to Washington DC to work at another famous bookstore, Politics & Prose. Cassie describes this shop as a pinnacle of independent bookselling and a hub of culture. They’re committed to community engagement and intellectual discourse, hosting hundreds of author talks throughout the year (there’s one in-store nearly every night, and several on weekends), and also holding literary classes and a variety of book groups. ‘They’re a bit like a small university in a way!,’ notes Cassie.
Come to the Booksellers NZ Conference in August to hear a group presentation of tangible tips gained from this experience! In the meantime, here is our take on how the US indie book market is doing, as well Tanya and Cassie’s impressions from their intern placements.
The State of the US Market
The good news is, independent bookstores in the USA are generally doing well, and the indie market was healthy in 2017. Sales are up with a modest increase of 3% in 2017 in a 6 year period of growth. However, major book chain Barnes & Noble have reported losses of 5.8% during the third quarter of its 2018 fiscal year. They are attributing these figures on low foot traffic during the holiday period and this is likely caused by online shopping. The death of Barnes & Noble would be devastating for its 26,000 staff, as well as the US publishing industry.
Speaking of which, Amazon is crushing bricks and mortar businesses in the States - but surprisingly, it’s not the indie bookstores that are taking the hit (this isn’t to say Amazon doesn’t keep them awake at night.) Amazon has now (rather ironically) opened 13 physical stores and 3 more are in the works. Indie stores who are in the same area as the Amazon stores already open haven’t reported losses - yet.
As an indie bookseller, these Amazon stores sound terrible, with all face-out stock and a limited selection which is changed every two weeks due to bestseller algorithms. But although indie stories don’t have to compete on atmosphere, web delivery service is an issue, as many Amazon Prime customers can receive their purchases in 3 hours.
Local publishers are working hard with bookstores to ensure they have rapid inventory. Random House US is delivering to two thirds of their customers overnight, and it’s evident that publishers and bookstores need to continue to work closely together to ensure an easy, fast experience for consumers.
A positive change in the indie market that has come through over the past few years are that it’s no longer a struggle to sell an established bookstore. Many younger booksellers are buying stores and the trend seems to be these booksellers are buying existing stores over a 4-5 year period, as well as more independents opening in new locations and established shops opening branches.
The stores that are doing well are
- serving the community,
- emphasising buying local in their community
- are up to date with e-commerce
- open to change
- have smart sidelines.
Books and Politics
As we all know, the USA is not terribly politically stable at the moment, and this anxiety was spoken about regularly in both personal conversations and in presentations. The American delegates at WI were extremely interested in how international guests perceived their government.
The political concern has lead to action by both the ABA and a committee of booksellers to address diversity issues within the book industry. Tanya says that she felt the resolve of booksellers to stock diverse books had been strengthened and justified by recent events and this can only be seen as a positive spin-off.
There were various sessions within the conference on how to hire diverse staff, buy in books by diverse authors, and the conference had a diverse line-up of speakers. Tanya’s favourite keynote was Junot Diaz, ‘he was eloquent and passionate. He lambasted the lack of diversity and immigrant experience in books whilst advocating for his favourite bookstore. He wrote Islandborn to redress the balance.’
Politics and Prose, where Cassie interned, is right in the thick of it: ‘I had the feeling that everybody was a bit weary and jaded from talking about the current POTUS, especially being in D.C. I heard fond memories from the staff of the visits that Obama made to the shop for Small Business Saturday (two years in a row!) Nostalgia can be a nice escape.
‘I think, if anything, the current political climate can only serve to amplify P&P’s atmosphere and make it even more of a haven. They’re definitely doing well from a financial standpoint, too.’
USA & NZ: Similarities & Differences
Tanya and Cassie worked at quite different bookstores. Parnassus is a custom-built store, much bigger that The Women’s Bookshop, with 25 staff (not all full-time.) Meanwhile, the flagship store of Politics and Prose is a mid-to-large sized bookshop, with sales space over two floors, and 100 staff.
Parnassus has a beautiful fit-out but is located in a very grey, dull strip mall, unlike the Women’s Bookshop (in vibrant Ponsonby). The window display is not important; it is a destination bookshop so it is not necessary to entice passers-by. Parnassus has a staff meeting every morning, a first editions subscription service, a book-mobil and instore book clubs, and a children’s storytime.
The strongest similarity was simply the belief that books matter. The staff are passionate about reading, and the place that books have in the community.
The strongest difference between Politics & Prose and Unity Books for Cassie was simply that of scale: ‘I was amazed that they have a separate team of people for events, and another for marketing, another incoming freight, and so on. Even the children’s department has its own set of staff. That wouldn’t be usual for many US bookshops, and it’s definitely not the case for bookshops in New Zealand, so it was really interesting to see that kind of operation in action.
‘Everybody wears several hats throughout their day at Unity; I can’t imagine having only one role and not working in close cooperation with everybody on staff.’
There were similarities though, says Cassie: ‘I think all independent bookshops share a common feeling which has a lot to do with the interaction between staff and customers. Everybody at P&P was friendly and knowledgeable and very able to meet their customer’s needs. Often that need is for conversation as well as a book recommendation. It’s the kind of service that fosters loyalty, and people go back to Politics and Prose for the same reasons they go back to Unity – for the books of course, but largely because the staff are so committed to what they’re doing and ready to engage with customers on a more personal level.’
I asked Tanya and Cassie what they’ve implemented from their time in the USA since coming back to New Zealand. Tanya says, ‘Regular staff meetings (boring but true).’ And Cassie has author communication in her sights, and is now looking at adjusting the process for how Unity deals with self-published authors.
Finally, here are our top book recommendations from what we received in the famous Winter Institute Galley Room. Keep an eye on these titles!
Jenna - Motherhood by Sheila Heiti
Tanya - The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
Cassie - Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Muraka
By Jenna Todd, Manager, Time Out Bookstore
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