The Bookseller.com

17th May 2008

Gayle Feldman is The Bookseller's US correspondent.

An unusual meeting

06.03.08

It was an unusual AAP meeting in New York.

As the Secret Service rode herd around the room, members of the Fourth Estate sat roped in like restless cattle, branded with badges saying "Property of US Government: White House Press Pool," bearing stickers with a sheriff's star.

"You're responsible for the greatest love affairs of my life:  books, of course," guest of honor Laura Bush, the reason for all the fuss, confided. "I'll always remember my first cruise with Katherine Anne Porter on the Ship of Fools . . . "

The unintended irony did not go unnoticed. Yet whatever the audience's feelings about Captain George, Mrs. Bush was being recognized in her own right as an advocate for books. According to AAP president Pat Schroeder, she has been the most active First Lady in this respect for a long time. She started the National Festival of Books; has championed the pediatric Reach Out and Read; and next month HarperCollins will publish Read All About It! a book she has co-authored with daughter Jenna.

Mrs Bush left after her speech, showing no signs of wanting to write a memoir or run for the Senate, but she could have taken some lessons in stonewalling from Amazon senior v-p Steve Kessel. In a Kindle-centered Q&A with AAP chair Richard Sarnoff of Random House, Kessel avoided hard numbers and real answers, simply replaying over and over again Amazon's commitment to "a great customer experience".

Publishers privately raised concerns about territorial rights on Kindle content, and wondered how much money Amazon was losing by sticking to a USD9.99 price point.

Borders' c.e.o. George Jones, questioned by Hachette c.e.o. David Young, was more voluble. His biggest surprise since arriving two years ago has been "the inadequacy of our systems".

The man from Saks and Target noted that the hour the average customer spends at Borders is longer than the average time spent at Saks. "We're never going to win on price. It comes down to the experience." The new "concept" store has been a "big success." Borders will open 14 this year, hoping to "mesh the internet with bricks and mortar to a degree not done except for the Apple stores".

Jones also described a big push for Borders to develop exclusive content, and would "love" publishers' help.

Finally, in a debriefing by author Walter Isaacson, recently retired S&S c.e.o. Jack Romanos estimated that "Oprah is responsible for USD500 million to a billion" in retail book sales, yet he's "never seen an independent projection on the growth factor in the business" when she goes off the air.  The internet provides "a huge opportunity" to begin to think about how we will have to "replace the Oprah phenomenon." As for retirement, Romanos is happily "having trouble remembering which day of the week it is".

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