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"The future will be different, and we need to be ready," booksellers were told at the American Booksellers Association’s "Snow Days" event.
The American Booksellers Association’s "Snow Days," a virtual retreat meant to substitute for an in-person Winter Institute, began last Tuesday (8th March) with around 500 participants toggling between motivational talks about the future and more pragmatic features like rep picks, author sessions and a financial workshop. The day ended in a melding of both, when three bookstore owners discussed lessons learned and future challenges during a panel devoted to "Black Female Entrepreneurship".
The keynote came from forecaster Dr Jane McGonigal, director of games research and development at the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto, and author of the forthcoming Imaginable: How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything—Even Things that Seem Impossible Today (Spiegel & Grau).
McGonigal engaged booksellers in games to imagine a more positive, empowered future, "where we have changed some things that need to change", at a time when most of us have been—and still are—consumed by "unimaginable" or "unthinkable" events. Pointing to the millions of times those two words have appeared in headlines since the start of 2020, McGonigal said they indicate our "state of collective shock".
Her games are meant to encourage a brain reboot to more mental flexibility, realistic hope and "urgent optimism", whether thinking specifically about the bookselling future—one question she suggested listeners ask themselves is, "How much control do you personally have to influence bookselling?"—or more generally.
One game posited a new future holiday—"Thank You Day"—involving individuals being funded by the government to make a cash donation as well as a book donation to a recipient of their choice, the latter via Bookshop.org and meant to "celebrate the power of free speech and create stronger social ties".
McGonigal’s scenario of a national "reconciliation movement", powered in part through books, comes at a time, she acknowledged, of extreme polarisation and more book censorship than we have seen for many decades. But defending the power of imagination and "mental time-travel" to create change, McGonigal quoted what she called "Dator’s Law": "Any useful statement about the future should at first seem ridiculous." One thing’s for sure, she concluded: "The future will be different, and we need to be ready."
McGonigal quoted what she called "Dator’s Law": "Any useful statement about the future should at first seem ridiculous." One thing’s for sure, she concluded: "The future will be different, and we need to be ready"
A session by two labour lawyers, Jon Hiatt and Mark Reiss, about the movement in some stores to unionise prompted many questions and revealed a few interesting facts. At the moment, there are only around 40 unionised independent bookstores in the US, and costs linked to establishing a union, often moderate, nevertheless can sometimes go as high as $100,000. The desire for better money, benefits and more control over time off factors in, but the most important motivator, Hiatt and Reiss said, is staff desire to have what they called "voice"—respect, dignity and input on decision-making.
It was very clear what motivated Donya Craddock of The Dock Bookshop in Texas, Ramunda Young of Mahogany Books, and Hannah Oliver-Depp of Loyalty Bookstores (the latter two in Washington, DC) to start their businesses.
For Young, who founded her store 15 years ago, it was "the impetus to make our history accessible and available, no matter where you live in the US". Mahogany has two physical locations now, but also describes itself as "the premier online bookstore" for African-American books.
Craddock "saw something missing. It was a tough start, challenging the mindset in Texas, but a labour of love, tackling it day by day, book by book". For Oliver-Depp, as for the others, "all are welcome", but her store caters specifically for people of colour and queer people. "That influences every choice," whether it’s books or "candles, incense, fabric... There isn’t a model we can necessarily follow; we have to be out there, forming connections."
In Craddock’s store, "you see New York Times bestsellers, books by Dolly Parton and Brené Brown, but we don’t take away from our mission to amplify African-American storytellers. We have to dig for information," whether for "women’s history or Black cowboys. We’re constantly paralleling and layering things alongside the mainstream, making these books speak."
Young, too, mentions the "very intentional curation, partnering with publishers whom mainstream stores might not work with. We take time to look for books from smaller Black presses. And we do a lot of juggling to help the community. On Sundays, a church meets in our event space; we host workshops; entrepreneurs ask for advice." But Oliver-Depp insisted that it’s also important to "establish boundaries and make sure whatever you do comes back to the book. Because you love your community, you want to say yes to everything," but only have so much "bandwidth".
As for what publishers can do to help, Craddock advised: "Get away from the concept of a quota. It’s good for us to get some high-profile events." Oliver-Depp cautioned: "Don’t think of me as an afterthought." And Young emphasised that "for many years we weren’t at the forefront of conversations. Right now, it’s cool to connect with Black businesses, but these conversations need to be all year long. Don’t just push stuff out to us—instead, reach out."