Dear Booksellers,

For the past 10 days Joy (ABA COO) and I, along with ABA board president, Jamie Fiocco (Flyleaf Books), and ABA board vice president, Brad Graham (Politics & Prose), have been conducting ABA’s annual individual check-in meetings with publishers and Ingram. Needless to say, these meetings were not business as usual this year.

We had four goals:

• Help the publishers and Ingram understand what you're going through;
• Help the publishers and Ingram understand what’s at stake right now;
• Understand what the publishers and Ingram are going through; and,
• Discuss the potential best practices for publishers, Ingram, and bookstores to start books and money flowing again, and in the right directions. 

Knowing that they are struggling right now as well, we deeply appreciate that the publishers and Ingram not only took time out of their busy schedules to meet with us, but engaged with us in a meaningful exchange. In many cases, their public face is brave for their authors’ sake, but they’ve experienced significant pay cuts. There was mention of layoffs and the potential for layoffs as well. As many of them have offices in New York City, a Covid hot spot, they don’t anticipate returning to work until later this fall, and many of them have been affected by the virus in their personal lives as well, as they live in areas significantly impacted by the virus. I was reminded of lines from a Mary Oliver poem: “Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on.” 

I can tell you that they listened and they heard our sense of urgency. Prior to the meetings we had sent them a video of 11 booksellers talking about their challenges and showing their stores’ current state. We included stores from all over the country, and in all stages of operations, large stores, medium stores, small stores — and a smaller store — established stores and new stores. We also shared two case studies, financial snapshots that showed the significant loss of sales that many stores are experiencing, the increase of cost of goods, shipping supplies, cleaning supplies, etc., and a bottom line that’s bright red. 

The meetings went well. I was reminded how lucky we are to work in this industry and to have the shared mission of books. We are very hopeful as we wait to hear back from publishers about what their plans are for the future and how that will affect all of you.

We have already heard from one. Following our meeting with them, Hachette announced Store Reopening and Recovery Terms to independent bookstores in the U.S. and Canada, a program that offers stores (in good standing as of March 15), amortization on older invoices, extended dating on new purchases, additional discount on new purchases, and a returns shipping credit. An amazing gesture of support for the indie channel’s recovery. HBG client publishers are participating as well: Abrams Books; Chronicle Books; Disney Book Group; Hachette UK; Kids Can Press; Lonely Planet (U.S. accounts only); Moleskine; Octopus (U.S. accounts only); Phaidon Press; Phoenix International; Quarto Publishing Group; Yen Press. 

We thank Hachette for their leadership in the industry at this moment, and we hope you’ll do the same. It was evident to us that the entire Hachette team put a lot of thought and effort into both our meeting and their plan for the future, and it was appreciated. Hachette is offering stores financial support but also a sign of hope. 

A second publisher has stepped up with a plan as well. They will have an announcement next week, and we hope that there will be more announcements to follow. In the meantime, we’re celebrating #ReadIndieForward. Sourcebooks shared this idea with us in our meeting with them, and it kicked off our meeting “tour” with an infusion of creativity and community spirit that was a common thread through every publisher conversation we had.   

Keep in mind, too, that some publishers, for various reasons, are still supporting stores but on a case-by-case basis rather than announcing a community plan. It’s critical that you communicate with your sales and credit reps to ask what they’re offering and to share with them what you need to weather this storm. It’s a long haul, but there are signs of hope everywhere.

A lot of people are here for you. Please reach out if there is anything ABA can help with. This is all just another reminder that we are an incredibly creative, resilient, supportive industry. We’ll get through this, together.

Best,
Allison