Some might think of this upcoming weekend’s Los Angeles
Times Festival of Books as a sanctuary for independent booksellers,
a two-day respite from stressful competition from large chains such
as Borders or Barnes & Noble ““ in short, a time when the
independents can finally get the exposure they are mostly
denied.
However, those two corporations are among the festival’s
largest sponsors. As such, they display their wares in larger
spaces than their noncorporate co-stars. They also have their names
on stages on which numerous authors speak. With so much attention
drawn to the big boys, what’s left for the little guy?
A whole lot, according to the independents themselves.
“Barnes & Noble they can go to anytime. This festival
gives them a broader range of independent book dealers, and from
(the dealers), they can end up finding that
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little niche that caters to their needs,” said Bobby
McCue, manager of Westwood’s Mystery Bookstore.
Rather than feeling overshadowed by the larger stores, some
independents see the festival as an opportunity to reassert the
benefits of being small. For one thing, readers can have an easier
time finding what they want to read and will concentrate on one
area, such as biography or history, McCue said.
For others, it’s about being part of something bigger.
“It’s more of a community commitment,” said
Kerry Slattery, general manager of Skylight Books in Silver Lake.
“We do make some money, but it’s a huge amount of work
(to come to the festival), especially because we’re all the
way across town. It’s really more of a collegial undertaking.
Everybody in the book world of Southern California is there, and we
want to be part of that. It’s as much that as anything
else.”
This will be Slattery’s eighth year representing Skylight
Books at the festival. In the past, she has observed the
distinctions festivalgoers make between large and small
sellers.
“One of the years, our booth was directly facing the
Barnes & Noble booth, and it was interesting because I think
that people already know about those guys, and they don’t
know about these other (independent) places,” Slattery said.
“People say, “˜Oh, I had no idea I had
choices.'”
Indeed, other independent vendors agree that a main upside to
the festival is simply visibility, regardless of the presence of
chains.
“The turnout is unbelievable,” said Mary Goodfader,
owner of Venice Beach’s Small World Books. “The
independents get a lot of exposure. It’s a little expensive
to get a booth, but it’s worth it. The thousands of people
that come make it all worthwhile.”
Goodfader discounted the notion that having stores such as
Borders and Barnes & Noble as sponsors is detrimental to the
independents, noting that the money the chains contribute is
essential to the festival’s existence.
“(The chains) have more (booth) space because they support
the fair in a big way,” Goodfader said. “I think that
they have to be given some credit for making it such a
success.”
“I grudgingly say that because they are putting us out of
business,” she added with a laugh.
For Goodfader, the festival provides a chance to present less
visible art forms in a more public setting. At her booth, for
example, poets read and sign their work.
“(The festival) is a wonderful opportunity to see poetry
being read in Los Angeles,” Goodfader said. “It’s
unusual, because one doesn’t think poetry is being read a lot
in L.A. We supply the books of the poets being read. The response
is enthusiastic.”
Aside from specialization of genre or form, there are other
upsides to being an independent at the Festival of Books.
Festivalgoers like Eric Batchelor, a third-year history student,
tend to seek out the smaller vendors for their more personal
atmosphere.
“I feel like the interactions with people (at the
independents) are more friendly and human,” Batchelor
said.
This might be the most central appeal of the independent
booksellers: a focus on relationships between customer and
salesperson, and an emphasis on building a community where both can
exist foremost as fans.
“We get quite a few people calling (Mystery Bookstore)
after the festival that don’t live in the area, which makes
it fun,” McCue said. “That’s why we’re
there.”
For Slattery and Skylight Books, this idea of putting personal
relationships first sets the independents furthest apart from the
chains and makes the festival a memorable event.
“(The Skylight Books booth) is like a little oasis for
people who already know us, because if you go to the chains,
you’re not going to necessarily know someone,” she
said. “It’s the same people you’ll actually see
at the store. In our booth, every year, all of our customers find
us. They come hang out at the booth; they recognize the
booksellers; they’re all excited.”
“It’s like their neighborhood store at UCLA,”
she said.