Independent Booksellers Criticize Author For Barnes & Noble Ad
Dow Jones On Line - May 02, 1999 18:37
LOS ANGELES -(Dow Jones)- Unhappy with an author they once honored, independent booksellers overwhelmingly approved a resolution criticizing Frank McCourt for appearing in a television ad for the online superstore barnesandnoble.com., the Associated Press reported Sunday.
The American Booksellers Association, with a core membership of some 3,300 independent stores, voted Saturday at BookExpo America to draft a letter to McCourt expressing disappointment. The former New York City teacher is the author of the hugely popular "Angela's Ashes" and the upcoming sequel "Tis."
"I've never asked for an apology in my life and I've never given one. What I do I do. ... If I get a letter from them it'll go back unopened," said McCourt, a featured speaker at BEA.
The expo, a three-day exhibition and trade show that ended Sunday, is the publishing industry's annual national convention. It was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The ABA's letter will be sent to a beloved writer, and not just with readers. Two years ago, the association presented McCourt its annual ABBY award, given to the author whose book they most enjoyed selling. His memoir was a surprise success and he has given a lot of the credit to independents.
"If they (independent stores) had wanted me to do a commercial I would have done one for them, too. I'm not a politician. I just did what my publisher requested," McCourt said Sunday.
The resolution is actually far lighter than the original proposed by independent seller Andy Ross, owner of Cody's Books Inc. in Berkeley. Ross, condemning the "hypocrisy of writers and intellectuals," had wanted the ABA to call for McCourt to give back his ABBY award.
The booksellers overwhelmingly rejected that idea as too harsh.
"I really offered this resolution in a spirit to generate discussion," Ross said. "They (writers) talk about independent booksellers at cocktail parties, but they're afraid to speak up. The chains have become so powerful."
Other writers appearing in ads for barnesandnoble.com include Tom Clancy and Stephen King, another vocal supporter of independents.
"In retrospect, I understand how they feel, but I never really anticipated it," said Susan Moldow, vice president and publisher of Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster that publishes both McCourt and King.
Asked if he'd do another superstore ad, McCourt said "I'd be very careful the next time. From now on, I probably won't do anything."
The ABA action highlighted a weekend of tough talk. The association aggressively promoted its answer to Amazon.com (AMZN) and other online sellers, BookSense.com, to be open for business late summer. And individual members accused Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com and other "bad corporate citizens" of everything from false advertising to stealing customers.
barnesandnoble.com is 50% owned by Germany's Bertelsmann AG and Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS).
"We are fighting for our lives," said ABA president Richard Howorth.
Booksellers received both bad news and good news at BEA. A new consumer survey said that adults in the U.S. bought 30 million fewer books in 1998 than the year before. The apparent culprit was an odd one: A good economy.
"In good times, consumers seem to spend their money on other kinds of entertainment or on more expensive durable goods. In tighter economic times, consumers once again think about books," said Sandra Paul, managing agent of the Book Industry Study Group, which conducted the survey.
But the ABA, which has lost nearly 2,000 stores over the past decade, also reported a long-hoped for statistic. In March of this year, the number of stores increased slightly, the first monthly improvement in recent memory.
"It's been going against us for a long time, but it's going to go the other way," said Avin Mark Domnitz, the ABA's chief executive.
Meanwhile, there was still plenty of time to talk about books. Major upcoming releases include McCourt's new book; "Dutch," Edmund Morris's long-awaited memoir about former President Ronald Reagan; Sue Grafton's latest lettered mystery, "O is For Outlaw," and "Hannibal," Thomas Harris's sequel to "The Silence of the Lambs." |
