>Should we not check the local independent bookstore before logging on
>immediately to amazon.com? I know its so darn convenient and the books
>are so fabulously crisp when they arrive, but given our rhetoric of
>supporting independent publishers and magazines should we not extend that
>rhetoric to independent booksellers?
>
A long time ago I persuaded my local bookshop (Chener Books, East Dulwich)
to stock ONE copy of my Reality Street published novel _Futures_ (they have
little interest in poetry). On my visit two weeks later the book had
disappeared from the shelves so I assumed it had been sold. However, despite
reminders they took a whole year to pay £4.66. Unfortunately for them, in
photocopying the invoice they also photocopied the memos they'd scribbled on
them. Here is a transcript:
"Severyn's inability to say 'no' in favour of a quiet life has resulted in
this book from a local publisher. It won't happen again. G, 3/10/98.
SEVERYN: Perhaps you could invite him in to collect his money in cash. That
will save us about £1.17. John K, 07/12/98."
Yeah, yeah, small struggling local bookshop. Fuck 'em.
Ken Edwards, Reality Street Editions
4 Howard Court, Peckham Rye, London SE15 3PH, UK
Tel: 020 7639 7297
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