The pandemic has forced some local businesses to close their doors for good. A great loss in the West Philly area was the permanent closing of People’s Books & Culture, the bookstore on 34th street previously known as Penn Book Center. The pandemic has been challenging for many other members of Philadelphia’s literary community, including Philly-based publishers. Here’s how some of them are managing during these difficult times.
Temple University Press
According to their Publicity Manager, Gary Kramer, Temple University Press has encountered both new opportunities and problems as a result of the pandemic.
Kramer mentioned that the Press’s production schedule had gone through a few changes, but the issue he spoke most about was sales being harder to make due to the lack of in-person interactions.
Despite facing challenges, Kramer remained optimistic, stating that “ebook sales have increased during the pandemic. Bookstore closings have impacted author events and sales calls. Print copy sales were down in spring as everyone adjusted to the pandemic and are starting to increase. The past few months have been positive.”
He also indicated some alternatives that the press has been trying in order to make up for the changes they’re facing, such as doing “small initial print runs for some titles, enough to cover advance orders, and fill subsequent orders by print on demand” and “sending buyers author-signed bookplates as an alternative for book signings at events.”
As for how navigating the literary community and interacting with its members has been going, Kramer said, “What has been interesting is that I’ve had some very valuable exchanges with editors regarding publicity. In some cases, I’ve been able to form a closer connection because I am contacting them to discuss a title, and where to send it (most folks are working remotely). I find I have a deeper engagement even through email.”
Frayed Edge Press
Frayed Edge Press, a small independent press, also experienced some unanticipated scheduling changes, but what they described as their biggest challenge was reaching readers.
The press’s publisher, Allison M. Lewis, detailed why reaching readers was proving to be difficult. “We were deeply saddened by the news that People’s Books & Culture was closing. There was so much hope around that bookstore, with the new owners having recently brought it back from the brink after the previous owners (as Penn Book Center) had earlier announced its closing. This was a place that hosted a lot of readings and book launches and was a real community resource. The pandemic has hit bookstores hard, but many of them have found creative ways to deal with the situation, including outdoor pop-ups and curbside deliveries. But for a small press without a large advertising budget, ‘discoverability’ becomes even more of an issue when browsing in a bookstore is no longer possible. The upside is that it seems like more people are reading, and people are reading more, now that a lot of other forms of entertainment are no longer available. But it’s still a struggle for a small press to connect readers with what we have to offer.”
Similar to Temple University Press, Frayed Edge Press is trying innovative alternatives to continue to operate effectively. One of these alternatives has been to make a new YouTube channel for the press to post book trailers and book videos from their authors. They intend to do some press-specific videos as well.
Along with their new YouTube channel, Lewis mentioned another factor that has been aiding the Press in getting through the pandemic, “We’re lucky in that we’ve always worked ‘remotely,’ so there hasn’t been a lot of change in how we deal with authors, potential authors, or people who work with us. We’ve been functioning online/at a distance since our inception, so we haven’t had to face any major changes or disruptions in how our day-to-day work happens.”
New Door Books
New Door Books, a micro-press located on Wallace Street, reported little change in most areas of their operations. However, as seems to be the case with the other local presses, they reported a drop in sales. The press’s publisher, Doug Gordon, revealed, “Our bookstore sales, which were always modest and primarily local, have fallen to essentially zero.”
Gordon then shared the different methods that the press has been using to try to reach more readers, including email blasts to reach out to bookstores and planning zoom events. “We have our first Zoom launch coming up, and we’ll see how it goes, but my expectations are modest.”
Another thing that New Door Books has been looking forward to doing is a reading series that they sponsor called All But True. The series lost its host bookstore to the pandemic, but the micro-press is now collaborating with A Novel Idea on Passyunk to resume it this November.
Although Gordon seemed hopeful about these new methods and events the press will be attempting to do, he still added, “We miss seeing other people at their readings. We’ve attended a number of online events, but they’re hardly the same—no person-to-person talk, for instance.”
Paul Dry Books
Paul Dry Books, an independent publisher on Sansom Street, did very few in-person events even before the pandemic, so they haven’t endured many changes in terms of scheduling or advertising. As expected, the one challenge Paul Dry himself spoke about was sales.
Dry offered an explanation for why sales can be so difficult for small and/or independent publishers. “A large percentage of our books are sold via Amazon. Amazon’s share has clearly enlarged.” He clarified that while book sales have gone up, bookstores are closed, so most of those sales are being done online, predominantly through Amazon. When sales are done this way, “Amazon has 50% of the sale, maybe a bigger percent.” For a small independent publisher, making a profit becomes difficult when the case is that “whatever part of the pie Amazon was munching before, they take a bigger percent now.”
As our country loses more and more bookstores to the pandemic, Amazon becomes even more of the go-to place for book purchases than they had been previously and this is especially hard on our local bookstores and presses.
Jahdae Gardener is a junior at Drexel University studying English and Sociology. She enjoys binge-watching horror movies and TV series, playing videogames, and playing the keyboard. She writes fiction, poetry, and journalistic articles.