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Indie bookshops sign open letter to publishers calling on them to stop linking to Amazon during IBW
More than 80 independent bookshops have signed an open letter to publishers, calling on them to stop linking to Amazon for one week a year during Independent Bookshop Week.
It comes after booksellers noticed two major publishers linking to Amazon when promoting books during this year’s Independent Bookshop Week. The letter has been written by booksellers independently and is not something that is being done on behalf of the Booksellers Association (BA).
The letter says: “We know we can’t compete with Amazon and nor do we want to; we know we can offer experiences that a computer can’t. But the reality is that for every copy of a book sold in our shop, someone else will look at it in our shop before buying it online. This means that in an indirect way, quantities of books sold online through Amazon would not have been discovered without a physical bookshop.”
It added: “This Independent Bookshop Week, we are asking for fairness. This is the one week a year that we are asking you to celebrate independent bookshops” adding “bookshops bring readers and books together. We are uniquely placed to champion books. To then see publishers prioritise Amazon over us during Independent Bookshop Week feels like we are not seen as important or valued.”
The letter, which has been posted on Twitter, will be emailed to publishers directly later today (23rd June).
Helen Tamblyn-Saville, owner of Wonderland Bookshop in Retford, Nottinghamshire, told The Bookseller: “As an outcome, I think we all appreciate the support publishers offer indies. However, for Independent Bookshop Week, we’d like to see a commitment to publishers linking to platforms that actually support indies, instead of Amazon. Some are doing a great job, but there are still links slipping through from others, and it would be great to see a pause on publisher sponsored ads directing to Amazon during Indie Bookshop Week. Without that, is it really a firm commitment to the week and what it means?”
