A 2009 American Booksellers Association study found that between 1990 and 2008, independent bookstores in the US plummeted by a page-turning 68%. But even as Amazon has continued to dominate – with 50% of trade book sales happening online in 2020 – indie bookstores have been making a comeback. There are, in fact, 500 more of them today than there were in 2009.
Andy Hunter founded Bookshop.org to save the indie bookstore. Launched just one month prior to Covid pandemic lockdowns across the U.S. in January 2020, Bookshop.org shares 80% of profits with local bookstores, and also offers an affiliate link for authors, literary media, and publishers. In the three years since launching, Bookshop.org has put $30 million into the hands of independent bookstore owners. The company also helped create BannedBooksUSA.org, a new effort to get banned books to schools and libraries in Florida.
But Hunter’s literary journey began long before he conceived of Bookshop.org. In college, before the world wide web had taken off, he started a zine with friends. He kept it going for five years while working as a computer programmer, building business systems for huge brands like Disney and MGM. Eventually, his fanzine got the attention of a big magazine publisher, and they hired Hunter as editor-in-chief.
Bookshop.org makes it as easy as to buy a book as on Amazon, but your purchase supports your local independent bookstore instead. Hunter explains:
“We looked at all the different things that made it hard for a small bookstore to sell books online, and we got rid of the obstacles. For bookstores, we made it just as easy as creating a Facebook page for your business. For customers, when you go to Bookshop.org, you can select your favorite local bookstore, or the bookstore in the remotest part of Alaska, whatever you want to support.”
Navkiran Dhaliwal is a seasoned content writer with 10+ years of experience. When she's not writing, she can be found cooking up a storm or spending time with her dog, Rain.