Burlington Writers Workshop Supports Vermont’s Independent Bookstores with Bookshop.org
Now, more than ever in this particular time of uncertainty, we wish to direct book buyers to consider choosing a different way to shop–one that supports independent bookshops.
In February, I learned about a new venture, one that had some pretty lofty goals, intending to challenge Amazon by providing a way to easily buy books from independent bookstores. Andy Hunter, founder and CEO of Bookshop.org was hoping to “play Rebel Alliance to Amazon’s Empire” as the Chicago Tribune tweeted.
In April, 2020, Dorany Pineda reported in the LA Times that Bookshop.org earned more than $1 million for indie bookstores.
“Bookshop, a Certified B corporation, was launched in January with a mission to help indie bookstores… ‘Our goal is to take the conscious consumers away from Amazon and put them in a channel that supports local independent businesses and keeps bookstores in their communities,’ said Hunter, which ‘are really essential to our cultural fabric when it comes to books.’ Customers can choose to purchase from a specific indie bookstore affiliated with Bookshop or buy directly from the site.”
When I saw that the Burlington Writers Workshop (BWW) could also benefit by setting up an affiliate bookshop, I immediately started building our shop. While some of our author members are self-published and sold directly from home, the majority are listed in Amazon and I wanted to point buyers in a different direction.
As an affiliate store that send in referrals, BWW earns a 10% commission, compared with Amazon’s 4.5%. And for every sale made directly on Bookshop or through a referral, 10% is added to an earnings pool that is then distributed to indie bookstores every six months.
On April 29, 2020 the LA Times reported, “As of Wednesday morning, the digital bookstore had earned $1,072,126, a massive jump from the $10,000 raised in its first month of operations, before the coronavirus outbreak forced bookstores to close their doors.”
So, if you are in the mood for some new reading material, please click the tile ad in the sidebar and shop by way of the BWW affiliate Bookshop.
Vermont Independent Bookstores:
- Bartleby’s Books, 17 West Main Street, Wilmington, VT 05363 bartlebysvt.com
- Bear Pond Books, 77 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05602 bearpondbooks.com
- Bear Pond Books Stowe, 38 Main Street, Stowe, VT 05672 stowebooks.com
- Bennington Bookshop, 467 Main Street, Bennington, VT 05201 benningtonbookshop.com
- Blair Books & More, 58 Common Street, Chester, VT 05143 blairbooksvt.com
- Bridgeside Books, 29 Stowe Street, Waterbury, VT 05676 bridgesidebooks.com
- Everyone’s Books, 25 Elliot Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301 everyonesbks.com
- Flying Pig Bookstore, 5247 Shelburne Road, Suite 102, Shelburne, VT 05482 flyingpigbooks.com
- Galaxy Bookshop, 41 South Main Street, Hardwick, VT 05843 galaxybookshop.com
- Hero’s Welcome, 3537 US Route 2, North Hero, VT 05474 heroswelcome.com
- Next Chapter Bookstore, 162 North Main Street, Suite 100, Barre, VT 05641 nextchapterbooksvt.com
- Northshire Bookstore, 4869 Main Street, Manchester Center, VT 05255 northshire.com
- Norwich Bookstore, 291 Main Street, Norwich, VT 05055 norwichbookstore.com
- Phoenix Books Burlington, 191 Bank Street, Burlington, VT 05401 phoenixbooks.biz
- Phoenix Books Essex, 2 Carmichael Street, Suite 2, Essex, VT 05452 phoenixbooks.biz
- Phoenix Books Rutland, 2 Center Street, Rutland, VT 05701 phoenixbooks.biz
- Vermont Book Shop, 38 Main Street, Middlebury, VT 05753 vermontbookshop.com
- Village Square Booksellers, 32 The Square, Bellows Falls, VT 05101 villagesquarebooks.com
- Yankee Bookshop, 12 Central Street, Woodstock, VT 05091 yankeebookshop.com
