From the Editor by Craig Stark 31 January 2023

By Craig Stark

Some space between newsletters, to say the least, but here we are, and it's good to be back. The plan is to resume regular newsletter publication again, and the tentative frequency is monthly. Not a subscriber? It's free. Go here.

A few market observations about pandemic bookselling. First, who knew? Right? The planet plunges us into a hellish pandemic, and months later it's clear that many things have gone south, but not everything. Take bookselling. A new pattern has emerged for online sellers, a kind of renaissance. Many of us are having our best sales ever. I'm pretty sure we couldn't have planned it better ourselves. Send millions of people home, either working virtually, laid off or otherwise trapped. Then throw a scare into them so they become hesitant to shop anywhere but online. Throw in some boredom to fan the flames, and there you have it. Granted, things have cooled some since restrictive measures have mostly ended, but not badly.

And it's not just books. It's pretty much anything you can fit into a box and ship. It's gotten to the point where we're making money and almost feeling guilty because so many others have fallen on the worst times they've ever experienced. It's certainly no time to gloat but clearly a good time to give thanks.

Today, I could pick so many things out of the hat to talk about. The market is forever shifting, of course. But since a lot of us have been moved in the direction of spending more time at home, why not cooking? Talk about a renaissance. More of us than ever are cooking, and that means cookbook sales are surging. I've spent most of my bookselling career focusing at least somewhat on cookbooks. In my persistent - and near daily - research in the marketplace, I keep an eye open for cookbook trends. Some cookbooks get crazy then quickly fade; others are far more durable. Two short articles on cookbook authors today, the first on a fairly new entry into the marketplace, and what a splash she's making, the second on somebody who for decades has provided me with bookselling opportunities. Here's the kicker: I may be wrong, but I suspect that most of you have never heard of either one.

Finally, I couldn't resist taking a stab at an analysis of the current state of bookselling. No doubt some of you have a limited appetite for this sort of thing, so I've shoved it in at the end.

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