Borders US bankruptcy

[julesjones]

If you're interested in the publishing business, you've probably seen the news about Borders US already. A couple of useful summaries from the writer's point of view:

John Scalzi discusses the effect on writers and publishers,for the readers wondering what's the best thing they can do for their favourite writers

Analysis and link round-up from Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware

Comments

[hawkeye7.livejournal.com]

In Australia, the gift cards have not been safe. They have implemented a policy that you have to spend twice the value of the gift card to redeem it.

[julesjones]

I remember seeing that mentioned, but it must have been in one of the comment threads somewhere rather than a main post.

[hawkeye7.livejournal.com]

I found it after I posted. It was in one of the linked articles.

[neyronrose.livejournal.com]

I followed your links and some of the links from those posts. I had gotten an e-mail from Borders that the store in Langhorne, PA was closing. It's not that close to me, but it's also in the Philadelphia area. When I saw the list of those stores that are closing in the U.S., there are another two in southeastern Pennsylvania that are closing.

From the reader's viewpoint, I'll likely go to the stores relatively near me that are closing and get books from the stock being liquidated. There had been rumors of bankruptcy going around for some time, so it didn't come as a total shock.

I read the posts about how Borders had been changed from being a chain that took small press books into a chain that just took the usual popular things. I had noticed that they didn't seem to have such an interesting selection as they once did, but didn't know the causes. It explained much.

Well, thank you for linking to the information. I got a lot out of it.

[julesjones]

I was shocked to see how many of the ones around Silicon Valley were going, although the rationale there may be that as long as they keep one store in the area people will be willing to drive to it from the surrounding towns. I think if I was still living there I'd go and rummage through the sale stock.

The local Borders was still taking small press in some genres as late as 2007 (when I moved back to the UK), because I did check the romance section. :-) Multiple titles from Ellora's Cave, Samhain and Loose Id. But that may well be because even small press titles sell well in romance.