When Autographed Novels Put Bookstores in Danger

I believe in the law of unintended consequences. Bookstores routinely sell books at the price listed on the cover. They don’t boost the price, and the only indication the book might be a “collectible” is a protective cellophane cover. E-Bay sellers might try to rip off unsuspecting customers, but to treat bookstores like memorabilia collectors could stop time-honored traditions, like readings by the author. Kristen Twardowski explains…

Kristen Twardowski

Book Passage is a quirky little bookstore situated in the Bay Area of California. Sure, it sells books, but it also does so much more. Every year the shop hosts over 700 author events. During these events, authors often sign books, and if any signed books remain after the crowds have thinned, Book Passage sells copies in the store. Because the shop wants to keep these items accessible to everyone, they sell autographed copies for the same amount of money as the mundane editions to books.

This practice is a wonderful one, but Book Passage may soon have to stop selling autographed books all together.

Image via Wikimedia, Adam Jones, “Bookstore Display for Gavrilo Princip – Assassin of Archduke Ferdinand (1914) Belgrade, Serbia, 17 November 2014.

Late last week I saw a troubling press release put out for the Book Passage by the legal group the Pacific Legal Foundation. On…

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