Tagged books

How did we become the distributor for the new Lydia Davis book? (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

Popular author Lydia Davis decided that she no longer wanted her books sold on Amazon. So she tasked her agent with finding a publisher who could do this for her. Everyone said that it was impossible. But through a unique partnership between Microcosm and Bookshop.org, we found a way. And it wasn’t even hard. This is how it turned out. Over 10,000 books sold in the first month and growing!

Check out our interview with Sarah High here.

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

An Interview with Rick Griffith, owner of The Shop at MATTER in Denver, Colorado.

Welcome to the next installment of the Bookstore Solidarity Project! Every month, we’ll be highlighting indie bookstore owners and booksellers across the country.

This month, we’re featuring The Shop at MATTER in Denver! It’s a Black- and woman-owned store that also triples as a design consultancy and letterpress workshop.

Your name and pronouns?
Rick Griffith (He/Him/Them)

Tell us a little bit about the store and your community!
Since 2014 our bookstore has been the only Black- and woman-owned independent, full service (internet and brick) cultural justice bookstore in the United States Mountain Time Zone. We are a haven for fem, queer, non-binary, trans, LatinX, Indigenous, AAPI, and Black persons. We have always respected and invested in the intellectual and creative products of the people who represent our community. We have a print shop with five letterpress printing presses and thousands of pieces of wood type that we employ to print community projects that are pro-democracy, pro-liberation, and pro-freedom. We are political—and we are activists. A bookstore to integrate Art, Design and Cultural Justice for all generations.

What got you into bookselling?
The desire to positively affect the lives of the people we know and love with books and products that acknowledge those of us in the margins.

What’s something about your store that you think will surprise people?
We are working on a lending library for our community so everyone can have access. We have five 19th and early 20th century printing presses. We letterpress print for our community and ask people to pay what they can afford for most of our prints.

What are some of you favorite ways your community supports your store?
Besides buying books, buying our prints and posters. Ordering for personal and business book clubs. Having us bring our pop-up to conferences and large gatherings. Getting the word out. Shopping in pairs.

What are two books you can’t wait for people to read, or your current favorite handsells?
Can’t Pay Won’t Pay and There are Places in the World Where Rules are Less Important than Kindness

How can customers who aren’t local shop your shelves?
on the internet: shopatmatter.com

Anything else you would like us to know?
We are love, revolution, and abolition.

Be sure to follow The Shop at MATTER on Instagram and Facebook, and check out their interview on our podcast here!

Check out our other Bookstore Solidarity Project posts here!
And click here to check out How to Protect Bookstores and Why.


What is a Publishing Sales Conference? (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

In several previous episodes, we’ve made reference to presenting your books at a “sales conference.” It’s a fundamentally misleading event, since you aren’t actually presenting to buyers. So this week, on the pod, we answer the reader question “What is a sales conference?”

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

A Holiday Shopping Guide, Microcosm Style

Welcome to the first ever Microcosm “oh crap I’m supposed to be thinking about gifts for people” guide! Between zines, buttons, books, patches, and more, we’ve got something for everyone on your list.

(Or yourself, because you deserve something fun, too.)

Plus, you can use coupon code DECEMBER to get 10% off on your order from now until December 8th.

We’ve sorted it all by interest, to make things easier for you. Happy scrolling!

The Zine Lover

Disgruntled Barista Coloring Book is part graphic novel, part coloring book. This zine takes you on a caffeinated journey through the working lives of baristas and the customers they serve coffee to every day.

Other ideas: Conspiracy Fun Book (Holiday Edition)Indigenous NomsThe Revolution Won’t Forget the Holidays,  True Cat Confessions50 Ways to Protect Bookstores

The Cozy One

Everyday Herbal Teamaking is a great little pocket guide to 35 easily-accessible herbs that make great teas, perfect for the comfy-cozy time of year.

Other Ideas: Flowering Plants & How to Grow ThemWinter Window Gardens & How to Grow ThemMake Your PlaceBread of the Resistance

The Memoir/Music/Travel Journal/Self Improvement Fan

That’s very specific, but you’ll definitely want to check out Beatles Blackouts, Jack Marriott’s journey to visit every single Beatles monument in the world after he hit rock bottom. 

Other Ideas: Couple’s Vacation PassportSober Travel HandbookCola Pop Creemees, “Hittin’ the Road” PatchPunk USA

The Activist

From Conflict to Community is Gwendolyn Olton’s guide to resolving conflicts without calling the cops (or HR). It’s a realistic and kind read for anyone looking into the world of mutual aid and community care.

Other Ideas: “Free Palestine” Button“Defend Trans Kids” stickerDirect Action HandbookHow to Organize Inclusive EventsThe Enduring Legacy of Portland’s Black Panthers

The Cyclist

The Bikes in Space series is full of fun and feminist sci-fi and fantasy short stories. The latest volume, The Bicyclist’s Guide to the Galaxy, adds a bookish twist to it all!

Other: Cruiser Bike Sticker“Put the Fun Between Your Legs” ShirtGo by BicycleHow to Ride SlowBiking Fun Magnets

The Witchy One

The Practical Witch’s Almanac 2024 is all about growing your craft in the new year. This planner has recipes, spells, DIY projects, all focused on herbalism, magic, divination, and more!

Other Ideas: Pocket Guide to Futhark RunesCulpeper’s Complete AstrologyDivine Deco Tarot (and Coloring Book!), Year of the Witch“Kitchen Witch” Sticker

The Writer

The Wayward Writer is all about writing without selling out or selling yourself short. With practical advice on balancing your writing craft with progressive ideas, this is a book for anyone who wants to turn writing into an honest literary community.

Other Ideas: From Dream to RealityPromote Your BookUnf*ck Your Writing“This Font Is Chaotic Evil” Sticker, “Revolution Between the Lines” Pin

The Self-Help Reader

Unfu*ck Your Stress might seem like a strange gift (“here, I got you this book to help you calm the heck down!”) but honestly, we all know someone who could use Dr. Faith’s clutch advice on helping turn overwhelm into excitement. 

Other Ideas: Stress Coping Skills DeckMonthly Manifestation ManualHow to Get Off Social Media and Still Keep In Touch With Your FriendsI Love My Queer Kid“Do No Harm Take No Sh*t” Pin“You Got This” Sticker

The One You Don’t Know How To Shop For

Whether they don’t like gifts or have read just about everything we have, hook them up with a gift certificateBFF subscription, or even donate books to incarcerated folks in their honor.

We hope this list was helpful!
Remember to be kind to folks this holiday, and shop local where you can.

What are the jobs of a publisher? (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

When we tell strangers what we do, they either bemoan the death of the publishing industry or assume that we sit around and read books all day. So this week on the pod, we take a look at what a publisher actually does and the outcome of all of this work!

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

How Do I Know if My Book is “Good?” (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

Taste is subjective and arbitrary, but still, everyone carries a certain amount of imposter syndrome, wondering if their book if any good. So this week on the pod, we take a look at what makes a book good, successful, and resonating with readers!

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

Who is the book’s client? (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

When you are working on someone else’s book, there is frequent confusion about who has the final say. Many people consider the author to be the final authority on decisions. Others look to major account buyers who essentially gatekeep the book within the industry. Yet others would look to readers themselves. This week on the pod, Joe and Elly discuss these issues and how to navigate conflict when developing a book or differences of opinion emerge!

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

An Interview with Meg Wasmer, co-owner of Copper Dog Books in Beverly, Massachusetts.

Welcome to the next installment of the Bookstore Solidarity Project! Every month, we’ll be highlighting indie bookstore owners and booksellers across the country.

For October, we got to chat with Meg Wasmer, one of the co-owners of Copper Dog Books in Beverly, Massachusetts. It’s a great little store, with a strong focus on genre fiction. Horror and sci-fi fans would love their selection! (Plus, they have a slew of MIcrocosm titles.)

Your Name and Pronouns
Meg Wasmer, she/they

Tell us a little bit about the store and your community!
Beverly is the best. It’s right by Salem, but doesn’t suffer under the crush of spooky tourism in October. Our customers let me hurl tons of SFF and horror and witchy books at them but also, there are three colleges within five miles of us, so also lots of neat nonfiction.

What got you into bookselling?
The video store I worked at was closing and Borders was hiring and I knew I was good at alphabetically shelving rectangular entertainment media

What’s something about your store that you think will surprise people?
There is both a secret plushie collection and a very nice whiskey selection in the back office.

What are some of you favorite ways your community supports your store?
My favorite way that our customers support us is when they bring their friends who are visiting from out of town to see the store like they’re showing off the Crown Jewels.

What’s your current favorite book to sell customers?
The Navigating Fox by Christopher Rowe is stupidly good!

How can customers who aren’t local shop your shelves?
At Copperdogbooks.com!

Be sure to follow Copper Dog Books on Instagram and Facebook! (And check out their Bonfire store for sweet merch, including this shirt with the “best” review they got last year)

Check out Meg’s podcast interview with Joe and Elly here!

Bookstore Solidarity Project: The Raven of Lawrence Kansas (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

Each month we’re featuring a new indie bookstore that we operate in solidarity with. This month it’s the Raven, a classical bookstore of many reboots, owners, and iterations. The Raven is now worker-owned and specializes in supporting its local community, while providing a safe space for people in risk and a series of local and national marketing initiatives. We talk to co-owner Chris this week on the pod!

Visit The Raven Book Store’s website here!

For more from the Bookstore Solidarity Project, check out our interview about The Raven with co-owner Danny Caine here, and our podcast interview with Danny here! And snag a copy of How to Protect Bookstores and Why while you’re at it.

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

An Interview with Danny Caine, of The Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kansas

Welcome to the next installment of the Bookstore Solidarity Project! Every month, we’ll be highlighting indie bookstore owners and booksellers across the country.

This month we’re pleased to continue chatting with Danny Caine, who you may know as the author of such awesome books and zines as How to Protect Bookstores and Why, and How to Resist Amazon and Why. We also recently had Danny as a guest on the podcast, which you can check out here.

The storefront of The Raven Book Store

Your Name and Pronouns:
Danny Caine, he/him

Your title at the store:
Part Owner / Buyer

Tell us a little bit about the store and your community:
The Raven Book Store has been serving Lawrence, Kansas since 1987. It opened as an all-mystery store but has since expanded into a general interest indie with a strong focus on local books to serve the needs of this midwestern college town. We have one store cat, Dashiell, whose personality is as big as his belly. We love being in Lawrence, a community that knows the value of independently-owned small businesses.

What got you into bookselling?

I got a part-time job as a Raven bookseller when I was at the University of Kansas working on my MFA. I fell in love with bookselling and the rest was history!

Danny with his new book


What’s something about your store that you think will surprise people?
20-30% of our sales are online, and much of that support comes from people who aren’t in Kansas. We’re honored and grateful to have found so many supporters across the country and around the world.

What are some of you favorite ways your community supports your store?

There’s the usual and essential stuff like attending events, preordering books, posting pictures of the store online, and stopping into the store. But we love just as much the surprises, like people bringing us newspaper clippings or customers telling us jokes.

What are some books you can’t wait for people to read?
There are too many to count! Our monthly staff picks are on our website, and they’re a great way to take the temperature of what the staff is reading.

How can customers who aren’t local shop your shelves?
We’re open 24/7 at ravenbookstore.com!

Be sure to follow The Raven Book Store online on Instagram and Twitter @ravenbookstore.

Danny also has a slew of events coming up to promote How to Protect Bookstores and Why, so be sure to take a look at our events page to see if he’s coming to your town!

Check back next month for our next feature store.