Weary Booksellers Weather Another Storm

A tumultuous hurricane season continued last week for booksellers and millions of others in the hard-hit states of the Southeast. The latest storm to reach the U.S., Hurricane Ivan, buffeted the South and then traveled north as a tropical storm, leaving at least 52 people dead in the U.S., according to the wire services. Among the hardest hit areas was a 370-mile stretch of the Gulf Coast, from Louisiana to Florida.

In some cities, including New Orleans, life is nearly back to normal, however, many residents of the Florida Panhandle and the Gulf Coast region of Alabama still cannot return to assess damage to their homes and property, and wait in long lines to buy gas and get food and water.

In Seaside, Florida, the beachside bookstore Sun Dog Books "got lucky," said manager Jenny King. "The town held up really great. The bookstore closed for five days because of the mandatory evacuation, so we lost business, but the store did great. We only lost 10 books to some water damage. Had the storm moved east, we would have been in trouble." Sun Dog reopened Saturday, September 18, but many residents and tourists had yet to return, said King.

In Mobile, Alabama, Russ Adams, owner of Bienville Books, said the eye of the storm narrowly missed the bookstore. "Mobile has damage," said Adams. "But it could have been a lot worse. Trees are down, but there are relatively few damaged houses. They're cleaning up the city now." The bookstore itself had no inventory loss and minor structural damage, which included a cracked window. In the wake of the storm, Adams said, "I ordered Hurricane Camille, a new book by University of Mississippi Press. I expect that will sell well."

In Montgomery, Alabama, Thomas Upchurch of Capitol Books said the bookstore was fine and had missed the brunt of the storm. Capitol Books avoided catastrophe again when a huge tree toppled away from the store rather than onto the 100-year-old building. In The Capitol Book Newsletter, Upchurch reported, "For the record, we are back at full power, both at the bookstore and at home. So is most of Montgomery, but there are little pockets that may be without power for another day or two." Upchurch also wrote in the Newsletter that those living in the severely affected areas of the Florida Panhandle and the Gulf Coast "need … help, which is as simple to provide as a donation to one of many hurricane relief funds."

In Fairhope, Alabama, Page & Palette owner Karin Wilson said in an e-mail sent to over 2,000 customers and friends, "We thank God that our home and our store were undamaged and pray that the people in our area have been spared as well. Our hearts go out to those who have suffered losses." She also reported that the bookstore's sister store, Page & Palette in Orange Beach, Alabama, owned by Wilson's aunt Donna Anderson, had suffered some damage from flooding. Orange Beach was devastated, said Wilson, and the store's flooding was minor compared with the destruction of surrounding businesses, many of which were leveled. Wilson continued, "Even if [Anderson] opened no one is interested in shopping. You can't even get down there unless you have a contractor's license."

In Homewood, Alabama, booksellers at the Alabama Booksmith sent out a mass e-mail from the staff that said, "The Booksmith Gang is thankful to have been spared any damage and invite all to come over the next few days and enjoy all our regularly scheduled events." They also offered "sincere thoughts to our friends who have suffered losses because of Ivan. May you soon recover and be back to normal."

New Orleans, which at one time during the storm was threatened by a direct hit, was also spared. Tom Lowenburg, co-owner of New Orleans' Octavia Books, said the store was fine. "We were closed a couple days because of the evacuation," said Lowenburg.

"Fortunately there was no damage. If the storm had hit us directly, we could have been under 30 feet of water." Lowenburg did, however, report a book-buying surge before the evacuation. "As the storm threatened, people stocked up on books…and book lights," he said. Octavia Books reopened as soon as the storm passed.

According to the AP, the hurricane season ends November 30. --Karen Schechner

BTW was unable to contact a number of booksellers in the hardest hit areas. If you would like to share your story with us, please send an e-mail to editorial@bookweb.org.