6 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ JANUARY 27, 2020
News
The ‘American Dirt’ Controversy
Jeanine Cummins, the author of American Dirt, which was the
subject of a controversy that erupted the week before WI 15
due to its depiction of Mexico and of Mexican immigrants to
the U.S., appeared for a standing-room-only q&a with Javier
Ramirez of Madison Street Books in Chicago. The crowd was
primarily supportive, though there were several booksellers
who expressed their concerns regarding the book’s content,
as well as the publisher’s huge marketing push.
Cummins defended herself and the novel, which has been
denigrated as “inauthentic” and “trauma porn” by its detrac-
tors. Explaining that there are stereotypes in this country
about immigrants, she said she wanted tell another side of
that story, and “to get at the truth of the humanity of the
people involved”—despite the fact that she is neither of
Mexican heritage nor an immigrant.
“I know this book is going to engender a lot of conversations
about who has the right to tell whose story,” Cummins said. “I
wrote fiction that I hoped would be a bridge, because screaming
into the abyss wasn’t working. The tenor of the conversation
has been untenable at times, but I’m glad to be part of it.”
Cummins expressed the hope that people would judge
American Dirt “on its own merits” rather than on what its
detractors say about it. Her appearance did not seem to quash
the buzz surrounding the book, as booksellers continued to
discuss it in hotel hallways and lobby bars throughout the
conference.
Despite the different speeches, Winter Institute remains
primarily focused on establishing and refining best practices
for independent bookselling, while publishers there are intent
on networking with booksellers and promoting forthcoming
titles. The center of activity for the latter was the galley room,
where publishers offered hundreds of galleys for booksellersto take. Various sessions also allowed sales reps to pitch their
picks directly to booksellers either in groups or in one-on-one
meetings.
“The amount of granular knowledge exchange is simply
amazing,” said Gavin Grant, owner of Book Moon in
Easthampton, Mass., who attended Winter Institute for the
first time. “It’s been a very practical experience for me,
regarding everything from how to set up preorder campaigns
to finding great new books in the galley room.”
Among the recurring themes this year was the growing
importance of the need for bookstores to work with the ABA
and publishers in their data collection efforts. In a keynote,
Harvard Business School professor Ryan Raffaelli implored
booksellers to fill out the ABA’s annual ABACUS survey, which
establishes benchmarks for the industry.
The ABA hosted a farewell event for Oren Teicher, who
retired from his role as CEO. Incoming ABA CEO Allison Hill,
who starts March 1, gave a short speech and highlighted
her priorities. “My new job is to help ensure that the people—
all of you carrying out the quiet revolutionary act of making
the world better every day through books, bookselling, and
bookstores—continue to survive and thrive,” she said.
Among the issues that Hill has been tasked with addressing
are the cost of goods for booksellers, slim margins, and the
inability of many bookstores to pay a living wage.
The point was underscored by Jamie Fiocco, owner of Flyleaf
Books in Chapel Hill, N.C., and president of the ABA board,
during the WI15 Town Hall. “Margins on books are not a viable
business model,” she said. “We know that. We have a team
that knows that the model is broken. We cannot pay ourselves
what we are worth or what we need to live. The publishers
know this as well. They are not the enemy. But the situation
is practically untenable. It is a big issue and first on our plate,
and we are going to have a lot of discussions on it.”
Winter Institute 16 will take place Feb. 7–10, 2021, in
Cincinnati, Ohio.
—Ed Nawotka, Claire Kirch, and Judith Rosen6 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ JANUARY 27, 2020
continued from p. 4Jeanine Cummins, the author of American Dirt, answering a question
posed by Javier Ramirez, co-owner of Madison Street Books in Chicago,
during a lively q&a that drew an overflow crowd of booksellers on WI 15’s
first day.The opening night reception of WI 15 at the Hilton Hotel, Baltimore,
included a tribute to former ABA CEO Oren Teicher (c.).PHOTOBY
CLAIREKIRCHPHOTOBYCLAIREKIRCH