Big box book chains are struggling, but local bookstores are surging again after decades of decline. How do local bookstores and booksellers keep afloat with today’s competitive marketplace, the automation of online services, and the influx of e-books? Why do authors seek out local bookshops- these bastions of literary communities- to pitch their wares? Amy and Holland go to Fiction Addiction, Greenville, South Carolina’s own local bookstore, to chat with owner Jill Hendrix and USA TODAY bestselling novelist Susan Boyer.
Jill Hendrix grew up in Greenville, SC. After graduating magna cum laude from Yale University and working in publishing and internet startups in New York for 5 years, she returned to Greenville and founded the independent bookstore Fiction Addiction in 2001. She is past president of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance and past Treasurer of the SC Academy of Authors. She continues to manage Fiction Addiction and also offers coaching to other bookstore owners through her website.
Susan M. Boyer writes the USA TODAY Bestselling Liz Talbot mystery series. Her debut novel, Lowcountry Boil, won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel and garnered several other awards and nominations. Lowcountry Boomerang, the eighth Liz Talbot mystery, was released on September 3, 2019. Susan loves beaches, Southern food, and small towns where everyone knows everyone and everyone has crazy relatives. You’ll find all of the above in her novels. Susan and her husband live in Greenville and visit the lowcountry often.
Listen to the podcasts.
Podcast Part One
Podcast Part Two
Your hosts:
Holland Webb is a full-time freelance writer and editor. He spends his days writing about higher education, B2B technology, and nonprofit organizations. His clients have let him write for U.S. News & World Report, The Learning House, The Red Lantern, and Sweet Fish Media. Holland’s favorite writers are Malcolm Gladwell, Olive Ann Burns, and Flannery O’Connor. In his spare time … are you kidding, what spare time? You can reach him through www.theafterwordpodcast.com or on Twitter at @WebbHollandLyle.
Amy Bowlin is a veteran teacher. She works with 6-year-olds in literacy intervention and shares with college seniors the art of teaching literacy. Balancing both worlds involves commuting which allows her to listen to her favorite podcasts, “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me,” “This American Life” and “Revisionist History.” When she is not traveling to Greece to work with refugees, she likes to write, hike, kayak and spend time with family and friends. You can reach her through www.theafterwordpodcast.com or on Twitter at @albowlin1.
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