In 1977, Jimmy Carter took the oath of office, a stamp cost 13 cents, Annie Hall had women dressing like men, the TV miniseries Roots had people delving into their ancestry, the disco of Saturday Night Fever dominated the air, Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon hit the shelves and a 30-something former schoolteacher had the right combination of smarts, spunk and savvy to open a bookstore that would become a staple of Marin County, Calif., bookselling. Book Passage celebrated its silver anniversary last month, and founder Elaine Petrocelli and her bookstore have come a long way since the day she opened up the 900-square-foot shop without even knowing how to make change.
Petrocelli was a quick study, and through the years she built up a general bookstore and mail order business specializing in travel (thus the name Book Passage) that has become a must-stop destination for authors on the road in the Bay Area. A decade ago, after winning a landmark case that challenged publishers' fair trade practices, Elaine's husband, Bill, gave up law and joined Book Passage full time; they have been a bookselling couple to contend with ever since. PW named Book Passage Bookseller of the Year in 1997.
To celebrate its 25 years in business, Book Passage hosted a daylong plethora of events. The day began with songs for children led by Miss Kitty and ended with a star-studded panel featuring Amy Tan, Michael Chabon and Isabel Allende. When Petrocelli said, "We could have had seven days of anniversary," it did not seem the least bit hyperbolic.
All day, hundreds of people turned out for event after event. It pays to have good programming, and Petrocelli told PW that Allende, whom she calls the bookstore's "godmother," helped make the day a success from concept to reality. "She has a marvelous sense of the dramatic," said Petrocelli.
The children's stories gave way to a high school jazz band that nearly blew the roof off the store, only to be followed by travel writing sessions and a variety of author panels featuring some top-notch writers who all call themselves friends of Book Passage. "If they hadn't asked us, we would have been so hurt," said Ayelet Waldman, referring to herself, the author of the forthcoming A Playdate with Death, her third "mommy-track" mystery from Prime Crime, and her husband, Michael Chabon.
Mystery, like travel, is a big theme at Book Passage. One of the anniversary event's brightest lights was a "Mystery Improv" session where Waldman and a panel of writers channeled audience suggestions into a rough, though plausible plot outline. It was pure writing in action. And in a true from-the-mouths-of-babes moment, 11-year-old customer Nicola Carey got everyone's attention when she suggested a "situation" to get the improv session rolling. "How about a woman hanging on a rope from a chandelier with a puddle of water under her?" Carey called out. (Note to ambitious agents out there: Carey and her best friend and schoolmate Caitlin Carlton are working on their own mysteries together.)
Such moments delight the bookseller. "Frankly, we like to get 'em young," said Petrocelli.
Allende Grants
Allende chose the occasion of the anniversary celebration to present her first literacy awards from the foundation she started to honor the memory of her daughter, Paula. The Isabel Allende Foundation grants $5,000 awards to existing programs that promote adult literacy. "I learned to read when I was five, and it was the most important thing to happen to me besides sex," said Allende as she introduced the award winners, Leon Veal of Project Read in San Francisco and Robin Levy of the Marin Literacy Program.
"We started it this year and we'll see if we can extend the idea to other awards," Allende told PW. To judge the Paula Awards, Allende solicited the help of her friends, including Petrocelli, local National Public Radio host Michael Krasny and Amy Tan. Tan credits Allende with telling her about Book Passage before she was ever published.
Booksellers are often credited with creating that word-of-mouth buzz that can make or break a book, but the best ones are also the subject of much word-of-mouth buzz by customers and authors, and customer/authors. "They do so much for authors," said Tan.
Book Passage University
Along with events practically every morning, noon and night, Book Passage has earned a reputation for its writing workshops and conferences. Many of the authors who participated in the anniversary celebration have also taught at the Book Passage "University" or been a student. Several of BPU's "poster children" were on hand, including mystery writer Sheldon Siegel and Tess Uriza Holthe, whose first book, When the Elephants Dance (Crown), grew out of a workshop she attended at Book Passage as just something to do while she made a living as an accountant. "[Tess] would have been a fabulous writer no matter what," said Petrocelli, "but the fact that she says she learned at Book Passage feels nice."
BPU has been around for 14 years. There are a variety of classes throughout the year, often at the suggestion of a customer, author or teacher. "Last year Katherine Neville and Sarah Smith did a workshop on how to write sexy, and I didn't think anyone would sign up," said Petrocelli. "Boy, was I wrong." Book Passage's newsletter is as much a course catalogue as it is a guide to author events and book picks.
Book Passage runs two intense, extended-weekend conferences--not surprisingly in travel and mystery--that are so popular they have to limit the attendees to 140 and 100, respectively.
It is one bookstore that earns comparisons to a community center. "It's what the big chains pretend to be with their comfy chairs and fireplaces," said Waldman. "But you need someone like Elaine to make it really work."
The Bay Area is particularly blessed with a large number of healthy independent bookstores. The Northern California Independent Booksellers Association is one of the most active regional trade associations in the country, something the Petrocellis said was one of the major benefits from the unfair trade practices lawsuit they won years ago. "That had a tremendous influence on our realizing how effective we can be when we pull together," said Elaine Petrocelli. Bay Area booksellers see themselves as competitors but also recognize the need to work together to survive and educate their customers about the value of independent bookstores. "It's never easy," said Petrocelli.
But 25 years later and with no signs of waning, she has no regrets. "I can't think of where I'd rather be," she added.
