Florida booksellers and publishers alike were working last week to recover from the double hit of hurricanes Charley and Frances while keeping an eye on Ivan, which was swirling in the tropics last week.
"The worst thing about Frances and this hurricane season in general is its relentlessness," said Rona Brinlee, owner of the Book Mark in Atlantic Beach. "I think everyone here is just beaten down by having to prepare for Charley, then Frances, and now watching out for Hurricane Ivan." That was a feeling shared by Kim Weiss of Deerfield Beach publisher Health Communications Inc. "The psychological part was the worst. The storm just went on and on. It was agonizing," Weiss said.
Tom Rider, co-owner of Goerings Book Store in Gainesville, spoke of lost sales—and sales that may still be lost. "I've never seen anything like the hurricane season we're having this year, and we're probably in for more until the season ends in November," he said.
Rider and Brinlee are comparatively fortunate. Though both lost power in their stores and were forced to close for a couple of days because of Frances, they have not suffered any property damage. For booksellers in harder-hit areas, the full effects of the storm are impossible to gauge at this point because downed power and phone lines make it difficult to contact them.
The chains were not immune to Frances. Borders Group spokesperson Anne Roman said 25 superstores were closed for part of the time between September 2 and 6, while about 38 Waldenbook outlets were affected during the period. The stores suffered no major damage; all employees are fine; and most stores reopened by midweek, Roman said.
Hurricanes Charley and Frances were sure to be a prime topic of conversation at the Southeast Booksellers Association's annual meeting this past weekend. SEBA executive director Wanda Jewell hoped to collect hurricane relief donations at the show. Though the event will go on as planned, Jewell did expect some Florida booksellers to be no-shows, as they stay home to deal with the aftermath of the hurricanes—or prepare for yet another hit.
Among those who've canceled their trip to Atlanta is Judy Mathys, owner of the Family Bookshop in Deland. "Frances knocked out our power, and we're told we won't have electricity again until sometime [this] week," she said.
Publisher Health Communications, Weiss said, closed September 2 and 3. While there was no damage to its glass-front headquarters, the publisher lost power for several days, had its telephone service disrupted and saw its Web site crash. As of last Wednesday, a number of HCI employees' homes were still without power. The storms, Weiss said, "have been very distracting. We're trying to get our focus back, but it's difficult with Ivan threatening."
Frederick Fell Publishers in Hollywood was luckier than companies further north. Publisher Don Lessne said the company spent a day boarding up its offices, but escaped the worst effects of the storm as it passed by to the north. The northern track was bad news for Krieger Publications in Melbourne, which was directly in Frances's path. Krieger lost power for several days and was still too short-staffed by Friday to discuss its status.
