Borders regional director Joe Tosney thinks people have the misconception that the Hawaiian Islands can't support a large number of bookstores, because they're touristy. "There's nothing further from the truth," he said. Maili Meyer, a partner at Native Books in Honolulu, agreed: "People would be blown away at the quantity that ends up selling through for a market like this."
A look at Hawaii's thriving local book publishing community and high bookstore-per-capita rate suggest Tosney and Meyer are right; the Aloha State is home to 27 bookstores and almost 20 local presses. It ranks sixth in the nation in book sales per square foot of retail space. And last year it inaugurated the Hawaii Book and Music Festival, which drew 8,000 people for readings, signings and panel discussions. That's pretty impressive for a chain of volcanic islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean nearly 2,500 miles from the mainland U.S., mainly known for attracting surfers and honeymooners.
Naturally, Hawaii's distance from the rest of the country does present several bookselling challenges—shipping is a problem for some, and infrequent bookstore appearances by nationally known bestselling authors is a woe for all. Because of sky-high rents, the retailing environment favors chains; most indies can't afford to pay the approximately $60,000-a-month rent for a 2,000-sq.-ft. bookshop. Borders dominates, with 14 stores (it closed one last year), while B&N has two. But independents flourish, too. Costco and Wal-Mart are also players, and Target is looking for a place to open a store somewhere in the islands.
Local chain Bestsellers is the largest independent, with five stores throughout the six islands, including two airport stores and one at the Hilton hotel in Waikiki. Co-owner Brian Melzack, a former chief executive of the Toronto-based Classic Bookshops who opened his first store in Hawaii in 1998, said Bestsellers' airport and Waikiki stores draw particularly high tourist traffic. Seven million visitors a year can certainly improve a bookseller's bottom line.
Yet while tourism is Hawaii's biggest industry, tourists are not booksellers' bread and butter. Most book buyers are residents—and, to Tosney and Meyer's point, they aren't just looking for classic beach books. Local interest titles—"Hawaiiana," as booksellers call it—are big sellers for chains and indies alike. Pat Banning, owner of Book Ends, on the northeast side of Oahu, said about 40% of her business is in books about Hawaii. At Bestsellers, it's more than half; and there are plenty of stores like Native Books that specialize in books on Hawaii. Wanda Adams, who writes about books for the Gannett-owned Honolulu Advertiser, focuses her coverage on books "published here, written by someone from here, or about here." And "here," Adams said, doesn't just mean Hawaii—it means Pacific Rim, which includes Japan. "Local sells out here," agreed Buddy Bess, a 30-year veteran of the book publishing industry and publisher of Honolulu's Bess Press. He said Hawaiian book publishers receive strong support from local booksellers.
Still, Hawaiian bookselling does have its weaknesses. The state claims only one ABA member, the lowest number of any state (Melzack of Bestsellers doesn't join because he said it doesn't benefit him in any way; Banning of Book Ends, who is a member, agreed, but maintains her membership to support the organization). Local newspapers generally don't promote authors published by mainland publishers (they do run reviews of their books, but use ones from wire services). And illiteracy rates are high: 19% of all adults—and 30% of native Hawaiian adults—are functionally illiterate, according to the organization Hawaii Literacy.
But booksellers throughout the 50th state are proud of their culture and traditions, and see bookselling as a way to express that. As Native Books' Meyer said, "Books have kept our culture alive."
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