Bookseller Stories

It has been an extremely busy few weeks at the Binc Foundation. Many more requests are coming in this year than this time last year, and the need for funds is also higher – and disaster season hasn’t even gotten started. The helpline is ringing and emails are coming in every day from booksellers who are on the edge of crisis. The good news is, because of you, Binc is here and ready to help get these booksellers through some of the most difficult times in their lives.

A bookseller recently scheduled a routine eye exam which led to the discovery of a brain tumor. The news was devastating for the bookseller and their partner and families. It meant months of medical appointments, missed worked for both the bookseller and their bookselling partner, driving long distances to meet with specialists, an invasive and intense brain surgery, multiple medications, and a long recovery period. The bookseller’s partner said it was all incredibly stressful and was threatening to derail them financially. That’s when someone at their bookstore reminded them, they could contact Binc.

We receive phone calls and emails every day from booksellers during some of the most difficult and scary times in their lives. And because of you, we can help. That is why we’re starting this new monthly series from Binc – so you can see the life-saving and life-changing impact you have every day in the lives of booksellers.

Together, we can keep the booksellers’ safety net strong, allowing booksellers to stay in their jobs, in their communities, and doing the work they love.

In 2018, Downtown Books was having a great year: business was up, events were stellar, traffic all summer and into the beginning of fall was strong. Then Hurricane Florence triggered an evacuation of the Outer Banks costing me five full days of shoulder season business. No worries. Just tighten the belt a bit. Double-check the …