WOMEN IN PRINT MOVEMENT: WRITING WHAT IS WRONG

The women-in-print movement, catalyst of independent and feminist thought, 
is becoming a casualty of corporate capitalism. 
* Local feminist and independent bookstores are going under. 
* Independent publishers are going under. 
* Distributors have less to distribute. 
* Writers have fewer publishing opportunities. 
* We, THE READERS, have less to read. 
*  Internet sales and book chains control the market. 
We are at risk of becoming silenced and isolated -- targets of a "kinder, 
gentler' censorship. 

This is how it works: 

Scenario 1: A big chain orders a huge quantity of books to get a big 
discount. Being a large corporation, they set the terms of sale and right 
of  return. The publisher prints the books to fulfill the order. When the 
books don't sell quickly, the chain returns the books, demanding a 100% refund. 
The publisher goes bankrupt. This is what happened to Papier-Mache' 
Press, publisher of When I Am an Old Woman, I Shall Wear Purple. Most other 
presses have been injured by these business practices which are most damaging to 
small presses. 

Scenario 2: A big chain targets a neighborhood and the clientele of a 
specific independent bookstore. The chain replicates the stock, 
programs, and services of the independent. The chain cuts prices until the 
independent is out of business, then the chain shrinks its own stock to the titles 
acceptable to its corporate buyers. Are you seeing this happening in your 
town? It has happened across the country and continues daily. 

Scenario 3: You log on. A book you have been wanting to read is 
available at a 30% discount two clicks away. You say, "Just this once I'll not call 
my feminist bookstore for the book." Across the nation, thousands more do 
this.  The "Big Dot Coms" lose millions, but their control over every element of 
the publishing industry - from writer to press to bookseller to reader - 
increases exponentially. What will happen when they have no more 
competition? 

What are the consequences of inaction? 
Feminist Presses are sold or go out of business - the latest casualty is 
Firebrand Books (publisher of Dorothy Allison and Leslie Feinberg) 
Big bookstores tell the publishers to publish only big money makers; 
writers outside of today's mainstream can't get published. 

The Feminist Bookstore Network had 107 members in 1997; it's 74 in 2001  
and they have had to suspend  publication of their newsletter.
We lose feminist connections, community, and culture as it is 
replaced with canned corporate culture.   In sum, a few big businesses increasingly control what we read. 
Ultimately,  our very ability to think critically, our independent thought and spirit, 
are  in jeopardy. 

Read what you can do!

*Read books by feminist authors 
*Host a reading group or think tank in our homes 
*Ask universities to buy from independent bookstores 
*Write about this threat to newspapers and magazines 
*Forward this posting to your friends. 
* Download our brochure at http://mortonweb.uah.edu/wip/brochure.rtf
       distribute it outside local mega-chains 
       take it to women's gatherings 
       submit it to your local women's newsletter 
      adapt it for any independent bookseller you care about 

For more information, see http://mortonweb.uah.edu/wip
or send a SASE and a dollar for copying to: 
Charis Books and More 
1189 Euclid Ave NE 
Atlanta, GA 30307 
ATTN: Sara 
Email: lucelook@mindspring.com