Sponsorships for 2017

by Alan Beatts

At the beginning of 2015 Borderlands was getting ready to close.  San Francisco voters had passed an increase in the minimum wage that was going to end the financial viability of the store, probably by the middle of July that year.  If not at that point, then the second increase scheduled for July of this year was certainly going to do the job.  Although I and the rest of the staff strongly support minimum wage laws in general and we suspected that San Francisco's local increase would be generally positive for the city as a whole, we were trapped by the idiosyncrasy of the book business.  Unlike most products, books have a price printed on them. That makes the usual business solution of increasing prices to cover higher expenses impossible for us.  Rather than ride the business down into the grave, I and the rest of the staff decided it was better to close quickly, at the time of our choosing and at the top of our game.

Our customers were very much opposed to this and, out of their comments & suggestions and in consultation with the staff, we decided to try an experiment.  We would ask that a minimum of 300 people sponsor the store for $100 each.  If that many people were willing, it would offset the added expense of the wage increases that were scheduled to raise the wage to $15 per hour by the middle of next year.  Since that increased expense would be on-going, a basic assumption was that the sponsorship would need to recur each year.

We outlined a few benefits that we could offer sponsors at little or no cost to the business, and then announced the program.  It was an almost immediate success and, last year, we succeeded again.  And now, the new year has rolled around and we once again need sponsors. 2015 ended with 844 sponsors.  In 2016 the count was 679.  Of course, a drop from year one to year two was expected. When closing seemed imminent, people were impassioned and enthusiastic to support us (and I'm grateful to every one of them) but, a year later, some of those people were bound to conclude that they'd made their contribution and it was time to move on to other worthy causes.

What I'm hoping is that we can match the number from last year, or at least come close to it. That will be a sign that what we've created is sustainable over the long term.  If the numbers continue to drop, the long-term prognosis won't be known until the numbers stop dropping (or, we'll know when we fail to meet 300 and close).

Upcoming Events

Shaenon Garrity, SKIN HORSE VOL. 6 (Trade Paperback, $14.00) Release Party on Saturday, January 14th at 3:00pm

Writers With Drinks with authors Jeff Chang, Jennifer Dronsky, Antonio Garcia-Martinez, Aya de Leon, and Wendy C. Ortiz at The Make Out Room on Saturday, January 14 at 6:30pm

Black Comix Arts Festival at the San Francisco Public Library on Sunday, January 15th starting at 12:00 pm

Alex Lamb, ROBOTEER (Trade Paperback, Gollancz, $13.99) on Saturday, January 21st at 3:00pm

Laura Anne Gilman, THE COLD EYE (Hardcover, Saga Press, $27.99) on Sunday, January 22nd at 3:00pm

SF in SF with authors Cecelia Holland and Kim Stanley Robinson at The American Bookbinders Museum on Sunday, January 22nd at 6:30pm

Ellen Klages, PASSING STRANGE (Trade Paperback, Tor.com, $14.99) on Saturday, January 28th at 3:00pm

Laurel Anne Hill, THE ENGINE WOMAN'S LIGHT on Saturday, February 4th at 3:00pm

Women in Horror event with Rena Mason, Lisa Morton, Kate Jonez, & Loren Rhoads on Sunday, February 5th at 3:00pm

Coming up later this year, we're thrilled to welcome Meg Elison, Erike Lewis and Veronica Rossi, Joe R. Lansdale, Cory Doctorow and John Scalzi, and many, many other excellent writers!

December Bestsellers

Hardcovers

1. BABYLON'S ASHES by James S.A. Corey 

2. ARCANUM UNBOUNDED by Brandon Sanderson  

3. REJECTED PRINCESSES by Jason Porath 

4. MISTBORN (Leatherbound Special Edition) by Brandon Sanderson

5. PIRATE UTOPIA by Bruce Sterling

6. INVISIBLE PLANETS edited by Ken Liu

7. FANTASTIC BEAST AND WHERE TO FIND THEM By J.K. Rowling, 

8. ALL THE BIRDS IN THE SKY by Charlie Jane Anders

9. CROSSTALK by Connie Willis

10. DEATH'S END by Cixin Liu

Trade Paperbacks

1. THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM by Cixin Liu

2. LEVIATHAN WAKES by James S.A. Corey

3. STORIES OF YOUR LIFE AND OTHERS by Ted Chiang

4. THE FIFTH SEASON by N.K. Jemisin

5. THE PAPER MENAGERIE AND OTHER STORIES by Ken Liu

6. THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS by M.R. Carey

7. NORMAL by Warren Ellis

8. THE TRAITOR BARU CORMORANT by Seth Dickinson

9. THE INVISIBLE LIBRARY by Genevieve Cogman

10. JUST ONE DAMNED THING AFTER ANOTHER by Jodi Taylor

Mass Market Paperbacks

1. THE NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss

2. GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

3. THE WISE MAN'S FEAR by Patrick Rothfuss

4. LEAGUE OF DRAGONS by Naomi Novik

5. DISSIDENCE by Ken MacLeod

6. AMERICAN GODS: TENTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION by Neil Gaiman

7. AURORA by Kim Stanley Robinson

8. NIGHT'S MASTER by Tanith Lee

9. INSURGENCE by Ken MacLeod

10. MISTBORN by Brandon Sanderson

January News

* Despite any number of people (including the author of the law, who failed to be re-elected in November, and an ill-informed commenter on our blog), saying, in essence; "Oh, don't worry about it -- it's not meant to affect books", California's AB1570 autograph law is being taken seriously by publishers.  Easton Press, publisher of lovely, leather-bound editions of classics, is no longer shipping signed copies of Neil Gaiman's OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE to California.  So, yeah, it's a really stupid law - http://eurekabooksellers.com/repeal-californias-autograph-law-ab1570/.

* Overheard in the store:
"I wish the cyberpunk dystopia that we actually live in had more ninjas and day-glo colors."

* Rest in peace, dear Carrie Fisher.  Actress.  Writer.  Feminist.  Icon.  Jedi. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/arts/carrie-fisher-a-princess-a-rebel-and-a-brave-comic-voice.html