Paperback Dreams

Anne Holman of The King’s English Bookshop

An Interview with Anne Holman
The King’s English Bookshop
Salt Lake City, Utah

What’s the story of your bookstore. How did it start, how did you get involved, why do you keep doing it?
The King’s English started as a “hobby” in 1977 when Betsy Burton and Ann Berman were newly divorced moms wanting to write the great American novel. The business of bookselling quickly overtook their stated mission and what began as a side gig became a passion. Luckily, Betsy bought the building early on (to get out of a bad date) and it’s allowed us to live long and prosper, even through some of the dark days. I’ve been there almost a decade as a bookseller and now as the general manager. You often hear people say, “If I could have my dream job it would be to work in a bookstore.” I definitely have my dream job; the customers, the booksellers, the neighborhood…it’s a wonderful life.

How has bookstore culture in Salt Lake changed over the years? How have the interests of your readers changed? What has that meant for your store?
Certainly there are fewer bookstores than there were years ago. When the chains first arrived it was really bleak for a few years. In many ways it’s only now that people are starting to think about the local economy and the importance of it which translates into wonderful loyalty for us but it’s still a fickle world out there. The hardest perception we have to fight is that Amazon can get it faster and cheaper and B&N has everything and we don’t. TKE has always been a literary bookstore; our delight has always been in keeping up with our customers, knowing what they’ll want to read and knowing that they are smart, interesting people.

Talk about free speech and bookselling. Talk about experiences where you’ve faced free speech issues in your store.
Our favorite free speech episode was when Salman Rushdie was being stalked for having written The Satanic Verses. We filled every window of the store with it and sold it like crazy.
When the Salt Lake City Reads Together program started a few years ago, Betsy was on the committee that selected The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. One of our city councilmen objected because a constituent had called in and complained about the language. Betsy wrote an editorial in the Salt Lake Tribune about the book’s merits especially as it applied to special needs kids. She then went and met with the councilman who went on to read the book and quite liked it.

Talk about your triumphs. What have been your proudest accomplishments as booksellers?
Sometimes it feels like staying in business has been a huge accomplishment. Being instrumental in the creation of the Vest Pocket Coalition and Local First makes us extremely proud and happy. Some of my proudest moments come when I see kids and parents in our children’s section sprawled on the floor either reading or listening to a story. It’s all about sending books and readers out into the world; expanding the ripple if you will. The smaller but no less important triumphs of matching books to readers one at a time.

Talk about your challenges. What makes it hard to keep doing what you do?
It’s hard to make a living and it’s hard to watch very good, very talented people work to make ends meet on a bookseller’s salary. Every day is a struggle to educate people about the importance of shopping locally and that the dollar you save by shopping at a chain just left for Hoboken anyway so you saved a buck but the local bookseller lost their job. The current economic situation may change our mentality of wanting everything right now and really, slowing down is a good thing isn’t it?

Remind us why it matters. What is it that independent bookstores bring to the cultural landscape that is unique and that merits support?
Bookstores are the places where people and stories come together to forge a community. Your local bookseller probably knows you, knows your family, and certainly knows your extended community and what about it is important to you. The world can be a very lonely place; having a bookstore as a gathering place where like-minded people come together is a luxury we can’t afford to lose.

Talk about the importance of locally owned businesses. What sets them apart from the chains?
When is the last time you went into a chain store like Old Navy or Barnes and Noble and had someone ask you how you were and how did you like that soccer game last Saturday? A certain amount of anonymity can be a blessing but at the end of the day we need to stay connected as a community to move forward as decent human beings who care about each other. That happens by shopping locally, keeping our dollars in our community, and keeping our neighbors employed.