Campaign to Grab the Golden O Continues

When Margaret Osondu of Osondu Booksellers in Waynesville, North Carolina, read that Amazon.com was offering discounted prices on "Sixty-Four Great Reads" in the July issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, she realized that she could certainly sell the same titles at the same discount; however, she didn't have the budget for an ad in a national magazine to bring this to the public's attention. What she could do, however, was launch a community-wide campaign to bring Oprah Winfrey to Waynesville to visit Osondu Booksellers, as first reported by Shelf Awareness in early July.

"I thought it would be fun for Oprah to hear about our store. And I would like her to know why I, and the people in my community, feel it's important to have independent bookstores," Osondu recently told BTW. "It's a political, as well as a literary, issue. I'm concerned, as more independent bookstores go out of business, that the only people choosing which books are published will be corporations. I don't relish that thought. Oprah has always been for the underdog, and I think she might feel the same way."

To catch Oprah's attention, for the past six weeks Osondu has been sending her one package a week. The first contained more than 300 postcards from customers, another contained more postcards and a highlighted copy of The Yellow Lighted Bookshop (Lewis Buzbee, Graywolf). Soon to be on its way is an 11" x 17" poster that says "Osondu Booksellers Invite You -- Oprah Winfrey -- to Our Independent Bookstore," which was signed by 61 local authors, most of whom participated in a weekend author event co-sponsored by Osondu.

Neighboring businesses have also stepped up to lure Oprah. A local bed and breakfast, The Inn at Iris Meadows, will donate accommodations. "It's one of the most elegant places I've ever been," noted Osondu. "One room even has a fireplace in the bathroom. A chef who trained under Wolfgang Puck said he would cook for her while she's here."

There has been no shortage of help for Osondu, who reported that Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Executive Director Wanda Jewell "has jumped in with 100 percent support." She added, "Wanda asked for all SIBA booksellers to be in solidarity and invite Oprah to our town and bookstore. That's a pretty big step, I thought."

So far Osondu hasn't heard from Oprah, but she's not deterred. "We're committed to send her something once a week until the end of the year," she said. "We'll continue to invite her, and we'll be sending more books -- The Rebel Bookseller (Andrew Laties, Vox Pop) and The King's English (Betsy Burton, Gibbs Smith) -- along with notes explaining why each book is important.

"We're having fun with this. Even if Oprah doesn't come, I feel like we're doing something good, letting the community know we care about the bookstore and them. It brings us to another level." --Karen Schechner