McSweeney's Authors Rally 'Round Brown Bookstore

Dave Eggers, sporting Save the Bookstore pin. Photo:Donald Tetto

The Save the Bookstore Coalition's opposition to plans to outsource Brown University Bookstore operations to a national chain continued last week with the appearance of novelist Dave Eggers and other McSweeney's authors at a book signing at the store. The event, sponsored by Brown University's Literary Arts Program, was advertised as a gathering of "Literally The Most McSweeney's Authors in One Place, Ever" and featured the writers discussing the importance of independent bookstores.

Eggers, author of the novel A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, lamented the fact that "Barnes & Noble took over the bookstores at Harvard, Yale, MIT without a fight," and praised those in opposition to the outsourcing for fighting back, according to a statement released by the Coalition.

The Save the Bookstore Coalition counts more than 1,200 residents, politicians, independent business owners, local community advocates, labor union representatives, students, professors, and Brown University alumni and staff among its members. The group formed in early March in response to a letter posted on the Brown University website, which stated that a Bookstore Review Committee consisting of faculty, students, and staff had been created to evaluate the operations of Brown Bookstore and that "contracting with a vendor was preferred by the majority of the committee."

Among those in opposition to outsourcing is the Brown University Community Council (BUCC), which is made up of faculty, alumnae, students, and area residents. The Brown Daily Herald reported that an "overwhelming number" of BUCC members expressed their support for maintaining the independence of

McSweeney's authors: (l. to r.) Dave Eggers, Chris Adrian, Robert Coover, Dustin Long, Yannick Murphy, Paul LaFarge, Sal Plasencia, Brian Evenson, and Eli Horowitz. Photo:Donald Tetto

the bookstore, repeatedly stating the importance of keeping its "existing culture and sense of community."

Noting that the latest issue of McSweeney's, the semi-quarterly literary journal founded by Eggers, is not being carried by Barnes & Noble because of its "innovative packaging," the Coalition reported that "Eggers told the audience, 'If Brown Bookstore were outsourced to Barnes & Noble, you literally could not buy this here.'"