Elizabeth Campbell went to Dragon*Con last weekend and wrote in to tell us about bookseller Larry Smith.
Larry Smith, Bookseller, is a conventions bookstore. He and Sally Kobee sell new science fiction and fantasy books in hardback, trade, and mass market bindings. They are out of Ohio, so in addition to Dragon*Con, we see them at ConText.
They’ve been doing this for freaking ever, they know freaking everybody, and it seems like they have every single freaking book in stock. Sally seems to know what you’re looking for before you do. You can often find authors glomming around their bookstall signing their novels. It’s a pretty powerful experience to be nosing around in the books, look up and see — Holy Cow! S.M. Stirling!
Smith and Kobee sell at a convention somewhere in the country about every other weekend, approximately 34 per year. They also chaired World Fantasy Convention last year. They’re incredibly respected in the industry, and book browsers can witness them being tapped for sales trends for an author, genre forecasting, and book industry news.
If you’ve been to a great bookstore recently, please send us a photo (the SFF section would be great!) and a paragraph or two about why you love that store.
They sound wonderful!
These guys are great booksellers. I’ve been buying books from them at Archon for more years than I want to admit. I don’t know how many times I have been introduced to a new author because of Larry knowing what I like to read! It was good to see this great write up on Larry and Sally.
Everyone bemoans the “death of the bookstore”–it’s great to see the many innovative ways people are keeping them alive and thriving.
RIP Larry Smith. I just saw him at Arisia.
Aw. Thanks for letting us know, Claudia!