Spirit of Independence

Dear Vancouver,

Pulpfiction Books is not closing.  Our friends at Book Warehouse are, unfortunately, shutting down.  At least one media outlet has confused our two businesses, leading to 300+ emails in my inbox this morning, phone ringing off the hook, & etc.

Opinion has it that it's impossible to run an independent bookstore and compete with online businesses, e-reading, etc.  This has not been my experience.

Sales are solid at all three of our shops (2422 Main Street; 1830 Commercial; 3133 West Broadway), where we continue to sell, buy and trade books every day.

In the last year, we have systematically opened accounts with almost every new book publisher & distributor in North America.  We can now obtain virtually any in-print book in 2-7 working days, typically (but not always) at 30% off Canadian cover price.

If you've never visited us before, or haven't been in for a while, we'd be glad to see you. 

I have always wanted to create one of North America's best bookstores in Vancouver, something on the order of Seattle's Elliott Bay, or Portland's Powell's, or San Francisco's Green Apple.  Please join my staff and I as we build a Vancouver institution day-by-day.

Sincerely,

Christopher Brayshaw
Owner, Pulpfiction Books

Matt Ruff Reads From THE MIRAGE @ Main Street

Seattle's Matt Ruff (Bad Monkeys; Sewer, Gas & Electric; Set This House in Order) reads from his new "alternative history" The Mirage (think 9/11 meets Man in the High Castle) Saturday February 25th at 7pm sharp.  Free; limited seating.  Ruff is a great contemporary novelist whose work is always in high demand @ PFB, and we're glad to have him back in house.

PFB 3.0 Now Open

PFB 3.0, 1830 Commercial Drive, beween 2nd and 3rd on the east side of the street, should be open today from noon-7pm, and every following day from 11am-7pm.  Phone should be working as of this morning, too: 604.251.4311.

Lots of space yet to be filled; we will be happy to look at any quantity of books for potential purchase, any time up until 5pm, 7 days a week.  No need to make an appointment; one of our buyers will be happy to take a look at whatever you've got.

Holiday Hours

PFB Main Street and PFB Kits will close on Saturday December 31st at 5pm.

PFB Main Street and PFB Kits will be closed on Sunday January 1st, 2012.  Reason: packing for PFB Commercial Drive.

Regular hours resume Monday January 2nd 2012 at 10am (Main) and 11am (Kits).

God willing, PFB Commercial Drive (1830 Commercial, between 2nd and 3rd, on the east side of the street) will be up and running by the 20th of January.  News here (and maybe a few photographs) as things develop.

Breaking News: PFB 3.0

1830 Commercial Drive.

New and used books, side by side.

January 2012.

How Can We Help?

With Christmas fast approaching, an instant recap of what my microeconomics course calls "sustainable competitive advantage":

Most paid-in-advance special orders from us are now 30% off Canadian cover price. Ever feel like you had to buy something on-line, or from a corporate giant, because you suspected that buying local & independent was going to cost you more? That's a choice you no longer have to make.

What's more, if you order $100 or more of books from us at once, we'll deliver your books to your home or office, anywhere in the city of Vancouver, at no additional charge.

Q: How do you guys make any money at this?

A: By selling lots and lots of books, and by receiving an extra bit of margin from our favorite suppliers, based on the steadily increasing volume of our orders.

Q: Phone orders?

A: You bet. Visa, MC, AmEx. Or our wireless debit machine at your door, just like the pizza guy.

Most special orders from come as fast, or faster, than when ordered online.

Example: book ordered from Big Canadian Chain and shipped from Ontario to Vancouver: 5 to 7 working days.  Book ordered from PFB and shipped from Vancouver-based or Western Canadian supplier: 2 or 3 days.  Plus, when you order from us (or any other real bookstore, for that matter), you never pay shipping, handling, or border brokerage.  Nor do you have to wait in a 55-person lineup at your local Canada Post outlet, listening to Phil Collins sing "The Little Drummer Boy."

We hope you'll keep us in mind this holiday season.  If you have any questions about any book-related issue, please phone or email.  We are always happy to hear from you.

Nomados Book Launch Tonight @ Main Street

Please join Nomados Literary Publishers as we launch four new books: Sonnets : Louise Labé by Edward Byrne; Lever by Stephen Collis; Twenty Objects for  the New World by Alex Leslie; and that stays news by Nikki Reimer. Readings by the authors and a mystery guest.

Saturday November 19 at Pulpfiction Books 2422 Main, 7-9 pm. Light  refreshments. FREE.

Associated with the Kootenay School of Writing, Edward Byrne is the author  of Aporia and Beautiful Lies. He is also the co-editor of The Recovery of  the Public World: Essays on Poetics in Honour of Robin Blaser.

Stephen Collis' most recent book of poetry, On the Material, won the 2011 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. He is currently writing a book about change.

Alex Leslie's collection of short stories People Who Disappear will be  published by Freehand Books in April. Winner of a CBC Literary Award and a  Gold National Magazine Award, she has published in literary journals throughout Canada.

Nikki Reimer's book [sic] was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert award. Her  chapbooks include haute action material and fist things first, and her work has appeared in The Capilano Review, Dandelion, Poetry is Dead, West Coast Line, Matrix, PRISM, and other magazines. She is currently Managing Editor
of EVENT magazine.