Why, yes, that is Stephen Colbert promoting Portland independent bookstore Powell’s on his show, The Colbert Report! On June 4, Colbert welcomed award-winning, Indies First-inspiring PNW author and bookstore champion Sherman Alexie to his show to discuss the Amazon/Hachette situation. (To watch the clip, click here.)
Alexie did a tremendous job describing California, a novel by debut author Edan Lepucki. (If that author gig ever gets old, Sherman, you’re always welcome as a bookseller!) California is being published by Little Brown, an imprint of the publisher Hachette. Due to Amazon’s negotiation disputes with Hachette, Amazon is not accepting preorders for its July 8 release. Colbert and Alexie turned this into a huge national opportunity for Portland’s Powell’s by challenging Colbert Report viewers to place preorders for California through Powell’s to outsell Amazon.
Preorders for the title have put California as the #1 bestseller on powells.com. Hooray!