Resilience “The Great Good Place” An Interview with Mitchell Kaplan, Founder, Books & Books EDITORS’ NOTE Mitchell Kaplan, admired, those from the past and those I try my hardest to not be a controlling a Miami Beach native, founded stores I continued to visit when I was leader and that was initially hard. I started my Books & Books in 1982. Located in younger. Stores like Shakespeare and business from scratch and for a long time I was Coral Gables, Florida, Books & Books Company in Paris, where James Joyce its only employee. As the years have rolled on, expanded to its present location in and the Lost Generation found a home, I believe that my biggest leap forward is my 2000. Housed in a Mediterranean- The Gotham Book Mart in New York ability to delegate. With that comes the need styled building, the bookstore hosts City, where Borges was read to on each to allow others to make mistakes without com- over sixty events a month, consisting of his trips to the city when he devel- pletely dispiriting them. I love it when I feel I of author readings and signings, dem- oped blindness, and City Lights in San can teach those who work with me what I onstrations and workshops, live music, Francisco, home to the Beats and where know, and I love it even more when they do reading and discussion groups, pro- Allen Ginsberg fi rst read Howl, became what I do and do it better. It’s also extremely gramming for children and families, my north stars when I envisioned what I important that they develop a kind of passion and a variety of other community- Mitchell Kaplan wanted Books & Books to become. From and the satisfaction that brings. Bookselling isn’t based events. All of this is achieved in that Coral Gables store we now have fi ve the most lucrative fi eld, but it can be the most an old world setting of fl oor-to-ceiling wood book- more stores in South Florida and an affi liated part- satisfying and that’s what I want to foster in shelves, wood fl oors, and a courtyard café, man- nership with Judy Blume and her store in Key West. others. aged by James Beard-award winning Chef Allen The notion of the “great good place” What are the keys to independent Susser. In April 2005, Books & Books opened a loca- informs everything I do, and I think that attitude bookstores remaining relevant and cur- tion inside the Bal Harbour Shops Mall, specializing is what has led to our sustainability for almost rent with the disruption taking place in in high-end art and design books and continues forty years. People love to congregate outside the industry? the tradition of the Coral Gables and Miami Beach of their home and work; that has become excru- There has never been a more important bookstores with a full schedule of author events and ciatingly clear during this pandemic. A book- time to be an independent bookseller in an programs. I The Café/Bookstore Books & Books at store, my bookstore, is just such a place. We independent bookstore. Like much of what’s the Adrienne Arsht Center opened in 2015, and have cafes, we present authors and we make happening in retail, much is broken in the in 2016 Books & Books partnered with the Studios our space available to groups of all kinds. All world of publishing. What’s not broken is the of Key West and opened a store under the guid- of this helps build community and community ability to publish important, relevant and vital ance of Judy Blume and her husband, George. makes us all stronger and able to face whatever books that are so important as the world is in Books & Books is also conveniently located at challenges we must. the process of remaking itself. Distribution is the Miami’s International Airport. In the spring of How do you describe your leadership main problem facing our industry. How does 2017, Books & Books opened another community- style and what do you see as the keys to an author’s book fi nd its readership? With so centered bookstore in Pinecrest, a city in Miami-Dade effective leadership? many books published, guides – responsible and County, at the Suniland Shops. A new loca- tion opened recently in Coconut Grove on Main Highway. Books & Books was named Bookstore of the Year in 2015 by Publishers’ Weekly. Kaplan is a co-founder of Miami Book Fair and serves as the Chairperson of its Board of Advisors. He is the former President of the American Booksellers “Like much of what’s happening in retail, much Association (ABA) and also served on the Board of ABFFE, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. In 2011, Kaplan received is broken in the world of publishing. What’s the National Book Foundation’s prestigious “Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the not broken is the ability to publish important, American Literary Community.” Will you provide an overview of Books relevant and vital books that are so important as & Books and what have been the keys to its success? I founded Books & Books in 1982. I gradu- the world is in the process of remaking itself.” ated college with a BA in English and after a brief stint in law school and teaching high school for three years, I found a small store in Coral Gables, Florida, that I was able to convert to a bookstore. My inspiration came from all the bookstores I 112 LEADERS POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © 2020 LEADERS MAGAZINE, LLC VOLUME 43, NUMBER 4 Resilience “The notion of the ‘great good place’ informs everything I do, and I think that attitude is what has led to our sustainability for almost forty years. People love to congregate outside of their home and work; that has become excruciatingly clear during this pandemic. A bookstore, my bookstore, is just such a place.” trusted guides – are necessary to get the word and I’m working on ways to open up bookselling to As a business leader, how are you able out about what’s new and what’s important. neglected parts of South Florida and to put books in to build a resilient culture within your This happens best through an independent the hands of young people who still don’t have the organization? bookstore and, even more important, through a means to develop libraries of their own. Listening to every stakeholder in my company vibrant, diverse and economically healthy inde- How do you defi ne resilience and what is the most important thing I can do to build resil- pendent channel. When the means of distribu- are the key characteristics of a resilient iency, while at the same time be as transparent as tion is centralized, as it is through Amazon, we company? possible about every aspect of the bookstore’s busi- run the risk of having one of the more fun- Resilience is baked into everything a ness. Its successes, failures and challenges allow damental means of getting ideas and impor- bookstore owner does. I opened during an everyone to buy into the stores’ ability to fi nd solu- tant voices under the control of very few. The economic downturn in the early 80’s, I had tions to problems and to have everyone feel empow- healthiest way to keep our ongoing discussions to overcome the rise of the “super store” phe- ered to make changes. When employees understand alive and to fi nd the voices of emerging think- nomenon, the discounters put thousands of just what Books & Books is about and have a clear ers and literary artists is to ensure that there stores out of business, and then the internet sense of our culture, I give them latitude even when are thousands and thousands of guides offering and internet shopping behemoths like Amazon they make mistakes. A sense of pride in what we do what publishers and writers have to contribute continued the slaughter. Resilience is the abil- must give members of the Books & Books team the to our national discourse. ity to be tough and to fi nd ways to overcome same kind of satisfaction it gives me. How has Books & Books adapted its obstacles and the only way I could rouse the Do you feel that resilience is something business to address the challenges from the spirit to fi ght these good fi ghts was because of a person is born with or can it be taught? pandemic? the passion I have to be a bookstore owner. I This is the hardest question of all. The Almost overnight, Books & Books has would not allow myself to be defeated. That nature versus nurture question has never been moved into the virtual world. We’ve always had has meant that I had to be wily, constantly adequately answered as far as I know. There a website and encouraged some online order- environmentally scanning, knowing what inno- are those who have a can-do attitude in the ing, but our site was mostly informational. As vations were out there in retail and in the book face of any challenge and there are those who we had to lockdown and were closed for many business, but also knowing who my allies are shy away from any diffi cult situation. I guess I weeks, we made sure to let our community of and having a very clear vision of what Books believe that unless someone is so pessimis- customers know how important it is to sup- & Books is and to stay the course even in the tic and set in their ways, good patterning by a port us if we’re still to be a force for good in face of such adversity.