The booksellers have not said their last word

A new generation of booksellers is coming! And with it other ways of seeing things, of imagining these public places and of creating bridges between books and the consumer.

While we were talking about their agony ten years ago, now independent bookstores are making a great comeback. For the first time in eight years, there are more openings than closings. Between 2016 and 2022, there were 33 openings, compared to 20 closings.

Over the past three years, 11 new bookstores have opened in Quebec (7 in Montreal and 4 in the regions). I visited three that are well established in the metropolis. Friendly and multifunctional, these neighborhood businesses herald a revival.

“Many booksellers entered the profession in the 1980s,” explains Carl Fortin, assistant director of the Association des libraires du Québec (ALQ). They ran into all sorts of changes (online sales, digital books, etc.). There have been several retirements. This is what explains the change that is taking place at the moment. »

There are approximately 160 independent bookstores in Quebec (130 which are members of the ALQ and around 30 which are not). Carl Fortin has observed this changing of the guard for several years. In some cases, the children of booksellers take over, in other cases, it is young entrepreneurs who decide to dive in. They do it without too much experience, but with an unconditional love of books.

This is the case of Mylène Abboud and Marie-Odile Cormier, who created La livrerie, rue Ontario Est. With two other partners, they set up a cooperative model. The opening of their bookstore took place in March 2020… a few days before the start of the pandemic.

When Mélanie Guillemette decided to create a bookstore with her partner, Julie Coquerel, she faced a lot of reluctance. “When I said I was 27 and wanted to open a bookstore, the owners ignored me. The young woman was finally able to open the bookstore Wasn’t it summer, in March 2021, thanks to the open-mindedness of a bookseller specializing in Italian books who decided to leave her premises on boulevard Saint -Laurent a stone’s throw from the popular Caffè Italia.

With five years of experience at the Le port de tête bookstore, Léo Loisel, with a partner, Olivia Sofia, created the bookstore Un livre à soi, rue Laurier Est, which opened its doors in May 2022. “I knew the literature, but nothing to the distribution and management of a bookstore, he says. I learned everything on the job. »

A second living room

In the three bookstores I visited, I had the feeling of entering welcoming places that make you want to linger. You feel like you are back in the comfort of your living room. At the back of the magnificent premises of Un livre à soi, there is a terrace area where you can read a book or chat with friends.

At La livrerie, everything has been designed to be a place for meetings and exchanges. At the heart of the book shelves, there is a counter where you can get a cappuccino or other drinks. Mylène Abboud likes to refer to this place as “a third place” which is used to sell books, but which is also a café and a vegetable depot for people in the neighborhood.

At the back of the shop, there are open microphones (open mic), meetings with authors, workshops, literary cabarets and conferences. “We are presenting story time with Nicolas Germain-Marchand,” says Marie-Odile Cormier. It’s a huge success. People arrive very early to get a seat. »

At the bookstore Wasn’t it summer, there is a scene at the back of the store. Mélanie Guillemette organizes improvisation evenings and readings there on various themes, such as eroticism.

Specialized inventories

The other aspect that unites these new genre bookstores is the desire of the owners to leave their mark on the choice of books. Knowing full well that they cannot compete with the large chains which offer an infinite choice of works, these booksellers endow their business with a certain personality.

At the Un livre à soi bookstore, Léo Loisel is not afraid to locate his bookstore “more to the left, feminist and decolonial”. I asked him what that means. “That means I won’t put a book by Mathieu Bock-Côté in my window,” he replied.

Mélanie Guillemette, from the bookstore N’été-ce pas l’été (name taken from a poem by Marie Uguay), has taken up the challenge of creating an inventory of novels and essays by feminist authors. This choice has a direct impact on its customers. “I mostly see women in their 20s and 40s looking for feminist topics,” she says. There are people who come in and out right away and others who tell us that they feel like they are in the library of their dreams. »

This bookstore also offers a superb choice of zines, these books produced by artists or authors, published in limited edition in self-publishing and left on consignment.

At La livrerie, where we offer novels, essays and children’s literature, we recognize that we bring meticulous care to the choice of works. “Sometimes, we can be wrong, but we strive to make a rigorous selection, sometimes even according to the tastes of our customers,” says Marie-Odile Cormier, who taught literature at CEGEP.

Carl Fortin of the ALQ believes that the key to ensuring the viability of independent bookstores is “collaboration”. I spoke with him the day after the interprofessional meeting of the Livres Québec consultation table, which brings together players in the book sector. “When a book sells, the whole chain wins,” he says.

The booksellers I met also told me that they do not hesitate to consult the stocks of their colleagues via a website in order to find a book that they do not have for a customer.

“I have the impression that the new generation of bookstores takes on the role of the bookseller well, says Léo Loisel. People come to us to find out what to read. They come to see a bookseller, but also a human who has tastes. I really like this idea. »