The sale of Politics and Prose is yet another indication that the recent climate has become increasingly hostile to independent bookstores. Over the past six years, the Washington DC area has seen popular stores like Olsson’s, Reprint Book Shop, Sisterspace, Karibu, and Vertigo Books close their doors. Even the very chain stores that have played such a role in the demise of the independents have had their own share of problems ...Washington Business Journal editor Douglas Fruehling delivers a similar analysis:
Although there's no indication Politics & Prose will close — presumably it could if a buyer isn't found or the right price is not achieved — it's the latest chapter in the sad story of the ever-changing publishing industry. D.C. has already lost several home-grown bookstores: Olsson's, Franz Bader Bookstore and Trover's.But buyers there seem to be ... including Jeffrey Goldberg and friends.The owners of Politics & Prose, which was often featured on C-SPAN, say they have been selling about $3 million in hardcover books in recent years and have 60 employees. That's not chump change, of course, but with more and more iPads and Kindles hitting the market, you have to wonder how long they can keep those sales up. Or how long it will be before Politics & Prose goes the way of our city's other great institutions: Woodward & Lothrop, Nathan's and Commander Salamander.
