Who decides which books make it to the bookstore shelves?

Picture the shelves of your local independent bookstore. There’s limited space on those shelves, isn’t there? Out of the tens of thousands of books that come out every year, someone decides which books will hit the display and enter the brains of readers. Today, we chat with that person, learn how they decide which books make the cut, and find out whether they read every single one.

Christina Pappas is the adult fiction book buyer at Black Bird Bookstore & Cafe in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset neighborhood. This means that she curates the store’s selection of adult fiction books. Christina also creates the fantastic Same Page SF newsletter, which is a must subscribe for San Franciscans who want to be in the know about mind-expanding events and talks related to books, culture, and community.

I met Christina earlier this year after attending her talk with Christie George about mothering and creativity at Black Bird. I wanted to feature Christina in The Museum of Small and Important Things because she is doing the big and important work of creating spaces where people can come together, learn, share ideas, and build community. Let’s give Christina a warm welcome!

Christina: Two blocks from the Pacific Ocean and one block from Golden Gate Park is Black Bird, a small neighborhood bookstore and cafe. Our building used to be an art studio, and the owner, Kathryn Grantham, has done an amazing job retaining that aesthetic - it’s bright, airy, and carefully curated. The books are even presented like art: everything faces out and we carry only what we can comfortably display.

I’m the Adult Fiction buyer, which means novels and short stories - accounting for around 40% of our book sales - are my domain. I’m also the Business Manager, working with Kathryn on everything from our website to our five-year strategy.

I’ve always been an avid reader - some would say unreasonably so - but for most of my life I treated that as a personality trait versus a possible career. In 2016 I moved cross-country to earn my MBA from Berkeley, and in 2022 I quit my job in UX research to join two entrepreneurs building an independent book-tracking platform. We’d spoken with dozens of readers and writers, but to better understand the broader literary ecosystem, I reached out to booksellers. After an hour with Kathryn, I was buzzing with follow-ups. When I asked for another interview, she countered with taking a weekly shift so I could answer my own questions. Done!

As someone who’d spent most of her career in digital environments, I can’t overstate how restorative and joyful I found being at Black Bird. After making the tough call to shut down the platform (turns out it’s really hard to monetize consumer software in an ethical way) I doubled down at the store, taking on more hours and starting to work with Kathryn on curation. That evolved into my role as it exists today.

Surprising nobody, I’m a big nerd: I loved my time at Berkeley Haas and I’d happily stay a student all my life. That said, my biggest lesson had nothing to do with finance, marketing, or anything academic. Rather, it’s that no one is inherently any more competent than I am. I credit business school with shifting my mindset from “I can’t do that!” to “I don’t know how to do that yet, but I bet I can figure it out.” And in a brick and mortar bookstore, there’s a lot of figuring things out, from the surprising perils of being a CSA box drop point (ask me about the fermented fruit fiasco) to finding the perfect book for someone who’s into mummies, ecology, and Celtic folklore (The Bog Queen by Anna North - you’re welcome).

The best part of the job is getting to read for a living (!!!) and being in a position to amplify incredible books, especially those without a built-in audience.

The hardest part is having to be ruthless about what I choose to carry. We have space for around 70 Fiction titles at a time. In a world of endless quantity, people are hungry for quality, and that’s what curation provides - but if you were to sweep every novel from our shelves this morning, I could fill the space with equally compelling options by noon.

I read like it’s my job, because it is! I’m a freakishly fast reader, and combined with how frequently I pick up a book, I get through about 150 each year. Even so, I can’t read everything we carry, and that’s gotten drastically truer in motherhood (slowly but surely dismantling my last vestiges of perfectionism, ha).

I used to see that as a limitation, but now I feel differently: even if I did have the capacity to read every single book, I wouldn’t want to, because not every single book is for me.

In a world increasingly flattened by algorithms, we crave authentic human perspectives. At the same time, value judgements - essential for curation - are inextricably linked to lived experiences and identity.

I’m a white woman, married to a man, raising a child, living in California. Naturally, I relate to authors and protagonists who share my background - and I mean “naturally” as in human nature. It’s not something to be ashamed of, but it is something to acknowledge and counterbalance! I think book-buyers benefit from a hefty dose of confidence and humility: we need to trust our own instincts and recognize their limits.

(Also, if I relied solely on my own taste, 90% of our novels would be post-apocalyptic lit with the occasional queer love story - my favorite subgenres, but a fairly jarring shelf!)

I’m never not thinking about books! (Someone should put that on a hat. Should I put that on a hat?)

When I’m actively in curation mode, I’ll comb through monthly/quarterly catalogs as well as trade reviews on sites like Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and LitHub. Publishers mail me advance reader copies - ARCs, also known as galleys - and I also request them through digital platforms like NetGalley and Edelweiss.

I love chatting with librarians and booksellers and browsing nearby stores. My code of ethics: if I see an interesting book at another store, I’ll order it for Black Bird if I remember it later without taking a photo or writing it down.

I also pay attention to authors and what they’re recommending. It’s an open secret that blurbs are more indicative of the author’s friendships than the book’s quality, but I find their less commercialized endorsements valuable.

All that said, I’m conscious of the industry bubble! I’m endlessly curious as to what non-professionals - the vast majority of readers - are drawn to. And I keep an eye on broader cultural trends, from TV adaptations (Heated Rivalry) to travel destinations (Japan).

It comes down to individual fit, collective value, and timing.

Individual fit: Does it belong at Black Bird? While we take care to carry a range of subgenres, our sweet spot is what I’ll call literary-ish fiction - interesting, well-written, and a little bit weird. Since we’re so small, we’re intentional about highlighting books beyond what you’d see on the NYT bestseller list.

I also consider the author, their unique perspective, and whether we’ve carried them before; when it was published and by whom; unit costs and shipping speeds; and, of course, the cover.

Collective value: What else is on our shelves and what’s unique about this particular option? Even if a book passes the individual fit test, if it’s too similar to what we already have, I’ll pass for now.

Last but not least is timing: holidays, heritage months, seasonality. I also consider what’s going on in the world. What might readers be wondering about? Whose voices can help educate or build empathy through fiction?

Keep it simple! Send an email introducing yourself. Tell me about your book and why it’s a fit for Black Bird. No need to write a thesis, but conduct basic research; if you’re local, visit before pitching your book as perfect for our nonexistent Romantasy section.

As tempting as it may be, and as much pressure as authors are under to self-promote, please don’t show up at the store with your book unsolicited. And definitely don’t emulate the author who repeatedly snuck his book onto our shelves during a busy holiday weekend, an egregious approach I’ve since learned is called “shopdropping.”

Most authors I’ve connected with are lovely, and one of the best things about my work is getting to know them! However, a notable few come in with an attitude of, “You sell books, I wrote a book, ergo, you sell my book.” Last year, at least 10,000 novels came out through traditional publishers alone. In that same period, Black Bird carried just under 400 unique fiction titles - and what sounds like a 4% stock rate is actually 2%, since half our titles are older.

Same Page SF is a weekly newsletter for all things local and literary. Think of it as your friendly, well-informed, and unabashedly nerdy source for author events, book club meetings, and launch parties - basically, anything your typical book-loving introvert (myself included!) might leave the house for.

I dreamed up Same Page in late 2023 after missing one too many book events I only learned about after the fact and, as a bookseller, working one too many with low/no attendees. I figured that if I was having trouble keeping up, other folks were too! That November, I sent my first newsletter to a handful of friends; today, it goes out to over one thousand readers.

To craft it, I comb through every SF bookstore’s website, social media, or newsletter and check cultural hubs like the SFPL, Litquake, and City Arts & Lectures. Once I’ve collected everything in my running Google Doc - 495 pages and counting! - I choose five especially interesting events to feature; everything else goes in the “Also” section. I want readers to come away from each issue feeling informed and inspired.

I recently had a memorable conversation with the folks behind the Austin Book Trail, who describe themselves as “purveyors and producers of literary culture.” That’s how I see Same Page evolving. I’ve started hosting our own events, and I’d love to do more to connect our vibrant literary ecosystem. (Back to School Book Fair for Adults, anyone!?)

I’m inspired by the creativity of nontraditional book events. For example, Decentered Arts hosts Poolside Poets each month - readings with a DJ and dress code! There’s also a surge of Silent Reading Parties at bookstores and bars alike. Introversion notwithstanding, it’s clear we’re craving opportunities to casually connect (even if that looks like reading alone together).

There’s a lot of energy for events that bridge reading and writing. I’ve started combining book club meetings and author talks through my Same Page x Black Bird Book Club. The first half of the meeting is dedicated to internal conversation; then the author joins us (!) and we dig into their process.

I’ll wind down by saying the most fulfilling part of my work - across both Same Page and Black Bird - is the community. I’ve connected with folks doing brilliant creative work (like Allie!). I’ve given and received countless book recommendations (my love language). I’ve made dear friends. I’m continually heartened by the fact that readers show up.

Thanks for reading! If we haven’t met yet, I’m Allie Sullberg, and I’m an artist, writer, and illustrator. If you liked this post, one of the biggest ways you can support my work is bysubscribing. Likes, comments, and shares are also a quick and meaningful way to support! Paid subscribers make this work possible. If you’d like to check out more of my work, here’s my website and my Instagram.