Dear Booksellers

It is really no secret how much I love indie bookstores and booksellers. But it goes much deeper than just a casual appreciation. I want to fundamentally shift the way this industry operates, and that cannot happen without us re-imagining what this work looks like in every corner of the bookish world.

I see the work I am doing here as a publisher mirrored in the work you do as indie booksellers every single day. We are two sides of a single conversation and I am confident that what we're doing would not be nearly as successful without the outpouring of love and support that we have received from you.

When Devil of the Deep launched as an instant Indie Publishers Top 40, I wasn't shocked. Because I already knew the way y'all showed up for us. You have done so since day one. And I am so excited every time I see an opportunity to return the favor and/or to partner together.

Now, our next book, Buzzard has been chosen as an Indies Introduce Pick, which means there are hundreds of booksellers preparing to display this book in their stores and to promote it to their audiences. And in light of that, I see a perfect opportunity for us to partner together!

I am looking for as many booksellers as possible to be involved in this campaign to promote Buzzard. And I intend to leverage my platforms and influence to support your efforts as well. Which I will outline later in this blog.

Before I get to all that though, let me tell you about the book!

More about Buzzard

Buzzard is a near-future dystopian, set in a fractured version of the United States that has finished its descent into fascism and effectively dismantled reproductive rights across the country. It follows Mae, a midwife, and one of the last reproductive healthcare workers still fighting to provide abortion-access to people who need it. When she is eventually caught and imprisoned, she is assigned to an experimental prison for young drone pilots because of her medical training, where she discovers young women who start showing up pregnant, despite that being nearly impossible. Which leaves her in a position where she has to decide if she is going to keep her head down and hopefully one day get out and reunite with her sons again, or do what she has always done and put her neck on the line to fight for the people who need her.

Buzzard is a book that the world needs right now, so I am very eager to make sure it is widely available and talked about. And while I will do everything that I can to push this story on social media, the truth we both know is, booksellers make a huge difference in how far a book can go. So I would appreciate it if those of you reading this would consider partnering with us to make sure this important book ends up on people's shelves.

But don't just take my word for it. Here are what other booksellers are saying about it:

Praise from BOOKSELLERS

“Set in the near-future dystopian Southwest, this book is a terrifying look at governmental control and abuse, as well as women’s health care and reproductive rights. It also shows heart and the depths of a mother’s love. This book will stick with me for a long time!” — Jocele Skinner, Shared Stories Books, Caldwell, ID
“ Buzzard is the best piece of dystopian fiction I’ve read in a long time. Inez Ray drops the reader into a horrifying world for which we are already seeing road signs — patriarchy reigns, women’s rights are suppressed, climate catastrophe is reality, and paramilitary corporations run it all. Mae is serving a sentence for providing abortions in a time where fertility is controlled by companies like Obsityan, who also runs the prison. She spends long days and nights using her nursing skills to aid teenage drone pilot-prisoners. When one too many turns up pregnant and an opportunity to have her sentence commuted by looking the other way arises, Mae thinks her time in this Orwellian prison is over and maybe, just maybe, she will get to see her two sons again. But in Ray’s world, Obsityan is everywhere, even in the middle of the desert, where Mae’s past catches up with her when a pregnant woman in labor shows up with a driver who has an agenda.” — Jamie Hope Anderson, Duck's Cottage, Duck, NC
“ Buzzard is my new standard for "Feminist Fiction". Inez Ray has created a dystopian world that you don't have to try too hard to imagine. Buzzard is extremely timely and terrifyingly close to our current reality.” — Amani Jackson, The Ivy Bookshop, Baltimore, MD
“A dystopian near future with alarmingly strong ties to our present moment, a cyber-age Handmaid’s Tale with a furious midwife & abortionist at its center, a full-throated feminist rallying cry. Buzzard is an utterly original and unapologetic argument for freedom and bodily autonomy, wrapped inside a rollicking adventure story.”—Toni Thayer, Loganberry Books, Cleveland, OH
“This is sacred storytelling. Inez Ray brings us in with a story surrounding someone many in the US would paint as the ultimate villain but completely disrupts that. We’re guided through a world that’s unsettling because of the familiarity to our present. Ray hands over the real power to the reader: What will you do with this prophetic forewarning?” —Dominique Burleson, owner of Paperbacks & Frybread Co.

And these are just a few of the reviews that stood out to me. There are many more.

How can we partner together?

• First and foremost, I would love to create content for any bookseller that is helping to promote Buzzard in any way. If you are stocking the book and would like me to use my platforms to point readers your way, HERE is a form you can fill out, giving me some information so that I can make that content effectively. I want to make sure that you are stocking copies of the book, I am supporting you even beyond those copies. I'd love to point readers your way and to help amplify your business and mission.

• In addition to stocking copies of the book, Molly would love opportunities to participate in events at as many stores as possible. Whether that means an in-person book signing after the book launches, or digital events promoting the book together, she is eager to work alongside booksellers. As am I. If you are interested in scheduling an event, you can reach out via my email: michael_laborn@icloud.com and I will help to schedule that. And rest assured, I will promote every single event that is scheduled. We want these partnerships to benefit your business as much as ours.

• We have partnered directly with bookshop.org to host our pre-order campaign, and created incentives that are specific to sales made there. However, if you would like to host a pre-order campaign for your community of readers, I am more than happy to work with you to promote that and to point readers toward you. I believe strongly in local bookstores and want to do my part to support your businesses.

• If you are willing to include Buzzard in one of your in-store displays, please feel free to email me a picture of it so that I can highlight that on social media and encourage local readers to head your way for a copy! (And I will always encourage them to buy more than just Buzzard. My goal is to help create more regular readers for you, not just to sell our book).

Lastly, while there is nothing I can really offer you in exchange for this ask, I would deeply appreciate it if you would consider nominating Buzzard for Indie Next. The deadline is July 27th. I don't need to tell you how impactful making that list can be for a debut novel. So I would appreciate your help getting Buzzard onto that list so that it can reach even more readers.

Nominate via ABA
Nominate via Netgalley
Nominate via Edelweiss

Thank you for everything you do for readers and authors. You are the unsung heroes of this industry and I appreciate you deeply. And I look forward to a long career of partnering together in the fight for marginalized authors.