I've been selling books for various publishers throughout the South for going on 30 years, and I can count on one hand my "Band of Brothers" of booksellers who have been there for all that time. I'm glad to include Mitchell and his fabulous employees amongst those few. From my days of seeing Mitchell in the tiny cubbyhole of a store on the corner of Aragon and Salzedo Street, to today, with his dominant place in the Miami-Dade County cultural scene, somehow, I always knew, he'd be here to stay.
25 years. Wow. In our business, against all the odds we all face, Books & Books has grown to be a force to be reckoned with, and has always shone through, no matter what obstacles have been thrown in front of them, or around the corner, so to speak. I can say, with certainty, that many in our industry look to Mitchell as a beacon of how to compete, how to grow a business and how to do it with class and optimism. He always has time for a fellow bookseller to share his thoughts with them, to be a mentor and, as he proved as President of our National Association, the ABA, a clear voice to the publishing industry that we, the independent booksellers, are important and must be nurtured and maintained. Without them, we publishers will not discover the hidden talented writers that the independent bookstore can do.
We are truly grateful to everything Books & Books has done for the industry these 25 years, and I look forward to growing old together with my "Brother", as we move forward into the future of bookselling.
Marty Conroy
Sales Representative, Hachette Book Group
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