We appreciate your interest in stocking your book at Firestorm! Because we are frequently approached by authors hoping we will sell their books, we have developed a written policy so that all expectations are clear. Please take the time to review it carefully.
Firestorm is a collectively-owned radical bookstore and community event space. We cater to a predominantly leftist and queer audience, and we tightly curate our inventory. We know from 10+ years of experience that books that do well at Firestorm are politically and culturally relevant to our audience. We ask that you please be considerate of our time, as a small collective operating on a shoestring budget, by realistically considering whether your book is a good fit before beginning the consignment process.
If you believe your book is relevant to our audience AND it meets the following requirements, it may be a candidate for consignment at Firestorm:
- The author lives in Western North Carolina
- The title and author name are printed on the spine
- The cover artwork is not visibly pixelated
- It is paperback, hardcover, or board (no spiral bindings, please)
- It has a 13-digit International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
- The content is an authentic representation of the author’s knowledge and experience.
- For fiction: we do not consign work about “diverse” protagonists written by authors who are not part of the same “diverse” group (e.g. a book about a trans protagonist written by an author who is not transgender).
- For nonfiction: we do not consign work about Native culture or spirituality from non-Native authors.
If your book meets these requirements, we will ask you to sign an agreement under the following terms:
- The length of an initial consignment agreement at Firestorm is six months.
- During these six months, the author may contact Firestorm by email (bookstore@firestorm.coop, please put “Consignment” in the subject line) at the end of each month to check the stock status and may invoice us for any books sold.
- Our pricing terms follow the book industry standard of 60/40, where 60% of the retail price is payable to the author, and 40% is kept by Firestorm.
- In the case that the book has been selling steadily, the author will be given the opportunity to sign a new agreement.
- After six months, the author will retrieve any unsold stock and provide us with a final invoice, if necessary.
- Firestorm will pay invoices within 30 days of receipt.
- Firestorm will pay only for items sold. Damaged or stolen items are the sole financial responsibility of the consignor.
- It is the author’s responsibility to deliver new inventory and pick up any unsold inventory. Inventory left at Firestorm for more than a month after the end of the six month consignment agreement becomes the property of Firestorm and we will donate at our discretion.
If these terms are acceptable, please feel free to drop off a completed, signed consignment agreement and two copies of your book at the front desk. Firestorm reserves the right to make any final decisions on accepting a book; if we feel we cannot successfully sell your book, we will notify you within 14 days and hold your books to be picked up. If you should have any specific questions not addressed by these terms, please feel free to contact us at bookstore@firestorm.coop (please put “Consignment” in the subject line).