Credit: Time magazine
Every April, Time magazine puts out its list of “The 100 Most Influential People in the World” (check out this year’s list here). And every April, it’s chocked-full of all the people you would expect: heads of state, superstars, moguls, athletes and celebrities. The magazine’s tagline for the list is: “they are the people who inspire us, entertain us, challenge us and change our world.” Essentially, it’s a snap shot of this brief moment in history that is 2012.
This year was no exception, honoring the usual suspects such as Warren Buffett, Tim Tebow, Barack Obama, Adele, and…Ann Patchett? Yes, that’s right, Ann Patchett – best-selling novelist and author of Bel Canto, State of Wonder, and many others. Now, it’s not unusual for an author to make the list. This year alone Patchett is in good company with E.L. James and Walter Isaacson (James was recently launched onto the national stage with her publishing phenomenon Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy and Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs, had the #1 best-selling nonfiction title in 2011). What’s most interesting here is that she’s not necessarily being honored for her work – although she certainly could be – but rather for opening an independent bookstore last year: Parnassus Books.
On the list: to see what best-selling author of Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert has to say about Patchett and Parnassus Books, click here.
Yes, you’re right. It does sound a little bit crazy, if not totally crazy, to open up a new independent in today’s publishing climate. But in her hometown of Nashville, TN the big-box chains had driven out independents, Amazon had driven out the big-box chains, and so the city was left with nada in the way of buying books. Patchett wanted to change this, and so she did. She and co-founder Karen Hayes opened their very own brick and mortar store in October of last year.
A Salon.com article about Patchett suggests that, “Parnassus Books is less a make-or-break business risk than an investment in her community — and a pulpit from which she can preach the gospel of the book.”
And here’s what she says herself to NPR’s All Things Considered: “I think of this as my gift to the city: This is what I want to see in Nashville, and if I want to live in a city with a bookstore, then I’m willing to pay for it. Just the fact that I have had the chance to be a spokesperson for books — to stand up for all my friends across the country who are independent booksellers, the people who have supported my career for the last 20 years — the fact that I can go on CBS and the front page of the Times and say, ‘Books are really important. Support your local bookstore.’ Unbelievable. It would be worth every dime just to do that. I would have written somebody a check just to do that.”
The Editor of Time, Rick Stengel, comments on the list this year: “The nature of influence changes. The word originates from the medieval idea that a magical liquid emanates from the stars to influence our actions on earth. Modern influence often comes from the magical ability of technology and social media to overcome time and distance and reorder our perceptions. Before microphones and television were invented, a leader had to stand in front of a crowd and bellow. Now she can tweet a phrase that reaches millions in a flash. Influence was never easier — or more ephemeral. We look for the antidote to this: how individuals can start a chain reaction of virtue, shaping events in ways that can become both viral and enduring. We are living in a transformative period in which leadership and influence emerge in unlikely places.”
So, this post is a challenge. What’s one thing you can do today to influence and support an industry you love?