Buzz in books is caffeine related

There was a moment earlier this year when books were overflowing from boxes in Jennifer Rudolph Walsh’s office at the William Morris Agency, like foam seeping out of a double latte. Word had gone out in January that Starbucks, the nation’s largest coffee seller, was going to be getting into the bookselling business, featuring one specially selected book a month, and the company had asked Walsh -- the head of her agency’s worldwide literary division -- to help choose the books.

The phones were ringing off the hook in Walsh’s New York office, and she eventually had four staff people working full time on the project. Every day, new titles arrived. Every day, publishers called offering books they’d like to see for sale in the chain’s more than 5,400 U.S. stores.

“We were inundated, it was unlike anything I’ve seen,” said Walsh, who has represented authors such as Alice Munro, Anita Shreve and Anne Rivers Siddons (as well as the now-notorious Kaavya Viswanathan, the Harvard student whose first novel was found to contain plagiarized passages). “And it wasn’t a surprise, because the publishing industry is over the moon at the idea of selling books in Starbucks.”

In May, as publishers continued to bombard Walsh’s office with books, Hyperion made the surprise announcement at the annual Book Expo America convention in Washington, D.C., that it would be adding a new novel by Mitch Albom to its list. Almost immediately, Hyperion President Bob Miller said, Starbucks officials contacted the publisher to say they wanted the novel to be their first pick.

“We didn’t pitch them, they came to us because they were interested in working with Mitch’s book,” Miller said. “They had gone out looking for all kinds of publishers, looking at different kinds of books, and then this one really grabbed them.”

It didn’t hurt, of course, that Hyperion had previously published Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s book of business advice, “Pour Your Heart Into It.” “We have some relationship there,” Miller conceded. “And I know that Howard has been a big fan of Mitch’s books. It all came together pretty quickly.”

Neither Walsh nor Starbucks would say whether future picks have been chosen already, nor would they say who will have the final say on future picks. But Walsh said she and her staff are looking for books that are “deeply felt.”

Beyond that, the inevitably subjective nature of recommending books makes it a complicated process. A book that moves one person to tears might bore another. Still, Walsh said, she is developing guidelines. “It’s easy to say that a comic book is probably not going to be included in our program,” she said. “We get rid of things like that pretty quickly. But everything else takes more time, because there’s no easy prescription.”

When word of the book program began surfacing this year, the company said it planned to include books by new and unheralded voices. But the selection of Albom’s book -- the story of an emotionally beleaguered man who gets to spend one additional day with his mother, who died years before -- prompted a collective groan among some literati.

Not only are Albom’s books considered by many to be treacly and unsophisticated, but the author, who has racked up huge sales with previous titles such as “Tuesdays With Morrie” and “The Five People You Meet in Heaven,” would have been virtually assured of another bestseller this time around, with or without a push from Starbucks.

Starbucks “put out the word at first that they would be heralding new voices, but now they’ve picked something very safe and not very controversial, which is probably what we should have expected in the first place,” said a prominent publisher who asked anonymity, noting that his company still wanted to do business with the coffee seller. “My guess is, if this program survives, they’ll be picking books that sell quite well and let others gamble on new, lesser-known authors.”

Starbucks’ biggest gamble may be that its customers will be willing to buy a book with their daily caffeine fix. According to those involved with the project, however, it’s a natural fit -- not least because the company is already “linked so intricately” with the creative process, Walsh suggested. “So many of the books I represent were written at least partially at a Starbucks somewhere. Thousands of books never published were also written in the store.” Besides, Walsh said, finding books for sale next to cappuccino machines may be “a great moment of discovery, like discovering you could get health care at a gas station.”

Indeed, the move by Starbucks comes at a time of upheaval for the publishing industry. With the book business under relentless pressure to find new sources of revenue, mainstream publishers are being forced to explore new ways to sell books. More are willing to follow the lead of African American and Christian publishers, who make their books available not just in bookstores but in other places their customers spend time, like churches and beauty salons. When the U.S. paperback edition of “The Da Vinci Code” debuted this year, Random House distributed copies to truck stops and military bases.

Some publishing insiders cringe when novels and other serious books are described as just another “entertainment option” for consumers, as they have been by Starbucks officials promoting the new literary program. Most, however, say it’s a price they are willing to pay: “Any venue that opens up as a new place to sell books is a good thing, and I hope this creates new opportunities for selling books in even more locations,” said David Rosenthal, Simon & Schuster’s executive vice president and publisher.

Although Starbucks has sold books before -- including a special edition of “The Little Engine That Could” and copies of Starbucks founder Schultz’s book -- the new program is bound to have a much larger impact.

The obvious comparison is to Oprah Winfrey’s book club. When the TV diva recommends new titles to her fans, sales often skyrocket overnight. Winfrey’s afternoon talk show reaches an estimated 49 million U.S. viewers a week, according to her website; Starbucks, which will be featuring in-store displays of recommended books for one month each, attracts more than 40 million customers worldwide a week, according to company officials.

“That’s a lot of eyeballs,” said Albom in an interview. He will be making appearances in eight stores on behalf of the novel; there will also be “Book Day” discussions sponsored by the chain in 25 stores in major markets on Oct. 26. A portion of the sales proceeds will go to national literacy programs.

The coffee chain has had long-standing plans to enter the entertainment market, according to Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment. It has had solid success with the sale in its stores of CDs, which are found on display racks among cappuccino mugs, Tuscan chicken sandwiches and Tazo Tea. Earlier the company made a foray into film production, helping to finance “Akeelah and the Bee.” Although box office revenues were disappointing, the chain will be selling DVDs of the movie in its stores this month.

And while Starbucks is gambling that the people lining up for frappuccinos will also take the time to thumb through and buy books, they are clear that they don’t want to sell just any books. Customers may go to Starbucks mainly interested in coffee, but the company’s goal is to spiritually change their lives.

“The important thing was to find books that embody Starbucks values,” Lombard said. He characterized Albom’s novel as “an inspirational tale filled with hope and redemption” that encourages people to examine their relationships. Future books “will have the same values,” he said.

As for the next book selection, Walsh insisted that the choices would not be limited to big-selling authors. “We want to build trust with readers,” she said. “We’re excited about introducing new voices.”