Barnes & Noble may be a battleground for an unforeseen landscape: politics. Or at least, that was the impression one woman got when she walked into her local store, only to find a particularly charged, curated selection of right-wing adjacent books waiting for her.
Liliana (@lillyestie) was browsing Barnes & Noble when one table with a selection of books made her stop in her tracks. The book display had typical Barnes & Noble signage, saying “give the gift of stories” at the top. But as her eyes panned down, she saw that those stories at that display all shared one idea.
Charlie Kirk’s 2020 publication, “Right Wing Revolution,” was in front of her, alongside a biography of Kirk by Rick Morris and one of Kirk’s other books, “Stop, In the Name of God.”
Unsettlingly, the table also had a sign with a particularly pointed message. The sign read, “The United States of America has long been the lone beacon of freedom and sensibility in a chaotic world. Now, she is under threat from a lethal ideology that seeks to humiliate and erase anyone who does not bow at its altar. The threat in question? Wokeism.”
She then noticed another section dedicated to Trump’s presidency, which she quickly panned over.
Despite her humorous description saying that the displays “[definitely] killed the vibe” in her video, which has garnered over 880,000 views, many commenters expressed concern. Are Barnes & Noble stores across the country putting out signs that call “wokeism” a threat to America? Does this store reflect the values of the company?
Why does Barnes & Noble have specific sections dedicated to Charlie Kirk?
Barnes & Noble’s individual store managers seem to have the power when it comes to book displays.
As a bookstore, Barnes & Noble has carried titles from across the political spectrum. That is partially because publishers often determined what books would land on shelves, not the stores themselves. Previously, decisions came from those publishers and the bookstore’s New York corporate line, so stores simply carried what performed and what made sense from a business perspective.
With the introduction of new CEO James Daunt in 2019, however, stores moved to a “hyperlocal” focus, which allows individual managers to display books that appeal to local interest.
These individual managers receive books that fit their market. For instance, a more rural Barnes & Noble may carry significantly more books that match its general demographic. A bookstore in a left-leaning area may ultimately carry more books that appeal to that demographic’s interests.
For that reason, not all Barnes & Noble stores have moved toward dedicating a display to Charlie Kirk. Nor have they posted long political messaging on their displays.
Are all Barnes & Noble stores carrying right-wing books choosing to do so?
It leads to the question: Are individual managers making all of the decisions related to what books end up inside their stores? The simple answer is no, not necessarily. The decision about which books to sell is not made purely by in-store managers. Rather, Barnes & Noble’s corporate team still dictates many of the books that end up in stores.
Managers are in charge of how books are displayed and what is pushed to new customers, as well as some of the books offered at their location.
Many commenters have noticed a recent increase in right-oriented books in some Barnes & Noble stores. Alongside that, however, there have also been silent protests from store managers and employees. Take, for instance, one commenter’s local Barnes & Noble, which placed books discussing fascism right next to publications discussing Trump’s presidency.
While this is not the same as creating an entirely new, curated section dedicated to Kirk, it does speak to the power of book placement. It is possible that some stores that receive these books carry the titles but do not necessarily agree with having them.
Wait, was Barnes & Noble ever truly ‘left leaning’?
Surprisingly, many right-wing figures consider Barnes & Noble stores to be left-leaning, despite the fact that the bookstore doesn’t necessarily ascribe to any specific affiliation. Corporate Barnes & Noble made the switch to Bluesky, but the company hasn’t made any definitive political statements.
Articles have expressed the idea that some Barnes & Noble stores are carrying books dedicated to one political ideology over another. But, these articles echoed that many stores, like a location in Dartmouth, were too left-leaning, carrying selections like White Fear over publications from the right.
One writer for Hot Air, a right-leaning publication, described ‘liberal censorship’ from a Georgetown store. The author, Mark Judge, issued a complaint that the store would not carry his book, “The Devil’s Triangle: Mark Judge vs the New American Stasi.” He also issued complaints that the New York Times and Washington Post would not review his book.
Ultimately, though, the power rests on individual Barnes & Noble locations to send whatever messaging they choose to. It’s also up to individual customers to determine whether they want to engage in the store’s messaging. That means that some of these locations may end up with displays that reflect right-wing values, while others may not.
@lillyestie like def killing the vibe ? #barnesandnoble #bn ♬ original sound – kirsten_ssss
The Mary Sue reached out to Barnes & Noble’s corporate email as well as Liliana via TikTok direct message for comment.
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