Greenlight Bookstore has a consignment program designed to create space on our shelves for locally-based, self-published or non-traditionally published authors, whose books are not available through our typical wholesale book buying channels.  When an author consigns a book, the bookstore agrees to stock the book on our shelves for a period of time, and pay the author directly for copies that sell. We are honored to support Brooklyn's many literary communities and creatives in a way that is mutually beneficial for our small business, our customers, and the authors we serve.

Consignment policies

While we understand a lot of time and effort has gone into creating your book, we have certain policies in place because of our limited resources of space and time.

• We focus on consignments by writers who are Brooklyn residents. Priority is given to neighborhood residents.*   
• For practical reasons, we also require that the title and author's name is printed on the spine of the book.
• Consignment inquiries are for books only (any queries about non-book items will be passed along to a different department.)
• Consignment inquiries must be made via email. Please note that we do not take walk-in inquiries. Email us first to determine if we can accept your book on consignment, at which point Greenlight will outline the process for delivering your book.
• Greenlight reserves the right to say no to a consignment request.  Argumentative or combative behavior on the part of authors violates our code of conduct; anyone engaging in such behavior is not welcome in our physical or online spaces.

Consignment procedures

• If you would like to see if we can carry your book on consignment, please send an email to [email protected]. Please include the following information:
  • Information about the book including a short description, when it was published, and the ISBN if available.
  • A short bio of the author.
  • Retail price of the book.
  • Whether the book is self-published and/or if it is available through a distributor.
  • Why you feel the book is a good fit for Greenlight.
• Once your email is received, a Greenlight staff member will be in touch with further information including the terms of the consignment agreement if we would like to carry the book.  Our typical consignment arrangement is 60% of the selling price to be paid to the author, 40% retained by the bookstore (these terms are comparable to most bookstore/publisher agreements).
• Follow Greenlight staff instructions regarding paperwork and delivery of books.
• If we decide your book is a good fit for our shelves, we encourage you to let friends and fans know that they can purchase your book at Greenlight!  The most successful consignments are those where the author partners with the bookstore by spreading the word about their book.
• At the end of the consignment period, we will cut a check to the consignor for any books sold, and return any unsold books. If all or most copies have sold, we may renew the consignment for an additional period of time.
• Certain books may be taken on consignment for a specific event. In this case, the consignment period if typically the day of the event only. Otherwise terms are the same as our regular agreements.

* If you are not based in Brooklyn, we recommend contacting your own local bookstore about their own consignment program -- consignment works best when it's local and community based!