In the process of promoting Richard Russo’s new novel That Old Cape Magic, local booksellers Dawn Braasch (Bunch of Grapes) and Susan Mercier (Edgartown Books) seem to have tapped into some old Vineyard magic: a sense of cooperation, community and support.

In an interview yesterday over coffee, the two women shared an easy camaraderie. They are fast friends, as comfortable discussing their common business struggles as sharing family updates.

Ms. Braasch and Ms. Mercier have collaborated to bring Mr. Russo to Vineyard Haven’s Katharine Cornell Theatre on Friday to talk about his latest book. A representative from Random House Publishing first suggested the two small, independent bookstores team up as a way to bring more high-profile authors to the Island.

“He’s a big author and he would like a big crowd,” said Ms. Braasch. “The way you get a big crowd is, obviously, you collaborate, and do a venue outside the store . . . Publishing companies are less and less willing to send an author if you can’t prove that you are going to have a large crowd.”

“That helps when you are trying to get bigger names,” said Ms. Mercier.

The partnership may come as a surprise to some. According to the bookstore owners, many people believe that the stores are in stiff competition with one another. “It’s funny because . . . I have always heard that the competition is between us and Edgartown Books,” said Ms. Braasch, laughing. “To me our competition is not each other, it’s Amazon.”

Ms. Mercier said their collaboration on the Richard Russo event should help dispel the notion the two are competing: “We’re just two independent businesses in a community trying to do the right thing and make a living.”

The summer has been good for business in both establishments, considering the state of the economy. But online booksellers remain a very real threat to the local booksellers, who argue the threat extends to consumers and the broader Island community.

“It is that concept of, I’ll go online, I’ll save three dollars, I won’t pay shipping,” said Ms. Mercier. “But in the long run, if that money is going out of our community, it’s devastating. People have to look at the big picture of things . . . The money from our stores stays in our community. We donate locally, we sponsor children’s trips, education, the food pantry, Habitat for Humanity.”

“Both stores contribute to charity,” Ms. Braasch agreed. “Amazon doesn’t do that.”

The two women shared different stories of friends and potential customers admitting to shopping at Amazon, and of one person who publicly endorsed the online bookseller at a bookstore event. “All I have to say to that is that Amazon is never going to bring in these authors to this Island to sign your book for you. We do,” said Ms. Braasch.

“Do you want an Island full of Barnes and Nobles [and] Wal-Marts? What gives us our character is in part our small independent businesses. We don’t want to lose that. There are a lot of issues at play. Not just us against Amazon,” she added, indicating that the online discount shopping trend stands to affect the commercial character of the entire Island.

There are other benefits to in-store shopping. Employees at the bookstores stay up-to-date with their reading, making it easier to recommend a book that suits a customer’s preference. They take their roles seriously. “To a certain degree it’s a very intimate relationship you have [with a customer] for just 10 minutes,” said Ms. Mercier. “When you are talking to someone about what they love to read, what they are looking for in a book, it’s a pretty personal thing. You do have to be conscientious about their needs, more so than what you love.”

If one bookstore doesn’t carry a particular title that a customer requests, the owners are happy to call the other store. “It’s great to be able to say to a customer, if we don’t have [a book], ‘Let me call Edgartown Books,’ ” said Ms. Braasch. “My goal is if we don’t have it, they will or vice versa. We can’t all carry everybody’s book, and sometimes you make a judgment call for your store, is it going to sell or not. I think we have different clientele, certainly, in the way that Edgartown is different from Vineyard Haven.”

Mr. Russo is a particularly fitting guest for the collaboration between the two bookstores because he is a great advocate for independent booksellers. He personally reached out to the Bunch of Grapes, which reopened in its original location on Main street in July after a devastating fire last summer. “[He said] he will do anything to help the Bunch of Grapes get back on their feet. So that kind of support makes you really want to give an author a big venue,” said Ms. Braasch, who bought the bookstore after the fire.

“The book is stunning,” said Ms. Mercier of That Old Cape Magic. “It’s beautifully written.” The book is set on the Cape, but Mr. Russo has a personal connection to the Vineyard as well. He used to spend summers in Aquinnah, and part of his Pulitzer Prize winning novel Empire Falls is set on the Island.

The book signing will be held at 7:30 on Friday, with representatives from both bookstores working. In fact, everything about the event was divided evenly between the two stores. “We split the buying of the books down the middle, we split the advertising of the book down the middle, and then we [will] split the reward down the middle,” said Ms. Braasch.

She and Ms. Mercier are still puzzled by the speculation about their assumed sense of competition. “It’s just so silly,” said Ms. Mercier. According to Ms. Braasch, Ms. Mercier was the first person to reach out to the Bunch of Grapes after the fire, offering to help in any way and also offering employees a discount at Edgartown Books. “I learned on July 5th, 2008, that there is totally enough [business] for two, if not three bookstores here,” said Ms. Mercier, referring to the day after the fire.

The two store owners are already making more plans to team up in the future. “I’d like to see at least one [collaborative event] a year,” said Ms. Mercier. “We are friends because we enjoy each other’s company, but in terms of the business, it [also] makes sense financially,” said Ms. Braasch.