Battling bias on the shop floor: how bookstores can support diversity

A bookseller explains how Kamila Shamsie’s call for gender equality in the industry, and the fiery debate it provoked, could lead to greater diversity all aroundKamila Shamsie calling for a year of publishing only women has certainly unleashed a storm. Some disagree that gender bias exists, while others would rather celebrate the commercial success of some female authors. A couple of publishers have even taken Shamsie at her word.Most people agree that this is a complex issue, with so many levels during the publishing process at which bias can be perpetuated that it is impossible to pinpoint why and how many female writers struggle for recognition against their male counterparts. But one vitally important aspect of this debate seems to have been overlooked: books, once published, must be sold, and while many transactions are conducted online, many others continue to occur in old-fashioned brick-and-mortar shops. Customers don’t just buy what they’ve read about, they come in to browse, to find out what’s available, or to see what their local booksellers have enjoyed. Related: Kamila Shamsie: let’s have a year of publishing only women – a provocation Related: No men allowed: publisher accepts novelist's 'year of women' challenge Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #commercial success #female authors #male counterparts #conducted online #customers don #ve read #local booksellers

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Battling bias on the shop floor: how bookstores can support diversity'


PA supports Penguin e-lending bar

The Publishers Association has spoken out in support of Penguin UK's move to withhold the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishers association #penguin uk


Indies call for more publisher support

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 24/10/2011 - 08:25 Educational publishers have been accused of not providing enough support to help independent bookshops stay on the high street, as owners call for more discounts. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #indies call #high street #owners call


Indies call for more educational publisher support

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 24/10/2011 - 09:25 Educational publishers have been accused of not providing enough support to help independent bookshops stay on the high street, as owners call for more discounts. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #indies call #high street #owners call


Is There a Bookstore of the Future?

At the New England Independent Booksellers Association annual fall conference earlier this month, booksellers and publishers grappled not just with the question of what bricks-and-mortar bookstores will look like in the future, but how long they will continue to exist. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bricks-and-mortar bookstores


Bookstores Drop Comics After Amazon Deal With DC

Jim Lee, co-publisher of DC Entertainment, showcases the graphic novel "Superman: Earth One" on the Kindle Fire. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #dc entertainment #amazon deal #kindle fire


Buyers slow to come forward for independent shops

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 17/10/2011 - 08:20 At least 22 independent bookshops are currently for sale in the UK, with the recession, the climate of the bookselling market and the refusal of banks to lend money all being cited as causes for fewer properties exchanging... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #independent shops #bookselling market #north yorkshire


The Spirit of St. Louis Bookstores

What a difference nine months can make. St. Louis, Mo.’s booksellers are feeling a confidence and optimism these days that didn’t exist in February, when four independent booksellers—Left Bank Books, Subterranean Books, Pudd’nhead Books, and Main Street Books—formed the St. Louis Independent... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


FBF: Bricks and mortar shops need own e-readers

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 13/10/2011 - 08:57 Retailers will need to develop and market their own dedicated ebook readers if they are to compete with Amazon, delegates at Frankfurt Book Fair have been told. Speaking at a Google panel about ebooks, Bloomsbury executive... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #offering ebooks #mortar shops #huge proportion #ebook sales


College Bookstores in Dynamic Times

The digital transition and sputtering economy are not only bringing changes to general bookstores, but to college bookstores as well. College stores are dealing with a changed landscape of their own: more textbook choices that now include rentals and digital texts; trade book sections with sales... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #college stores #digital texts #sales declines


Google to support new festival Word Up!

Publication Date: Wed, 28/09/2011 - 15:20 Google is to support a new family arts and literature festival, which is taking place during autumn half term in London. The internet giant will make 300 tickets to main theatre events at Word Up! available to low-income families referred to organisers... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literature festival #family arts #taking place #internet giant #kids company


Hardback sales slump hints at late Christmas shop

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Wed, 21/09/2011 - 09:27 Printed book sales in the UK rose for the fourth consecutive week last week but remain significantly behind last year. According to Nielsen BookScan data, £28.6m was spent on physical books at UK booksellers last week, up 1.3%... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #uk rose #physical books #uk booksellers #6m year-on-year


Publishers rally to support Blackwell's

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 16/09/2011 - 08:30 Publishers have heeded warnings that academic booksellers had "months to survive" by offering greater support during this year's academic season, the m.d. of Blackwell's has reported. David Prescott said publishers have been... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #support blackwell #academic booksellers #heeded warnings #academic season #david prescott #high street #campus bookseller #supporting stockholding #promotional discounting #physical window


Publishers rally to support Blackwell

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 16/09/2011 - 08:30 Publishers have heeded warnings that academic booksellers had "months to survive" by offering greater support during this year's academic season, the m.d. of Blackwell has reported. David Prescott said publishers have been... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #support blackwell #academic booksellers #heeded warnings #academic season #david prescott #high street #campus bookseller #supporting stockholding #promotional discounting #physical window


Summer’s Over, How Did Bookstores Do?

Clearly, 2011 will not be considerered a stellar year for a wide swath of bookselling: Borders is in the midst of closing its remaining stores; Books-A-Million has had two disappointing quarters, and Barnes & Noble’s growth is coming primarily from ebooks and the Nook, while print, as... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #stellar year #wide swath #remaining stores


Adobe's Digital Publishing Suite Will Support IOS 5 Newsstand Feature

Adobe has announced that its Digital Publishing Suite will support the Newsstand feature in iOS. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


ABBYY FineReader now supports popular e-reader formats

Moscow-based optical character recognition specialist ABBYY has released a major new update of its renowned OCR application. ABBYY FineReader 11 Professional Edition, which allows users to convert images or scanned documents into editable text, boasts improved processing speeds of up to 45 per... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2011-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


WI to support libraries campaign

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Tue, 30/08/2011 - 08:37 The Women's Institute will mark the 96th anniversary of its first meeting on 16th September with an action to support its Love Your Libraries campaign. The WI's membership are being asked to each borrow a book from their... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #16th september #libraries campaign #local library


Tracking 20 Years of Bookstore Chains

The bookstore chain landscape has undergone seismic shifts over the past 20 years and will enter the fall with approximately 1,100 fewer stores than dotted the country in 1991. Just as it is today, Barnes & Noble was the country's largest bookstore chain 20 years ago, closely trailed by... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookstore chains #barnes noble


Headline settles legal battle with author

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 15/08/2011 - 08:49 Headline has settled a high court action brought by a former author for an undisclosed sum. Author Amanda Smith had brought the action after Headline abandoned publication of her misery memoir Toxic. The court ruled the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #court ruled


Old Bookstores, New Challenges

When iconic bookstores like Politics and Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C., and the Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul, Minn., changed hands earlier this year against the backdrop of the closing of Borders, it reaffirmed the importance of independents. But as the new owners quickly learned,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #iconic bookstores #prose bookstore #smooth transition