Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell review – a brilliant sequel

A heart-warming love letter to books and bookshops, by an amenable fellow turned antisocial old misanthrope“I was in here two years ago and you had a book by Roger Penrose. Do you know what happened to it?” Shaun Bythell – owner of the Book Shop in Wigtown, Galloway – has 100,000 books in stock, sells 20,000 a year, and has handled nearly 1m second-hand books since he bought the shop in 2001. Unsurprisingly, the Roger Penrose volume had not stuck in his mind.Before he entered the book trade at the tender age of 31, he was “amenable and friendly”. Now, after many years of fielding bizarre questions, constant haggling over prices (why is it “acceptable to try to screw the profit out of struggling small businesses” but not supermarkets?), and struggling to survive despite Amazon’s “icy grip” on bookselling, he has been forced to embrace the stereotype of the “impatient, intolerant, antisocial proprietor”. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-08-24 10:58:38 UTC ]

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The long view

The Bookseller has been sold just three times in its 162-year history; the first time in 1998 by the founding Whitaker family to VNU (now better known as Nielsen), the second time in 2010 to Nigel Roby, and then, as announced last week, to the publisher of the Stage magazine. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-14 02:02:55 UTC ]
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US Book Industry: NPD Sees More Gains in July, 16 Percent Over 2019

The book trade continues a run of some 15 weeks of upward lift in the US market, says NPD's Kristen McLean, especially good 'for the dog days of summer.' The post US Book Industry: NPD Sees More Gains in July, 16 Percent Over 2019 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-08-13 13:15:23 UTC ]
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'It's a mega year!': book trade braces for autumn onslaught of major new titles

After the lockdown, hundreds of delayed titles are expected this autumn including many household names vying for Christmas successFrom Richard Osman’s first crime novel to Caitlin Moran’s new memoir, almost 600 hardbacks are due to be published on 3 September in a “massive bun fight” of new... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-08-13 06:00:47 UTC ]
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A Bookstore That Shines as ‘a Lighthouse of a Free Society’

A Hong Kong bookseller has recreated his shop in Taipei, and it has become a symbol of Taiwan’s vibrant democracy. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-08-09 07:00:10 UTC ]
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Nigel Roby Sells the UK’s ‘The Bookseller’ to Stage Media Company

Calling his ownership and management of The Bookseller 'the greatest privilege of my working life,' Nigel Roby sells The Stage's Hugh Comerford. The post Nigel Roby Sells the UK’s ‘The Bookseller’ to Stage Media Company appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-08-07 09:05:55 UTC ]
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The Bookseller acquired by publisher of the Stage

The Bookseller has been acquired by the publisher of theatre magazine the Stage, in a move that will see the 162-year-old book trade newspaper join forces with the 140-year-old brand. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-06 12:20:48 UTC ]
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On Capitol Hill, an anonymous bookseller called out Amazon.

If you tuned into yesterday’s historic House Judiciary Subcommittee antitrust hearing, during which the top executives of some of the world’s largest tech companies tried convincing politicians that they weren’t monopolies, you may have heard a bookseller chime in during Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-30 19:54:55 UTC ]
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French book trade recovering from Covid-19 lockdown

The French book trade is picking up from its two months of Covid-19 lockdown much better than expected. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-29 11:42:21 UTC ]
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Italian book market shows signs of recovery

The Italian book market is on the road to recovery, according to fresh figures from the Italian Publishers Association (AIE), which state that its book trade's year-on-year revenue losses almost halved in the space of a few months, improving from –20% in April to –11% in July. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-28 17:19:03 UTC ]
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Publishers Association hails ‘biggest year ever for UK publishing’ in latest report

The PA’s annual yearbook has found across-the-board growth for the book trade, with total invoiced sales up 3.5% on its last report—but Brexit and Covid-19 could endanger the recent gains Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-22 18:16:32 UTC ]
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We need more modesty, more money and more collaboration

We are in a time of major change – following the brutal, televised murder of George Floyd – and it goes without saying that the book trade supports a movement that must succeed in establishing once and for all that black lives matter. For my new book, Slow Road to San Francisco, I drove from... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-22 06:15:35 UTC ]
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Cape scoops 'exceptional' Hamya debut

Jonathan Cape has scooped an “exceptional” debut novel from journalist and former Waterstones bookseller Jo Hamya. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-21 17:27:41 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble Regroups and Looks Ahead

After the shutdown, layoffs, and a major redesign, the bookseller is reopening its stores in an uncertain book market. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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My Job in Five: Dhara Snowden

Dhara Snowden, senior commissioning editor at Rowman & Littlefield takes The Bookseller behind the scenes.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-14 01:03:02 UTC ]
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The Bookseller asks for trade views of social media

The Bookseller would like to capture the trade’s thoughts on social media and, in particular, "cancel culture" and its impacts on UK publishing, bookselling and writing. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-01 19:32:20 UTC ]
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One more week to book for Bookseller Marketing & Publicity Conference

Just one week remains until the Bookseller Marketing & Publicity Conference 2020, themed How We Work Now and tackling the challenges presented by our post-Covid world. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-26 00:05:47 UTC ]
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#AuthorFirst | Louise Candlish on The Other Passenger

This week, Louise Candlish is publishing her latest novel The Other Passenger, the first title in her latest two-book deal with Simon & Schuster UK. She spoke to The Bookseller on Twitter about her new book, her influences and her past successes. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-23 00:11:29 UTC ]
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Irish customers welcome reopened bookstores

"Eager" customers have "welcomed" the opening of bookstores in Ireland this week, The Bookseller has heard.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-10 05:57:23 UTC ]
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What It's Like to Be a Frontline Bookseller During a Pandemic

Frontline booksellers are the first people customers see when they set foot in bookstores across America, and are among the most vulnerable workers in the publishing industry. This is what their world looks like now. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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‘No reader is too young to start’: anti-racist books for all children and teens

It’s never too early to learn that racism is wrong and we should be doing something about it. These books will help show our kids how, writes publisher and bookseller Aimée FeloneDo the work: Layla F Saad’s anti-racist reading list The weight of the world seems heavier than ever right now. The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-04 07:00:00 UTC ]
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