A survey of indie presses shows that 60% fear they could be out of business by the autumn, writes Galley Beggar Press cofounder Sam JordisonOver the past few years, the success of independent publishers such as Fitzcarraldo, And Other Stories, Bluemooose and Influx Press has been something to behold. They have won prizes, engaged readers and published innovative and important books. Now that wonderful literary flowering is in danger. A survey on the impact of Covid-19 on small presses, carried out by the Bookseller and writer development charity Spread the Word, reveals that 60% of the small presses polled fear they could be out of business by the autumn, 75% don’t know if they will make it beyond March next year, while 85% of the publishers have seen sales drop by more than half.Small presses have been hit especially hard because they are more dependent on physical sales in bookstores, rather than online retailers or ebook sales. I know, because my publisher, Galley Beggar Press, has also seen a big chunk of its income disappear. One of the great strengths of our kind of publishing is that we have a real connection with dedicated readers who love books as physical objects, readers who have an equally strong connection with booksellers. A great deal of what we do relies on the enthusiasm and personal recommendations of those heroes of our trade whose shops Covid-19 has closed. We have lost many of our best advocates, not to mention the most practical way of getting books... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-15 06:00:32 UTC ]
The bookseller has hired Emily Meehan as publisher and chief creative officer of Sterling Publishing in what it called part of a relaunch of its publishing division. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-01-15 05:00:00 UTC ]
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THE FOLLOWING EXCERPT is the opening section from chapter three of my book in progress, Unpacking My Father’s Bookstore, a memoir and critical study about growing up in my father’s Jewish bookstore. As Harelick and Roth Books and then J. Roth / Bookseller of Fine & Scholarly Judaica, the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2021-01-06 16:00:43 UTC ]
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Blackwell's is the latest bookseller to announce it has closed its stores during the new lockdown and will not be offering click and collect, with the exception of its Oxford branch. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-06 09:24:14 UTC ]
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Latham, a bookseller for 35 years, has put together a heady mix of history, philosophy, anecdotes and entertaining factsWhat most people know about the American librarian Melvil Dewey is his phenomenal classification technique, the Dewey decimal system, which is still used in 135 countries. Less... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-12-19 09:00:45 UTC ]
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A non-fiction work about fungi and books with local interest are among the top-selling titles for indies ahead of Christmas, The Bookseller has been told. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-17 16:31:47 UTC ]
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When lockdown came in March, many small presses feared they would go out of business. But then came an outpouring of support from the publicThe best books from indie publishers in 2020Six months ago, independent publishers Jacaranda and Knights Of were warning publicly that their income had... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-12-16 08:00:30 UTC ]
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The Booksellers Association and Bookshop.org have responded to criticism following the launch of the online website in the UK in November. The criticism, which is focused on how effective the website will be at supporting independent bookshops and the BA's role in facilitating the launch, came... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-04 19:10:54 UTC ]
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The Bookseller's 12th annual list of the industry's most influential people reveals a spate of pandemic heroes. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-03 23:15:34 UTC ]
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Missing the recommendations of your favorite independent booksellers? Let a bookseller choose your next read through these subscription boxes. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-12-02 11:38:00 UTC ]
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BookExpo, the largest bookseller trade show in the U.S., and its consumer-facing sibling BookCon have been indefinitely canceled because of the pandemic. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-12-01 20:30:11 UTC ]
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The first Tuesday after Thanksgiving is a chance for such small presses as Archipelago and Haymarket to ask readers for the financial support that keeps their businesses alive and thriving. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-12-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The debut novel from former Daunt Books bookseller Ben Hinshaw will be published by Viking in spring 2022. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-25 14:18:40 UTC ]
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Pantomime misanthropy is tempered with bursts of sweetness in the secondhand bookseller’s latest dispatches from WigtownThere’s a moment in the first season of the short-lived but influential sitcom Black Books in which an elderly customer appears with a box of attractive old editions of... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-11-11 09:00:33 UTC ]
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With most of the British Isles going back into lockdown over the past few weeks, The Bookseller is inviting people from across the trade to share their thoughts and experiences. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-09 01:38:36 UTC ]
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As I wrote back in March, the enforced closing of bookshop doors is a terrible story for the editor of The Bookseller to report: it’s a gut-punch, and if you were on social media last Saturday at around 6.30 p.m.—when the Prime Minister announced the decision to shut non-essential retail in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-05 23:57:12 UTC ]
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Independent publisher and bookseller Jacaranda is to launch an online book festival in December, celebrating a new wave of black British authors. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-05 08:45:44 UTC ]
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“Paul and Bunny Mellon: Visual Biographies - The Trompe l’Oeil Paintings at Oak Spring, Virginia” explores two paintings that reveal a great deal about their owners. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-02 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Dujiangyan Zhongshuge is the latest bookstore designed by X+Living, and it’s stunning. The very best books transport you to another world, and the most magical bookstores help make that a reality. Chinese bookseller Zhongshuge is renowned for its stunning bookstores, and its latest outpost, in... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-11-02 08:00:34 UTC ]
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Kansas bookseller Danny Caine's statement honoring the owners of Moon Palace Books in Minneapolis as the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association's bookseller of the year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Weidenfeld & Nicolson has acquired the debut of former bookseller Daniel O’Connor, launching "a startlingly bold new voice". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-26 19:12:42 UTC ]
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