The pandemic has thrown publishing and booksellers into crisis – and left customers struggling to obtain books when they most want them. But some in the industry sense an opportunity to drag it into the 21st centuryOn 18 March, Emma Corfield-Walters received the news that for the second year running, her shop, Book-ish, in Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons, had landed the title for Wales in the regional round of the independent bookshop of the year award. Corfield-Walters has run Book-ish for 10 years. It has 16 staff and a cafe, is the base for a literary festival that she also organises, and is credited with having played a major part in the regeneration of Crickhowell’s award-winning high street. Above all, it is a highly successful business: 2019 was a record year. The fact that it would now again be a contender for the overall prize – to be announced in June at the British book awards – was for Corfield-Walters a hard-earned affirmation of a decade’s passion and work.But she was hardly celebrating. Britain was then five days from lockdown. “It was surreal,” she says. “We’d won best bookshop in Wales, yet I wasn’t sure for how much longer I’d have a shop that people could visit. It was like that scene in Star Wars when the walls are moving in, and the room’s getting smaller and smaller. The goalposts were shifting every day. At first, we thought: OK, we’ll buy hand sanitiser! But by the weekend, it was clear the shop would have to close.” Her first thought was for her... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-10 08:00:20 UTC ]
Matthew Teller, whose books include Nine Quarters of Jerusalem, said the society’s response to the event which saw two leading booksellers detained was ‘an abject failure’A writer has left the Society of Authors (SoA) in protest after the UK’s largest writers’ body made a statement on a recent... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-02-20 17:34:09 UTC ]
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Regular bookstores might be dying—but bookstores dedicated to romance novels are thriving thanks to TikTok and a desire for third places. Throughout Harvard Square, there are many bookshop brimming with the latest literary fiction and intellectual memoirs, patronized by scholarly types. But in... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2025-02-13 10:30:00 UTC ]
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Industry organizations and publishers are condemning the detention of two Palestinian booksellers by Israeli police, who raided the Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem on February 9, seizing books that they alleged incited terrorism. The booksellers were confined to house arrest this morning. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2025-02-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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As of this morning, you can now easily buy ebooks from your local indie bookstore. Thanks to Bookshop.org, the reigning David to Am*zon’s Goliath. As Wired reports, a new platform on the site will now sell ebooks directly to customers. Bookshop users can buy and read titles via a handy-dandy... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2025-01-28 14:35:29 UTC ]
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At the Authors Guild Foundation’s third-annual WIT: Words, Ideas, and Thinkers Literary Festival in the Berkshires this September, acclaimed author Jamaica Kincaid spoke with journalist and editor Sandra Guzmán about her latest work, An Encyclopedia of Gardening for Colored Children, illustrated... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2025-01-03 09:56:55 UTC ]
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The Swiss-themed town of Midway is now home to Folklore Bookshop. Co-owned by children’s author Lindsey Leavitt, Audrey Lind, and Alison Russell, Folklore welcomed customers on October 5 and held a grand opening October 26. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-12-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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From tales of alienation to comforting novels set in bookshops, Japanese authors have written nearly half of this year’s bestselling translated novels in the UK. What’s their secret?• Read an an exclusive Q&A with Haruki MurakamiAnyone who has been in a bookshop in the last few years will... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-11-23 09:00:37 UTC ]
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The Duolingo owl is single-wingedly rewriting the modern mascot playbook and unlocking new business along the way. On a Friday morning in mid-October, crowds of people—many in elaborate costumes—poured into the Jacob Javits convention center on Manhattan’s far west side. They were attending day... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2024-11-14 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Stewart Collins says support for the Petworth literary festival in West Sussex is growing, and Kathryn Streatfield suggests local events are the solution for a changing festival worldLaura Barton’s piece paints an understandably downbeat picture of where we are now in the world of the literary... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-10-29 16:25:30 UTC ]
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On the afternoon of 18 March 2018 my family and I visited Book Soup in West Hollywood, CA. We had arrived in town earlier that day, having driven down from the Bay Area, and walked to the bookshop from our hotel. My wife and daughter, who was almost three at the time, went to the … The post On... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2024-10-24 17:05:10 UTC ]
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In the Central Eastside Industrial District of Portland, Ore., Patrick Leonard has opened Postcard Bookshop, a store featuring global literature and culture, children’s titles, and sidelines including journals and games for people on the move. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-10-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Over the course of her career, Judy-Lynn del Rey earned a reputation as a superstar editor among her authors. Think of your favorite fantasy or science-fiction novel. You’ll know the author and title, of course. But can you think of its editor or publisher? Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2024-10-10 19:30:00 UTC ]
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Increasing number of black authors forced to self-publish or promote work on social media, says Selina BrownThe founder of a book festival celebrating black authors has said they are “forced” to pave their own way into the publishing world because of a lack of diversity within the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-10-02 16:06:33 UTC ]
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A party supported by pals who made it through rush hour rain was appropriate for an anthology celebrating female friendshipNervous as I am of organising parties, I could hardly have launched a book about friendship without throwing one. And so it was that last Tuesday night, I found myself in... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-09-14 15:00:31 UTC ]
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Although the holiday weekend has come to a close, some Labor Day sales are still available. Historically, Labor Day isn't a boon for tech deals but there are always a few decent ones that pop up, particularly in the outdoor tech space. Labor Day sales often overlap with back-to-school sales as... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-09-03 14:30:14 UTC ]
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Bookshop gets into used books, guessing the 2024 NBA Long List for Fiction, and a couple of real bummer stories in today's book news. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-08-28 21:45:13 UTC ]
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