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 ]
A bookshop that runs independently Meanwhile, Amazon keeps shittin’ on us endlessly Essentially, the rent keeps rising relentlessly Let the tourists come around, go on a spending spree Stop by, exchange ideas, sip some coffee There will be a cultural revolution in this city Enter me, the Drama... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-12 21:44:15 UTC ]
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Another Story Bookshop is focused on social justice and diversity, continuing the mission its founder established over 30 years ago. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-11-09 10:00:11 UTC ]
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Who doesn’t love an independent bookshop? Think of the Shop Around the Corner in You’ve Got Mail! Think of the Travel Book Co. in Notting Hill! Embryo Concepts in Funny Face! Black Books from the British sitcom of the same name! Think of the real brick-and-mortar bookshop in your own community.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-08 19:34:19 UTC ]
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Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine EvaristoSince studying Lara as a student, I have been a fan of Bernardine Evaristo’s work, and am delighted to see her win the Booker Prize this year. Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives of twelve black characters with different backgrounds and experiences, most... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2019-10-30 09:49:28 UTC ]
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Independent bookshop Telling Tales has moved aboard a purpose-built canal boat to roam through London's canals and beyond. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-30 00:02:15 UTC ]
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The soon-to-launch platform aims to give booksellers an edge against the e-tail giant. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The upcoming book "Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge," by Sheila Weller, is being publicly disavowed by some of the late "Star Wars" actress' family members. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-10-24 23:17:51 UTC ]
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Almost 6,000 copies of Girl, Woman, Other sold in the week after Evaristo’s win alongside Margaret AtwoodBernadine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other more than doubled its lifetime sales in the week following its Booker prize win, with joint winner The Testaments by Margaret Atwood also flying off... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-10-22 16:25:45 UTC ]
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The only store in Hay-on-Wye, Herefordshire, to exclusively sell new books will open on 26th October. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-21 06:24:17 UTC ]
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The head of Otava Publishing, one of Finland’s largest books beasts as well as an owner of its biggest bookshop chain, says the domestic market has been ‘bipolar’—but reckons new formats present a massive opportunity for brave publishers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-18 03:01:17 UTC ]
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Ahead of Bookshop Day, bookshop owner Sarah Dennis highlights what makes independent bookshops special. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-04 03:15:59 UTC ]
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Retailers are gearing up for a bumper Super Thursday ahead of this Saturday's Bookshop Day 2019 when events will be taking place up and down the country. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-03 08:58:18 UTC ]
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The British Book Awards and The Bookseller’s working class survey have been shortlisted for prizes at this year’s Professional Publishers Association (PPA) Independent Publisher Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-02 16:52:21 UTC ]
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ONE DAY IN a Los Angeles bookshop in the mid-1970s, a thick City Lights softcover with a stark black-and-white spine magnetized a suburban adolescent’s eyeballs. “BUKOWSKI” the cover read at the top in big block letters, and at the bottom, in smaller letters: “Erections, Ejaculations,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-10-01 17:00:44 UTC ]
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The Cliveden Literary Festival returned for a third time last weekend with Ian McEwan, Howard Jacobson and Elif Shafak among the authors taking part in a busy event that saw speakers discuss topics from feminism to Russian spies, cyberwarfare and conspiracy theories to secrets of the universe. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-30 13:22:16 UTC ]
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Jeffrey Archer, Marian Keyes and Stacey Halls were among the authors at this year's Bertrams Christmas conference which saw Abingdon indie Mostly Books win bookshop of the year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-30 10:31:00 UTC ]
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After a four-year absence, the free literary festival will be back in Los Angeles in October with 40 leading Latin-American writers and artists. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent bookseller Topping & Co will open a new bookshop in central Edinburgh this weekend. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-25 21:51:55 UTC ]
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The Booker Prize has reassured readers the £50,000 literary award has “not yet been decided” – after a bookshop mistakenly branded copies of Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments with a “winner” sticker. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-17 10:52:14 UTC ]
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More than 30 publishers will join authors including Reni Eddo-Lodge and Merve Emre at the New Suns feminist literary festival at the Barbican next month. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-15 18:11:32 UTC ]
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