Could lockdown herald an exciting new chapter for the book trade?

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 ]

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The UK’s Nibbies: Books of the Year Shortlists

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-03-08 13:39:38 UTC ]
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Your new literary dream job: reader-in-residence.

Who among us hasn’t wished that they could get paid to just sit and read for a little while? No strings, no work-related tasks involved—just good old fashioned American currency in exchange for reading a book of your choosing, for pleasure. Well, fellow dreamers, I have good news! Perelandra... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

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RuPaul has launched an online bookshop that will share its profits with writers.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2024-03-04 16:45:28 UTC ]
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The UK’s Nibbies: Small Press and Bookstore Shortlists

With its award ceremony coming up in May, the British Book Awards program has released its bookstore and small-press shortlists. The post The UK’s Nibbies: Small Press and Bookstore Shortlists appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-03-04 16:24:55 UTC ]
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Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop

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Book Review: ‘What Have We Here?,’ by Billy Dee Williams

His charming memoir “What Have We Here?” traces the path from a Harlem childhood to “Star Wars,” while lamenting the roles that never came his way. Continue reading at The New York Times

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Too Enjoyable to Be Literature

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Why Are We Here? On the Philosophical Possibilities of “Cosmic Purpose”

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OverDrive Reports Another Record Year for Digital Library Circulation

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PW’s 2023 People of the Year: Valerie Koehler and Charley Rejsek

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Bob Contant, Dedicated Bohemian Bookseller, Dies at 80

A founder of the St. Mark’s Bookshop in the East Village, he prided himself on stocking titles that were not “too popular” and stayed in business for four decades. Continue reading at The New York Times

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Love, grieving, intimacy and enduring war: what is the role now for books and writers in Ukraine? | Charlotte Higgins

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