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 ]
News tagged with:
#year running
#major part
#record year
#star wars
#huge relief
#signed copies
#bookshop
#british book
#literary festival
#independent bookshop
The book trade has abandoned the Liberal Democrats in favour of Labour and the Green Party in the five years since the last election, according to a poll of voting intentions conducted by The Bookseller. Support for libraries and making Amazon pay a fair share of tax are the issues the trade is... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book trade
#liberal democrats
#green party
#fair share
The Bookseller is conducting a survey into the book trade's opinions on the May 7th general election. Share your views with our quick, five-question survey on your voting intentions and how this year's election affects the book trade. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book trade
Fear of Flying author’s latest book causes a stir alongside major deals for self-published authors and the first book from Blue Peter star Janet EllisMore than 40 years after Erica Jong coined the term “zipless fuck” in Fear of Flying, her feminist novel of a young woman’s quest for sex with no... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book promises
#erica jong
#self-published authors
#strings attached
#21st century
#major hit
#st martin
#sexual revolution
As the expansion of ebook sales slow down, enthusiasm for both paperbacks and hardcovers remains strongA former tannery has been magicked into an arts venue, the lights have been dimmed, and a roomful of publishing executives are sitting on creaky wooden floors, cross-legged or knees scrunched... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#publishing executives
The Lithuanian book market was hit by the global recession and remains small, but a coterie of publishers are forging ahead through diversification. The post Lithuania’s Book Trade “Impossible to Shoot Down” appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#post lithuania
#global recession
#forging ahead
There has been an outpouring of support in the trade for Robert Harris's public call for a dedicated BBC TV books programme. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#robert harris
#public call
Literary agent Jonny Geller, authors Malorie Blackman, Hilary Mantel and Kate Mosse, and trade figures Nicola Solomon, Richard Mollet, Gail Rebuck, Charlie Redmayne and Tom Weldon are among the figures on the 2015 Debrett’s 500. The annual list brings together the 500 most influential and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#hilary mantel
#kate mosse
#richard mollet
#gail rebuck
#charlie redmayne
#tom weldon
#inspiring people
Over the last 15 years, the number of publishers, bookstores and revenue from book sales in Japan has been in significant decline. The post Statistically Speaking, Japan’s Book Trade is in Trouble appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book trade
#book sales
A mood of optimism marked the Bookseller Childrens Conference, with sales up 10% and editors pronouncing themselves keen to experiment and push the digital envelopeThe Purcell Room on Londons South Bank was awash with positivity on Thursday, as the Bookseller Childrens Conference celebrated a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#john lewis
#records began
#ya publishing
#strong showing
#picture books
#full disclosure
Why are some of the world's most widely read authors now at daggers drawn with Amazon? The answer lies in Jeff Bezos's chief lieutenant, now the most powerful man in publishingEarlier this year, Amazon threw a party at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to celebrate the launch of Alpha... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#important moment
#book industry
One area of publishing where brand loyalty reigns is in religious books, and Roman Catholic books in particular, largely resulting from market fragmentation. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#niche publishing
#religious books
Waterstones MD James Daunt summed it up when he said in reaction to visiting the new Foyles: 'This is a serious, serious investment in physical bookselling.' Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Jaron Lanier will receive the 2014 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade for his writing and advocacy about 'the dangers involved when human beings are reduced to digital categories.' Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#jaron lanier
#human beings
Chapter 2 Books in Hudson, Wis., signed the lease Tuesday on a larger retail space, less than a week before it must vacate its current location. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#current location
Linda Liukas's project, Hello Ruby, smashed its Kickstarter funding goal in under four hours.We know that the goal of teaching future generations to code will make big strides within the next year. There are already some pretty ambitious ideas out there, like video games and adorable yet highly... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#kids excited
#linda liukas
#video games
German booksellers are facing a nail-biting finish to the holiday season. With end November sales... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book trade
#german booksellers
#holiday season
Good Enterprises, whose holdings include the cookbook publisher Good Books, filed voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy December 10 and is preparing to liquidate the company. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#good enterprises
Publishers and industry figures have welcomed news of Malorie Blackman’s appointment as... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#industry figures
#malorie blackman
Total book industry sales fell to $27.12 billion in 2012, down by just under 1% from the prior year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#trade books
#prior year
Books with first hand accounts of life in North Korea are rare, so John Sweeney's Zombie Nation and Jang Jin-Sung's Crossing the Border are generating unique buzz at the London Book Fair. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#north korea