Just as Engadget was hitting publish on its first posts, I was putting a freshly minted English degree to use working at an indie bookshop in Los Angeles. In seemingly unrelated news, Amazon had just reported its first profitable year after switching from selling books to selling “everything” four years before. (It still sold a lot of books.) Our bookstore did a good job keeping shelves stocked with a balance of the more worthy popular hits and smaller, better fare. But we couldn’t have every book a customer might want, so we offered to order any in-print title. If a distributor had it, it’d take about a week to get in, longer if we had to go through the publisher. That seemed fine for most customers. But sometimes “about a week” was too long. A few people came right out and said, “Nah, I’ll order it on Amazon.” In 2005, Amazon launched Prime, the membership program that, for $79 a year, gave customers unlimited two-day shipping on most orders. At launch, CEO Jeff Bezos called it “‘all-you-can-eat’ express shipping.” No one knew at the time how hungry the world was for Amazon’s brand of convenience. And now, nearly two decades later, we’ve seen the shifts that accommodate that buffet — in labor, retail and the entire customer experience. Prime wasn’t an overnight success. It’s estimated that six years after launch, just four million households paid for the service. But 10 years later, in 2021, Bezos claimed it had accrued 200 million members worldwide. Outside of that... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-03-08 14:15:57 UTC ]
Bookshop and arts centre run by Salmon Poetry is saved from closure after raising more than €60,000 from 700 individualsA bookshop and arts centre run by a prominent Irish poetry publisher has been saved from closure after a GoFundMe campaign raised more than €60,000 – enough to buy new premises... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-05-13 15:18:10 UTC ]
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The noble but neglected Scribner Building on Fifth Avenue has renewed the lease for its last remaining tenant at a higher rent, marking the first good news in many years for the landmarked property where F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway used to meet their publisher. Apparel retailer... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2024-05-07 09:48:08 UTC ]
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🎵 It’s the moooost wonderfullll tiiiiime of the yeaaaar!🎵 That’s right, folks: tomorrow is perhaps the greatest book-related holiday on the calendar: Independent Bookstore Day! As I’ve been saying at the top of bookstore events at my local indie (where I moonlight as the events manager), every... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-26 14:15:13 UTC ]
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“We are a literary city”: Will Evans started saying it in 2013, when he started the publisher Deep Vellum. Alongside the bookstore Wild Detectives and others, they’ve put Dallas on the literary map. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-04-25 09:05:49 UTC ]
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Isobel Abulhoul, who founded the Emirates LitFest and Magrudy’s bookstore chain, focuses on turning children into readers. The post The Power of Books: Isobel Abulhoul on Engaging Young Readers appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-04-22 21:55:50 UTC ]
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The bookstore proprietors of today are putting inclusivity first, building communities, and opening up shop in unexpected places. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Professional Booksellers School has educated nearly 1,000 booksellers since it was launched in 2021, and has recently rolled out new self-study courses as well as “Bookstore Year One,” a year-long program designed to provide mentorship for new bookstore owners. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In the past decade, Writer’s Block, which sells new books for both adults and children, has become a literary hub of the Greater Orlando metro area. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Red Balloon, founded in 1984 in St. Paul, Minn., specializes in books for children of all ages. It has been a community gathering space for decades. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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5 Questions for Ethel Rohan, by Michelle Johnson Interviews robvollmar@ou.edu Tue, 04/16/2024 - 08:28 Ethel Rohan’s second novel, Sing, I, was published by TriQuarterly Books on April 15. The novel’s heroine, Ester Prynn, works in a convenience... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2024-04-16 13:28:17 UTC ]
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Cofounded in Calle 24, San Francisco’s Latino cultural district, in 2021, the bookstore specializes in radical literature, poetry, and Spanish-language titles, and embodies the Mission District’s storied revolutionary spirit. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Founded in 1973, Antigone Books stands strong as a Tucson, Ariz., feminist landmark. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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During the summer of 1896, a poster of a redheaded woman riding a bicycle appeared in bookshop windows and newsstands in cities across the United States. Sporting a fashionable outfit, the cyclist gazes blankly beyond the viewer, seeming to exert little effort. Though her body occupies most of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-03 08:55:47 UTC ]
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On March 10, 2016, I became a bookseller. I was on a quest to bring back a lost form of bookstore. The kind that offers a creative space for exchanging ideas and an enduring, steadfast haven. A diametric contrast to all things seasonal and ephemeral, to second-rate books flaunted on bestseller... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-03 08:54:29 UTC ]
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I first met Crystal Hana Kim at Women and Children First Bookstore in Chicago in 2017 for a book event, just after she just won the 2017 PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. She greeted me with warm enthusiasm and we spoke about Korean history. Her debut novel, If You Leave... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-04-02 08:54:17 UTC ]
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Vroman’s Bookstore will close its Hastings Ranch Vroman’s location in Pasadena on May 12, saying that it was “unable to reach an agreement with the property owner” due to “increasing occupancy expenses.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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There’s nothing quite like finding six new releases on display in a bookstore – all of which you’ve written, and none of which has your name on itA few years back, a long-held dream of mine came true: a book I wrote became a runaway hit.You’ve probably read the book. You’ve definitely seen the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-03-11 14:00:31 UTC ]
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Just as Engadget was hitting publish on its first posts, I was putting a freshly minted English degree to use working at an indie bookshop in Los Angeles. In seemingly unrelated news, Amazon had just reported its first profitable year after switching from selling books to selling “everything”... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-03-08 14:15:57 UTC ]
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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
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-03-06 17:56:29 UTC ]
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