‘I’m giddy to be here’: the risk-takers who opened bookshops during Covid

More than 60 bookshops launched in the UK and Ireland in the past 18 months – but who would open one in a pandemic? We asked five to share their stories, while bestselling author Val McDermid remembers the bookshops of her youthWhen I was growing up in a small Scottish town, we had a bookshop that was utterly terrifying. The books were housed on high shelves behind counters staffed by intimidating assistants. If you didn’t go in knowing what you wanted, tough. There was no possibility of browsing. If I got a book token for my birthday or a school prize, I’d always pick a title I hadn’t read yet from a favourite author so I knew what to ask for. Chances were, they didn’t have it and it would have to be ordered. Cue pursed lips and a frown.Honestly, it’s a miracle that I ever managed to amass a book collection at all.Val McDermid’s new novel, 1979 (Little, Brown, £20), is published on 19 August Related: Shakespeare and Company: a 'socialist utopia masquerading as a bookstore' – in pictures Related: 10 independent bookshops you should visit worldwide: our readers recommend Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2021-08-15 11:00:06 UTC ]

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Library audio and ebook loans in 2021 reveal unexpected stars

Alongside Richard Osman and JK Rowling, figures show huge successes for relative unknowns Ellery Adams and Brenda ChapmanThe UK’s library users are widely seen as a traditional bunch when it comes to choosing their next read, but while Richard Osman might have topped the list of the year’s... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-12-08 16:34:37 UTC ]
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Forever and another day

It might seem odd for a magazine called The Bookseller to have a dedicated issue for “booksellers”, but this week’s issue is a dedicated one for, well, booksellers, including our now-annual listing of the Bookshop Heroes, those purveyors of the written word who, when push came to shove in 2021,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-03 15:21:51 UTC ]
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Black bookshop owners urge others to embrace the opportunity for change

Black bookshop owners are finding that their efforts are paying off by sharing stories and bringing communities closer together through their local store. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-03 08:27:39 UTC ]
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Bookshop Heroes class of 2021 revealed

Twenty-three people have been included in The Bookseller's Bookshop Heroes class of 2021, a list of some of the best individual booksellers in the UK and Ireland.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-03 04:23:58 UTC ]
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Quercus takes two more from O'Leary

Quercus has signed two more standalone novels from bestselling author Beth O’Leary.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-01 08:14:03 UTC ]
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Ann Patchett on why she isn't doing a conventional book tour — possibly ever again

Bestselling author Ann Patchett talks about book tours, Tom Hanks and 'These Precious Days,' her new book of essays. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-11-23 14:00:12 UTC ]
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Will Smith celebrates memoir with Sevenoaks Bookshop art installation

Will Smith has partnered with Black-owned bookshops and artists of colour across the UK and America to celebrate his upcoming memoir Will (Century), with Sevenoaks Bookshop featuring an artist’s display.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-11 02:48:04 UTC ]
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Ken Follett rules out non-fiction and memoir

Bestselling author Ken Follett said "it doesn't appeal" to him to write non-fiction and insists his life lacks the necessary drama for memoir. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-06 02:23:57 UTC ]
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Sally Rooney novels pulled from Israeli bookstores after translation boycott

Following the acclaimed author’s decision not to have Beautiful World, Where Are You translated by an Israeli publisher, two major retailers have removed her work from their shelvesBooks by Sally Rooney will no longer be sold in two Israeli bookshop chains, after the acclaimed writer’s decision... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-11-05 16:14:29 UTC ]
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Ware joins S&S UK with 'unputdownable' novel in two-book deal

Simon & Schuster UK has signed an “unputdownable” new book from internationally bestselling author Ruth Ware in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-26 02:40:30 UTC ]
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Podcast: Author Shea Serrano thinks Mexicans are perfect

We're hanging out with Shea Serrano, who's a bestselling author and probably the nicest cholo nerd around. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-10-25 12:00:49 UTC ]
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Bestselling Author Calls Out 'Senator For Sale' Joe Manchin In Damning Video

Don Winslow ripped the conservative West Virginia Democrat for conflicts of interest amid a Senate stalemate over Joe Biden's social policy agenda. Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2021-10-19 08:03:21 UTC ]
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Duo open Next Page, an inclusive bookshop in North Hertfordshire

A new children’s bookshop in Hitchin is specialising in inclusive titles, including books that celebrate neurodiversity.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-11 14:30:39 UTC ]
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Mystery and Imagination: Close-up on Melinda Leigh

Bestselling author Leigh chatted with PW about her latest novel in the Bree Taggert series, Right Behind Her, and writing believable narratives with enticing, gut-punching mysteries that keep readers up at night. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-10-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Saturday is Love your Bookshop Day. 5 reasons why readers keep coming back to independent book stores

We interviewed booksellers about their experience of the pandemic and their customers. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2021-10-07 05:14:45 UTC ]
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Bookseller of Kabul vows to stay open despite only two customers since the rise of the Taliban.

Shah Muhammad Rais, who was made famous in The Bookseller of Kabul, has vowed to keep his bookshop open, despite having had only two customers since the Taliban retook the country in the middle of August. Founded in 1974 Rais’s store has seen regimes (along with foreign powers) come and go, and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-28 15:00:23 UTC ]
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The Owner of The Mysterious Bookshop Built His Dream House

And of course it includes a two-story library — modeled on the Bodleian at Oxford University — for his massive collection of books. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-09-28 09:00:26 UTC ]
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Holly Smale | 'Change happens one story at a time, reminding the world what autism is from the inside'

Holly Smale, bestselling author of the Geek Girl series, discusses how autistic characters, and authors, should no longer be seen as ‘niche’ Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-23 18:27:19 UTC ]
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Jason Reynolds will serve a third term as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

Today, the Library of Congress announced that bestselling author Jason Reynolds will serve as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for a third year. Reynolds’s extended appointment is an unprecedented event in the history of the program. The position, which was established in 2008,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-20 15:03:29 UTC ]
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Dan Brown's ex-wife cites new Peacock series in bitter divorce fight

Blythe Brown, who divorced the bestselling author in 2019, claims newly subpoenaed records show he concealed projects like 'The Lost Symbol' series. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-09-20 13:00:53 UTC ]
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