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 ]
Hodder Faith, in partnership with mini-chain St Andrew’s Bookshop, will launch a national church book club this autumn, to be known as The Big Church Read. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-12 13:00:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Bookshop has helped many independents weather the pandemic, but some booksellers say the ABA is not being transparent about its financial relationship with the online retailer and worry that Bookshop poses new competition. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Interviews Richard van Leeuwen is a senior lecturer in Islamic studies at the University of Amsterdam. This year, he won the 2020 Sheikh Zayed Book Award in the Arabic Culture in Other Languages category for his book The Thousand and One Nights and... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-08-10 20:32:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Zoom call was going well. I liked the technology on show, and I felt bookshops could definitely benefit from using it. It provided a way of alerting the bookshop - ahead of a visit - when someone with a disability (or who needed additional help) would be arriving at the shop. Staff would be... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-09 12:28:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Waterstones has announced the permanent closure of its bookshop in the Centre MK Shopping Centre, Milton Keynes, over “excessive” rent demanded from its landlord. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-04 18:17:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Stephen Hawking's Brief Answers to the Big Questions (John Murray) has rocketed to the top of the Amazon Charts' Most-Sold: Non-Fiction chart, as Val McDermid's A Place of Execution (HarperCollins) cleaved into the Most-Sold: Fiction number one. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-04 16:57:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Don Winslow warns that Trump is planning a "big loud" October surprise attack on Biden. Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2020-07-31 08:24:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Emma Straub is a New York Times bestselling author and owner of the beloved independent bookstore, Books Are Magic in Brooklyn. Her latest novel, All Adults Here, explores the complexity of love for your family, the love for yourself, and for the town you grew up in. The story revolves around... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-07-30 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Around 35% of regular bookshop customers are unsure about returning to bricks and mortar premises now lockdown has eased, according to a survey by Nielsen. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-17 09:56:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In Michaela Coel’s excellent BBC TV series “I May Destroy You”, her character Arabella’s journey concludes in a bookshop with the launch of her self-published book. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-17 06:11:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Profile Books will publish Shaun Bythell's Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops in November. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-08 23:31:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Multihyphenate Phoebe Robinson is launching her own imprint, Tiny Reparations Books, with her publisher, Plume. The bestselling author, actress, and comedian will, PRH said, publish fiction and nonfiction titles "that highlight and amplify unique and diverse voices." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Including the long-awaited new novel from David Mitchell, bestselling author of "Cloud Atlas" and "The Bone Clocks." Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2020-07-02 15:00:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this
David’s Bookshop in Hertfordshire has been bought by its staff and remodelled as a John Lewis-style employee ownership trust. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-01 19:30:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Val McDermid has revealed her 2020 “New Blood” list of hotly tipped crime-writing talent, featuring Deepa Anappara and Elizabeth Kay. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-18 03:04:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Publishing, including books, newspapers and magazines, could see a £7bn fall in revenue and 51,000 jobs axed due to Covid-19's effect on bookshop closures and print sales, a report claims. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-17 06:06:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Will browsing be allowed, or will we have to judge a book by its cover? With Waterstones and some indie shops set to open on 15 June, Alison Flood finds out what the plan isMelissa Davies had planned to fulfil a lifelong dream and open her independent bookshop, Pigeon Books, in Southsea, at the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-12 06:00:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In the inaugural episode of its new digital webcast series, SVWC NOW, the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference presents bestselling author (My Own Country, Cutting for Stone), physician, and winner of a 2015 National Humanities Medal, Dr. Abraham Verghese in conversation with novelist and SVWC... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-10 17:00:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Bernardine Evaristo and Reni Eddo-Lodge take No 1 slots in wake of anti-racist demonstrations, as Waterstones staff ask chain to support causeBernardine Evaristo and Reni Eddo-Lodge have become the first black British women to top the UK’s fiction and nonfiction paperback charts, in a week where... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-10 13:46:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Children's bookshop Button & Bear in Shrewsbury is to close blaming the "fickle" high street and customer expectations on price. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-08 23:59:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this