‘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 ]
News tagged with: #favourite author #book collection #val mcdermid #bookshop #bestselling author

Other Publishing stories related to: '‘I’m giddy to be here’: the risk-takers who opened bookshops during Covid'


Crown to Crash Cuomo's Covid-19 Account

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will publish 'American Crisis' on October 13. Crown, the book's publisher, said the title will be a "revealing, behind-the-scenes account" of the author's experience leading the state through the Covid-19 epidemic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #covid-19 account #american crisis #behind-the-scenes account


Poets and novelists have been writing about life under COVID-19 for more than a century

From 'islands of pain' to the 'peril of exposure,' writers have captured the fear, emptiness and despair that characterize life during the current pandemic, writes a poet and English scholar. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2020-08-17 12:24:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #current pandemic #novelists


Sharmaine Lovegrove: ‘You must spend a year in a bookshop before you get a job in publishing’

Seeing unexpected pairings of readers and books quickly dispels the idea of who reads what• Time to reset: more brilliant ideas to remake the worldI have a party trick. If you name three books you like and two you hate, I can write you a reading list of 10 books you will love.I’ve gained this... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-08-15 10:00:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ve run #publishing industry #sharmaine lovegrove #brilliant ideas #ve worked #bookshop


How to open a bookstore during a pandemic: Prepare for delays and lots of cleaning.

Timing is everything, but during the pandemic, it largely hasn’t been on the side of businesses. So I was recently surprised to see The Strand, whose iconic storefront in Union Square attracts thousands of visitors a year, opening a new branch in my neighborhood last month—and in a space where,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-08-12 19:56:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #months prior #bookstore


Hodder Faith and St Andrew's Bookshop launch The Big Church Read

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 | News stories tagged with: #hodder faith #book club #hodder #bookshop


ABA Relationship with Bookshop Draws Booksellers’ Scrutiny

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 | News stories tagged with: #online retailer #bookshop


Arabic Literature and Antiquarian Bookshops: A Conversation with Richard van Leeuwen, by Alex Crayon

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 | News stories tagged with: #peter handke #wide audience #laid bare #cultural change #digital media #bookshop #zayed book


SoA launches fundraising drive as money for Covid-hit writers runs low

The Society of Authors is launching a fundraising drive to help top up its Authors’ Contingency Fund, ensuring it can continue to offer hardship grants to authors as the effects of the health crisis continue to be felt.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-09 17:04:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fundraising drive


What is a bookshop for?

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 | News stories tagged with: #zoom call #autistic child #bookshop


Evening Standard to cut 115 jobs as Covid-19 hits advertising

Print edition of London paper will remain but focus will shift to digital and mobile platformsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe Evening Standard is to cut 115 jobs, a third of its staff, as the London freesheet seeks a dramatic reduction in costs to survive the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-08-07 10:58:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #coronavirus pandemic #evening standard #latest updatessee #dramatic reduction


CUP signs Open Access deal with Hindawi

Cambridge University Press has signed an Open Access partnership with Hindawi Limited for five of its journals. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-07 08:52:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cambridge university press


How a writer learned to open up about Dad's secret sex books

Sara Faith Alterman's "Let's Never Talk About This Again" is a memoir about strange family dynamics, love, grief and the benefits of finally opening up. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-08-05 18:00:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir


Trade bodies to 'engage' with Covid-19 culture panel but note industry's absence

The Publishers Association has said it "looks forward to engaging" with a new expert advisory panel set up to investigate the pandemic's impact on arts and culture, although it has failed to include a representative from the industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-05 09:04:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #trade bodies #publishers association


W H Smith to cut up to 1,500 jobs in restructure after Covid-19 hits business

W H Smith has announced plans for a major restructure which could see around 1,500 roles made redundant across the business. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-05 02:02:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #major restructure #announced plans #w h smith


Thousands sign open letter against 'brutal' Southbank Centre cuts

More than 2,500 people have signed an open letter expressing concern about “brutal” plans to make up to 400 people redundant at the Southbank Centre. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-04 16:31:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #southbank centre


Longest running conservation journal goes Open Access

Oryx, the international journal of conservation published by Cambridge University Press, is to become Open Access from January next year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-04 04:40:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #open access


CUP scores slim revenue rise despite Covid-19 hit

Cambridge University Press saw sales at £336m in the year to end April 2020, a rise of 2.8% (2% at constant currency). However operating profits fell 3.3% to £23.6m, compared to £24.4m in 2019. CUP said it had seen "strong" growth during the first 11 months of the year, before disruption to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-30 15:46:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #financial year #covid-19 hit #constant currency #cambridge university press


French book trade recovering from Covid-19 lockdown

The French book trade is picking up from its two months of Covid-19 lockdown much better than expected. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-29 11:42:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #covid-19 lockdown #book trade


Ignore, focus or avoid? How authors are tackling COVID-19

Many of us enjoy getting lost in historical novels, often set in periods of history when great change was taking place. Contemporary fiction is usually less rooted in a specific time – often focusing on the miniate of human existence or the fallout from smaller, personal events. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-28 18:42:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #historical novels #taking place #contemporary fiction