Booksellers Association calls in celebrity support for Books Are My Bag campaign after more than 500 closures since 2005The number of independent bookshops gracing British high streets has fallen below 1,000 – a third fewer than nine years ago, amid cut-throat competition from supermarkets, Amazon and ebooks.Booksellers warned that the health of the publishing industry was at risk as new figures revealed more than 500 independent outlets have shut since 2005.With the additional pressures of rising costs and the economic downturn that face all small retailers, 67 local bookshops closed last year, according to the Booksellers Association, while just 26 opened, leaving 987 still trading."Everyone should sit up and take notice of this," said Tim Godfray, chief executive of the association. "The book trade, the government and the general public need to realise that if we don't take action now, the future of our bookshops – and therefore the health of the publishing industry and reading itself – is at risk."Children's specialist the Lion & Unicorn bookshop in Richmond, south-west London, the Dover Bookshop in Covent Garden and Hale Bookshop in Cheshire were among last year's casualties. Meanwhile, independent booksellers said that difficulties in getting finance were putting off new shop owners.The association has called in celebrities including former model Lily Cole, celebrity chef Rachel Khoo and TV presenter Dawn O'Porter, to help muster support for independent... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers Association calls in celebrity support for Books Are My Bag campaign after more than 500 closures since 2005The number of independent bookshops gracing British high streets has fallen below 1,000 – a third fewer than nine years ago, amid cut-throat competition from supermarkets,... Continue reading at The Guardian
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If self-publishing is a major part of the future of the publishing business, then its most uncharted region, and the frontier of greatest possibility, is digital self-publishing, where authors can make their own names and sell infinite numbers of books with the help of a handful of increasingly... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
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