Could a bespoke book subscription service break you out of your reading rut or encourage you to explore new genres?Heywood Hill bookshop has stood on the same spot since 1936. It inhabits a Georgian townhouse at 10 Curzon Street in Mayfair, London, a blue plaque outside commemorating its most famous employee, Nancy Mitford. Behind its heavy wooden door, a customer explains that she is visiting the UK from Australia, and would like to speak to someone about the shop’s subscription service. The word has clearly travelled far.From chocolate to coffee to beer to grooming products, subscription boxes are big business, and books are no exception. There are countless online companies that ship out a monthly read, some adding artisan teas, hot chocolate, or an adaptation on DVD of the book. But Heywood Hill’s subscription is as bespoke as possible: each package is individually tailored to the reader’s tastes following a conversation between the subscriber and a bookseller. Camille Van de Velde, one of Heywood Hill’s five booksellers, takes me down a rickety staircase into the basement from where the scheme is run. Staff are at work in a series of pokey interlocking rooms, stacking titles on shelves, ready to be wrapped, packed and shipped. They won’t be specific about numbers, but each has hundreds of people to choose for each month, and it has, by all accounts, transformed the business.Suddenly I realise just how intimate a simple question like ‘What is your favourite book?’ can... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-02-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#fighting back
#blue plaque
#nancy mitford
#heywood hill
#simple question
#bookshop
Could a bespoke book subscription service break you out of your reading rut or encourage you to explore new genres?Heywood Hill bookshop has stood on the same spot since 1936. It inhabits a Georgian townhouse at 10 Curzon Street in Mayfair, London, a blue plaque outside commemorating its most... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-02-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#fighting back
#blue plaque
#nancy mitford
#heywood hill
#simple question
#bookshop
Five years ago, when in her late twenties, Emma Gannon released her first book: Ctrl Alt Delete: How I Grew Up Online. It’s a funny and thoughtful memoir which charts her formative experiences on the internet as a Millennial woman born in the same year as the World Wide Web. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-03 14:05:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#emma gannon
#fight back
#thoughtful memoir
#memoir
In 2022 my first novel, Save the Village, found its home with Regal House, a mighty little woman-owned traditional independent publisher that prints all its books in the US and has a nonprofit division that works with underserved students around Raleigh, where they’re headquartered. Regal House,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-03-04 09:53:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#independent publisher
#indie publishing
A few booksellers attending Winter Institute 2024 have attracted attention on the show floor over unexpected events occurring back home at their stores. For one, B&N is planning to move next door; for another, a spouse's promotion might take him away from his store; for a third, eviction looms. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#show floor
Censorship is surging thanks to an organised rightwing minority targeting books on LGBTQ and Black characters and issues“A book is a loaded gun in the house next door,” warns a character in Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury’s dystopian vision of an America where books are considered so dangerous they... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-13 17:21:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#school year
#school boards
#ron desantis
#multiple titles
#library association
In-person regional bookseller conferences came roaring back to life this fall with six high-energy shows. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#roaring back
#bookseller
The third day of its 2022 run saw Bologna Children's Book Fair catch its in-person stride with wall-to-wall activity. The post Bologna Is Back: Brisk Programming, Meetings, Awards appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-03-23 17:55:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#awards appeared
#bologna children
#post bologna
#children's book
The pandemic, coupled with the protests that followed George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis last year, has transformed the Twin Cities bookselling scene in the last 20 months. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-19 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#george floyd
A story for children about families with same-sex parents has been published in Russia as part of a campaign to have the country’s ‘gay propaganda’ law repealedA month after a Hungarian bookshop chain was fined for selling a children’s story about a day in the life of a child with same-sex... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-08-17 14:33:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#same-sex parents
#young boy
#bookshop
#picture book
The ABA held its second virtual annual meeting Thursday, followed by a Town Hall. While some booksellers expressed concerns over publisher discounts and plans by Ingram to ship all IPS titles from a single warehouse, others focused on the future of in-person events. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-05-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#annual meeting
#town hall
#in-person events
A crowdfunder set up by the trade to raise money for booksellers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic has increased its target to £100,000 after Penguin Random House and the Booksellers Association pledged support. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-25 19:31:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#raise money
#booksellers affected
#covid-19 pandemic
#booksellers association
#penguin random house
When Amazon accounts for at least 40% if not half of US book sales, independent bookstores in the US are looking to stay afloat using a combination of innovation, mobility, as well as a little taste of Amazon’s own medicine. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-27 23:06:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#independent bookstores
#stay afloat
Diane Ravitch offers disturbing and inspiring tales from the battle over public schools. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-01-31 04:41:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#fight back
#public schools
The Bookseller is to create a Rising Stars-style listing of individual booksellers to coincide with the Booksellers Association Conference in September 2020. The Bookshop Heroes special, supported by the BA and sponsored by HarperCollins, will be published to coincide with the annual conference. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-11 22:52:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#bookshop heroes
#individual booksellers
#annual conference
#bookshop
#booksellers association
#bookseller
Macmillan's embargo on new ebooks impacts public libraries, now scrambling to make materials available to patrons. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-11-01 10:32:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#library ebook
#fighting back
#ebooks
#libraries
United campaign by media companies highlights government moves to penalise whistleblowing and criminalise journalism • Lenore Taylor: Concrete action rather than nice words are needed on press freedomThe front page of every newspaper in Australia was blacked out on Monday as part of a campaign... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-10-20 22:51:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#front pages
#fight back
#secrecy laws
#high court
#news corp
A powerful new memoir refuses to turn a blind eye to sexual abuse and offers survivors a way forward. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#fighting back
#rachael denhollander
#sexual abuse
#memoir
Welcome to Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. You can get an audio version of this briefing on your Alexa device; sign up here. What people are talking about today Procter & Gamble’s Secret deodorant brand, an official sponsor of U.S.... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-07-15 10:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#big tech
#literally millions
#find ways
#full interview
#garett sloane
#broad range
#plot point
#kindle
After her American publisher delayed her new book, “Outrages,” over accuracy concerns, she is responding with a strategy mixing scholarly peer review and damage control. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-07-09 10:36:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#american publisher
Sometimes shopping online for holiday gifts seems like the easy way out, but when looking for something really special and personal, Barnes & Noble believes going to the store is essential to finding that perfect gift. That's why the brand is recasting its booksellers as the all-knowing book... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2018-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#perfect gift