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
Book sales jumped by more than £1m last week as sales of academic titles helped to offset... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
The battle to keep online advertising yields and returns high in a market of infinite volume and little scarcity rages on. But some publishers are deciding that it's not their fellow broadcasters, magazines and newspaper who are the problem but t ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#french publishers
#fighting back
A London book market founded by independent booksellers is to launch in Hackney, selling new and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#fight back
#independent booksellers
Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Tue, 06/09/2011 - 08:55 Two French publishers have launched a public call to arms to defend independent booksellers, which continue to suffer from financial decline in the country. Le Seuil c.e.o. Oliver Bétourné wrote in Le Monde last week that... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#french publishers
#public call
#le seuil
#le monde
#indie booksellers
#bigger share
Maybe Apple isnt so untouchable after all. The device maker, which has been locked in a battle with publishers, made a surprise concession recently, dropping a pricing requirement for its App Store that irked publishers. Before, publishers couldn't undercut the subscription price they offered... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#digital editions
#gregg hano
#vice president
#popular science
#digital version
The breakaway group of Angus & Robertson franchisees has returned to the negotiating table. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#breakaway group
Media executives said it's not unusual to book a dozen or so meetings during the day and then hit five or six parties at night. As for sleep? You can do that when you get stateside."It's a beautiful place, but it's no vacation," said Jon Steinberg, North American CEO of The Daily Mail. "It's... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2015-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#sleepless nights
#jon steinberg
#daily mail
#decade ago
#publishing execs
The bookstore proprietors of today are putting inclusivity first, building communities, and opening up shop in unexpected places. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#unexpected places
#bookstore
On April 8 and 9, Simon & Schuster hosted two star-studded centenary fetes in New York City to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#100th anniversary
#schuster
Heartland Fall Forum, the last regional gathering of booksellers this year, kicked off yesterday with what promises to be a high energy show that drew 547 booksellers, authors, and exhibitors to Detroit for networking, education, and an opening night party at Third Man Records. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
In 2021, “How the Word Is Passed” was on the hardcover nonfiction list for five weeks. Now Smith is back — with a book of poetry on the fiction list. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-04-13 09:00:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#clint smith
#fiction list
Source Booksellers has been transformed from a small business serving its Detroit community to an indie with a global customer base. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#bookselling profile
The Bookseller is calling for authors to pen an “ode to booksellers” as part of a celebration of the trade during a time when high-street bookshops are unable to open their doors. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-14 20:12:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#bookseller calls
#bookseller
Last week, Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain was announced this year’s Booker Prize winner. It’s no small feat for any writer, but what makes this win so spectacular is the fact that Shuggie Bain is a debut novel. (It’s only the fifth debut novel to win in the Booker’s 51-year-old history.) During... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-24 09:51:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#douglas stuart
#shuggie bain
#small feat
#literary hub
#debut novel
Bookselling Without Borders is a global partnership of independent publishers that supports travel to international book fairs and residencies for booksellers. It is currently accepting applications for 2020 fellowships. BWB connects booksellers to the international book community through... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-12 09:46:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#accepting applications
#children’s book
After San Diego bookseller Seth Marko, the co-owner of the Book Catapult, underwent emergency heart surgery last week, other indie booksellers in San Diego and beyond stepped forward to keep the store open while he convalesces. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#indie booksellers
#san diego
The new Midwest Bookseller of the Year award will honor excellence in bookselling and be awarded, annually, to a bookseller affiliated with any indie in the MIBA region. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Once a Facebook darling, LittleThings now looks like a case study for platform overreliance. The post Live by the algorithm, die by the algorithm: How LittleThings went from social publishing darling to shutting down appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2018-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#case study
A selection of some of the hundreds of children's book authors who will be at this season’s regional shows. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#authors appearing
#book authors
#regional shows
Here is a selection of some of the hundreds of authors who will be at this season’s regional shows. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#regional shows