In 2009, two bookshops a week were closing in the UK and the days of physical books seemed numbered. Now, indie stores are booming. What explains the turnaround – and can it be sustained?When Sarah Mullen was asked to set up a children’s book festival in a leafy suburb of Birmingham in 2012, she couldn’t find an independent bookseller to run the bookstall. “So we all rolled up our sleeves and did it ourselves,” she says. Pregnant with her third child, she had recently given up her job as a solicitor to work for the Bournville Village Trust. Mullen’s task was to set up the Bournville BookFest, which ran for 10 years before being brought to a halt by the Covid pandemic. But far from accepting defeat, she rolled up her sleeves once again and “pivoted the whole thing into a bookshop”. Two years on, the Bookshop on the Green is thriving – a living rebuttal to the once widely held idea that the digital era meant certain death for the neighbourhood bookstore.When I visit early on a Friday morning, a turquoise vintage Smith Corona typewriter holds centre stage in the Bookshop on the Green. Beside it stands Bradley Taylor, a poet whose job is to write poems on demand for anyone who asks. He has composed a lot of Batman and football poems for the children who pile in on Saturdays, he says, before sitting down to tap one out for me about the joy of bookshops. In the multitasking tradition of small retailers, Taylor also works in the shop. He made his cosplay debut last month as the... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2023-07-27 09:00:32 UTC ]
Children’s book publisher Phyllis Fogelman, a champion of books by Black authors and illustrators and mentor to many in the children’s book industry, died on December 18 at age 89. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
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As an author whose own books never find their way to supermarket shelves, it’s frustrating work – but it puts food on my family’s tableOnce a rare species, celebrity authored children’s books have become stalwarts of supermarket books aisles. Perfect for a grandparent hunting a last-minute... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-12-16 10:41:27 UTC ]
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IVP will publish an illustrated collection of ‘Prayers for Life;’ Revell signs ‘Back Porch Theology’ podcaster Lisa Harper; WaterBrook lands a debut children’s book author; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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What the hell are we doing? All the best things are shutting down and people are out here using computers to make children’s books? Not to get too Jeff Goldblum on you, but just because you build a tool to do something doesn’t make it interesting or worthy. To wit, a product designer named... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-12-13 15:19:23 UTC ]
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The year’s autobiography big-hitters haven’t sold as well as expected, with buyers disenchanted by pricing and lack of feelgood topicsFrom actors and musicians to athletes and presenters, there are no shortage of celebrity memoirs on bookshop shelves. This year has seen new books published by a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-12-09 10:52:17 UTC ]
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“Booksellers are constantly giving their patrons extraordinary bargains. In London recently a copy of an early edition of Keats’ Poems, originally bought from a dealer for 2s was sold for £140, and a first edition of Burns’ Poems bought in Edinburgh for 1s 6d brought £350.” –R.M. Williamson,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-12-07 09:53:48 UTC ]
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The U.K. children’s book publisher spreads its wings into the North American market. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-28 05:00:00 UTC ]
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BookTrust research shows, however, that the overall picture ‘remains far from representative’ with some writers and illustrators reporting tokenismNew research has found that 11.7% of children’s book creators published in the UK in 2021 were people of colour, up from 5.6% in 2017.Despite the big... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-23 06:01:50 UTC ]
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The two Los Angeles–based independent publishers opened North Figueroa Bookshop earlier this month. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Workers at the only ‘big four’ publisher to have a union authorize indefinite strike over low wages and diversityStephanie Guerdan started working in the children’s book department of HarperCollins Publishers six years ago. It was a dream job – just not a dream paycheck. The $33,500-a-year... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-10 18:03:45 UTC ]
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Exclusive: Britain’s Got Talent judge made sexually explicit comments about participant, leak showsThe Britain’s Got Talent judge David Walliams made derogatory and sexually explicit remarks about contestants during the recording of an episode of the ITV show, according to a leaked transcript... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-10 10:00:02 UTC ]
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Moving its dates for a third time this year, the Shanghai Children's Book Fair is changing venue in an effort to host the event in December. The post Shanghai’s Children’s Book Fair Changes Venue Amid COVID Constraints appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-11-09 18:16:05 UTC ]
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For some frustrating reason, I’ve lost a lot of specific memories from my time as a young father; that period is now like a home from my past that I yearn to visit, but is always out of reach. And yet I can vividly recall the night I first read Crockett Johnson’s celebrated children’s book […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-08 09:53:17 UTC ]
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Drusilla Jones, who owned an antique children’s book shop in Baltimore, died of end stage Alzheimer’s disease and diabetic complications Oct. 20 at Charter Senior Living. The Lutherville resident was 82. Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2022-11-04 09:00:00 UTC ]
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Today’s edition of kids' book deals is sponsored by sponsored by Triumph Books`Triumph Books`https://www.triumphbooks.com/big-book-of-who-football-products-9781637272527.php?page_id=21`https://bookriot.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SI-Kids-Big-Book-of-WHO-Football-262x300.jpg.optimal.jpg` Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-11-02 15:07:08 UTC ]
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Is there anything scarier than not knowing what great book you’re going to read next? Big love to the booksellers at Exile in Bookville (Chicago, IL), Raven Book Store (Lawrence, KS), Copper Dog Books (Beverly, MA), and The Haunted Bookshop (Iowa City, IA) for their generous recommendations.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-31 08:59:42 UTC ]
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The proprietor’s name is Amy (except that, of course, it isn’t). She’s a kind, petite woman in her forties, the owner of a ghost-themed bookstore in a small southern city. I won’t tell you which city. It’s for your own safety. This is, after all, a ghost story. And most importantly: it’s true.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-31 08:57:03 UTC ]
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Publishers have faced criticism for producing books considered ‘an easy sell’ Chef Jamie Oliver and former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell-Horner have become the latest celebrities to announce new children’s books, with experts saying there is no sign the celebrity-authored children’s book trend will... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-21 10:05:05 UTC ]
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Today’s edition of kids' book deals is sponsored by Sponsored by Dynamite Entertainment`Dynamite... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-10-19 13:26:19 UTC ]
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Big news for the (in my experience, huge) Venn diagram center of book lovers and Top Chef fans: Padma Lakshmi will host this year’s National Book Awards. Lakshmi is the bestselling author of multiple cookbooks as well as a children’s book and a memoir, and host of Top Chef (AKA the show that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-11 15:50:31 UTC ]
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