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 ]
Halloween with the Peanuts gang, Diwali celebrations, Black heroes, and more of today's best kids' book deals. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-10-16 14:45:00 UTC ]
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The executive editor at Holiday House/Neal Porter Books was honored for what she describes as a life-long ambition: working as a children’s book editor. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-10-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Mythical beasts, horror stories from R.L. Stine, a Charlie Brown collection, and more of today's best kids' book deals. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-10-02 14:40:00 UTC ]
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A monstrous family business, projects for crafty kids, a middle school knight, and more of today's best children's book deals. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-09-25 15:43:00 UTC ]
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A party supported by pals who made it through rush hour rain was appropriate for an anthology celebrating female friendshipNervous as I am of organising parties, I could hardly have launched a book about friendship without throwing one. And so it was that last Tuesday night, I found myself in... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-09-14 15:00:31 UTC ]
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Some readers think ‘If You Give a Mouse a Cookie’ is a cautionary tale about government welfare. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2024-09-11 11:00:00 UTC ]
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The Internet Archive is starting to run out of legal options. Wired reports that the non-profit internet cataloguer of videos, games and books lost its appeal in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The court rejected Archive.org’s claim in its ongoing lawsuit with several high... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-09-04 20:24:53 UTC ]
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Get crafty, get a little frightened, and get a little hungry with these excellent book deals in picture books and middle grade books. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-09-04 14:00:00 UTC ]
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I’d rather not acknowledge that fall is approaching, mostly because I’ve made an embarrassingly small dent in my summer reading pile over the past three months. But the signs of autumn are unmistakable. Kids are going back to school, political ads are ramping up on swing state TV screens, and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-09-03 08:56:54 UTC ]
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Bookshop gets into used books, guessing the 2024 NBA Long List for Fiction, and a couple of real bummer stories in today's book news. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-08-28 21:45:13 UTC ]
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Older Americans are turning to classes to learn about AI’s threats and transformative capabilities. The students — most with gray hair, some with canes, all at least in their 60s — couldn’t believe what they were hearing.“Oh, my God,” whispered a retired college professor.“Does it come with... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2024-08-13 14:55:15 UTC ]
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The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators hosted an online “UnBanning Books” panel, open to the public, on August 1. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-08-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Magical Adventures with Doggies, a Classic Kids' Mystery, a Funny Middle Grade from Justin Reynolds, and More in Today's Best Children's Book Deals Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-08-07 15:16:00 UTC ]
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Most Australians have heard of Norman Lindsay’s fantastical children’s book The Magic Pudding. He was just one of ten talented siblings. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2024-08-07 02:54:02 UTC ]
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From fairy porn to romantasy via the Omegaverse, publishing is sexier than ever. The reason? A big shift in gen Z and millennial attitudes to respectability and shame ...I spent a fortnight reading nothing but smut and I don’t need to give you a reason. But since there is one, here it is:... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-08-06 04:00:33 UTC ]
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Founded in 2013, Letters Bookshop in Durham, N.C., is transforming from a privately owned business to a community-supported cooperative, selling shares for $116, in an aim to sustain the store in amid a challenging retail environment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-08-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Zondervan signs Faith Womack’s book to help readers understand the Bible, Brazos takes Speaking with Joy podcaster Joy Marie Clarkson's look at influential Christian women, Paraclete acquires a children’s book to help children slay the spiritual dragons they face, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-08-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Dilys Evans, a trailblazing representative of children’s book illustrators, and a fierce champion for recognition of their contributions to the fine arts world, died July 23; she was 88. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-08-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A robot dog searches for a forever home, time travel through cooking, and more of today's best children's book deals. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-07-31 14:53:44 UTC ]
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You loved them first at the library. There, they bewitched you with their preternatural gumption, and vulnerability. Their zany ideas and wicked wit. They were your first best friends. But then you lost touch. Life got in the way. And it didn’t help that you existed in fully separate dimension... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-07-29 17:10:39 UTC ]
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