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 ]
Veteran dancer and author Copeland, who stresses the importance of friendship, creativity, and imagination, will present her latest book, Bunheads, at BookExpo Online's Children’s Book & Author Dinner. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Lu will share a message about the value of dystopian tales and discuss her latest, Skyhunter, during challenging times at BookExpo Online's Children’s Book & Author Dinner. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Raj Haldar looks to delight "word nerds" as he presents No Reading Allowed as a panelist at the Children’s Book & Author Dinner at BookExpo Online. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Nestled in the heart of Melbourne's city laneways, Leonardo Art Shop - also known as Nibbi's - provided inspiration and education to a generation of young artists. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2020-05-21 20:00:41 UTC ]
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Costa award-winning love story of Connell and Marianne takes top slot from David Walliams’ bestselling children’s book SlimeSally Rooney’s Normal People has flown to the top of the UK’s book charts more than two years after it was published, thanks to the release of the TV adaptation starring... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-13 15:44:19 UTC ]
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In another move to broaden its reach in the worldwide children’s book publishing market, Trustbridge has acquired Walker Books, the U.K.-based children’s publisher and owner of Candlewick Press. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The pandemic has thrown publishing and booksellers into crisis – and left customers struggling to obtain books when they most want them. But some in the industry sense an opportunity to drag it into the 21st centuryOn 18 March, Emma Corfield-Walters received the news that for the second year... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-10 08:00:20 UTC ]
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The children’s book author will publish 12 new books this year and launch a new series despite the strain the industry is under. How does she do it? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Survey shows 60% expect the impact of the pandemic may put them out of business, prompting calls for concerted helpMore than half of the UK’s small publishers fear they could be out of business by the autumn as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to research by the Bookseller, which... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-05-07 15:02:20 UTC ]
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The virtual 2020 Bologna Children's Book Fair is running through Thursday, and includes the 2020 Children's Publishers of the Year announcement. The post Bologna Children’s Book Fair Online This Week Names 2020 Best Publishers appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-05-05 14:13:20 UTC ]
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The future of the Bertrams wholesaling business is at risk following the sale of its online bookshop The Wordery and the temporary closure of its book supply business as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-02 22:55:42 UTC ]
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In her new audiobook, “On the Horizon,” the children’s book author remembers her childhood against the backdrop of the Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-05-01 09:00:05 UTC ]
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The days in quarantine would all blend together if it weren’t for Tuesday, which is the day new books hit the (now metaphorical) shelves. Here are a few of the titles dropping today. You can get them from your local indie and/or Bookshop (which, by the way, has now raised over one million... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-28 13:57:38 UTC ]
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The independent bookstore e-commerce site Bookshop.org has seen a 2,000% increase in sales in the last month and has become a lifeline for many stores that have been temporarily closed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet despite its apparent success, the site has skeptics. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Authors' Club has launched new digital initiative LitFest Online in response to the cancellation of festivals and bookshop events. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-22 02:33:41 UTC ]
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On “Mondays With Michelle Obama,” which begins today at 12pm EST, and will run from through May 11, the former first lady will livestream a reading of a classic children’s book as part of the PBS Kids Read-Along series. She joins an ever-expanding pool of celebrities reading books for kids... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-20 14:10:58 UTC ]
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As quarantine continues, we’re all noticing that we respond to lockdown differently. While many spend each day providing care, food and other necessities, those of us privileged enough to be 'stuck at home' are seeing our friends’ and family members’ behaviour change under the new... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-04-17 15:42:05 UTC ]
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I don’t know who needs to hear this, but today is Tuesday. The only way I know that today is Tuesday is because all these new books are coming out today! So get excited, stay inside, order any of these titles from Bookshop if you’re so inclined, and maybe #BuyGiftCards to support your local... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-07 14:00:24 UTC ]
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There are no shortage of celebrities who’ve been using social media to read to children and fundraise for some of the kids most affected by the impact of COVID-19. Another luminous star (and her daughter) are next in line: Mary Poppins herself, Dame Julie Andrews, plans to launch a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-02 21:15:26 UTC ]
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The American Booksellers Association announced that it will postpone Children’s Institute, its annual conference of children’s book publishers, authors, and retailers, until 2021. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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