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 ]
Check out these collected ink pieces that speak to childhood and nostalgia with children’s book tattoos for ideas on your next piece. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-03-06 11:38:25 UTC ]
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Indie bookshops are cashing in on a pre-order boom for Hilary Mantel’s new book and are hosting everything from midnight openings to silent discos this week. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-01 15:13:26 UTC ]
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If You Give a Mouse a Cookie has been criticized, and lauded, as a parable of the welfare state. Both sides have it wrong. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2020-02-28 16:14:35 UTC ]
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Ruth Jones will be embarking on a UK tour to celebrate the publication of her new novel Us Three in a collaboration between Fane and Transworld. The tour, combining a Fane-produced theatre tour with bookshop events organised by Transworld, will comprise seven dates across the UK. It begins at... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-28 11:07:04 UTC ]
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Booker shortlisted author and former Blackwell's bookseller Daisy Johnson has joined the judging panel for the Vintage Independent Bookseller of the Year Award 2020. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-27 22:21:00 UTC ]
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Early last year, the city of Baltimore faced an odd political scandal involving then-Mayor Catherine Pugh and her self-published children’s book series about a health-conscious young girl named Healthy Holly. The Baltimore Sun broke the news that while Pugh was a board member of the University... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-27 20:09:58 UTC ]
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I do not understand why you would turn to The Office for anything other than its grimly comic tableaux of late-capitalist malaise and self-deluded mediocrity. Apparently I have missed its potential to teach 4- to 8-year-olds the “importance of teamwork” and “that it’s always OK to ask for help.”... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-25 21:39:17 UTC ]
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Button & Bear children’s bookshop in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, has been forced to close today (Wednesday 25th February) owing to rising floodwaters. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-25 14:31:43 UTC ]
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Simon Cowell and his six-year-old son are teaming up with Hachette Children’s Group on a new picture-led children’s book series called Wishfits. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-24 09:57:41 UTC ]
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The 2020 edition of Bologna Children's Book Fair will feature four of the most visible publishing leaders in today's African markets. The post At Bologna Children’s Book Fair: A Program on African Innovators appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-02-21 18:31:14 UTC ]
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For his latest project, the writer best known for “The Da Vinci Code” is turning his attention to a younger audience. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-02-20 14:15:06 UTC ]
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Is there anything LeBron James can’t do? Before you attempt to form a response, let me save you some time; the answer, of course, is no. Case in point: HarperCollins yesterday announced a two-book deal with the LeBron James Foundation. James’ debut, a picture book titled I Promise,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-19 16:36:39 UTC ]
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There comes a time in every parent’s life when they briefly think, “Wow, I bet I could easily write and publish a really great children’s book and make a lot of money.” Thankfully, most do not even try… Not so Jeff Bridges, who has illustrated his daughter’s new book, Daddy Daughter Day, which... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-18 15:32:11 UTC ]
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ReedPop announced the author lineup for BookExpo’s 2020 Children’s Book & Author Breakfast, which will be held on Friday, May 29, at the Javits Center in New York City, and hosted and moderated by renowned children's author Judy Blume. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Tuesday 10 March Omar Ghobash in Conversation with Philippe Sands11.45-12.15, English PEN Literary Salon (3E90), OlympiaOmar Ghobash is a former diplomat and the author of Letters to a Young Muslim (Picador 2018), an exploration of the complexities of life as a modern Muslim, written as a... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-02-17 10:55:59 UTC ]
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Bookshop Santa Cruz in California and Changing Hands Bookstore in Arizona, have partnered in a drive to register Arizona voters and persuade them to vote Democrat in this year's presidential election. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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November may seem far away, but political titles for young readers are already hitting shelves. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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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 ]
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A pair of Prosecco-drinking burglars have been sentenced after police caught the two men knocking back alcohol during a break-in at Gay's the Word bookshop. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-13 04:34:38 UTC ]
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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 ]
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