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 ]
Magazine and newspaper executives may beg to differ, but our love affair with print media has been surprisingly resilient in the digital era. E-book sales have flattened, and physical book sales continue to outstrip the “disruptors” by a wide margin. In fact, as our annual review of “Books for... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2019-12-18 21:53:27 UTC ]
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George R R Martin has opened an independent bookshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-17 08:15:25 UTC ]
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Can the iconic brand rediscover what made it a cultural phenomenon and financial success in the 1990s? In 1990, when I was in first grade, a children’s book author named Valerie Tripp visited my school. She was there to talk about a new series she had written for a four-year-old startup... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2019-12-17 07:00:46 UTC ]
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The Times Literary Supplement has opened a new online shop selling books, prints of its covers and illustrations alongside branded merchandise. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-16 03:59:25 UTC ]
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Earlier today, the employees of the New York City-based indie bookshop McNally Jackson voted to join the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU). RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum says, “We’re proud to welcome the workers of McNally Jackson into our union. Tonight, they showed that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-12-13 20:10:34 UTC ]
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In “A Bookshop in Berlin,” Françoise Frenkel describes a life devoted to French literature and her escape from the Nazis across occupied France. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-12-12 16:02:39 UTC ]
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The Bookseller is to create a Rising Stars-style listing of individual booksellers to coincide with the Booksellers Association Conference in September 2020. The Bookshop Heroes special, supported by the BA and sponsored by HarperCollins, will be published to coincide with the annual conference. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-11 22:52:50 UTC ]
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Raymond AntrobusWho/ What inspired you to start writing? I never started writing poetry with the intention of writing books until publishers approached me. I was happy to write poems and travel and read the poems for audiences. I live poem by poem. The idea of a book of poems doesn’t really... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2019-12-05 12:09:15 UTC ]
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"It’s like the children’s book version of a president crime-ing his way to being impeached," said the MSNBC host. Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2019-12-04 08:44:14 UTC ]
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Organizers of the 2019 China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair say that 1,498 rights trade agreements were made during the fair. The post China’s Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair Reports 16,145 Trade Visitors appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-12-03 08:30:46 UTC ]
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Walker has acquired a middle grade adventure story set in Cornwall from the Sunday Times chief travel writer Chris Haslam, writing as C J Haslam. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-28 02:47:59 UTC ]
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Nearly 200 participants, including a distinguished roster of children’s book authors, gathered on November 16 in Manhattan to discuss how faith and art inform each other, during "Walking on Water: The Madeleine L'Engle Conference." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-11-26 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A new bookshop has been opened in Farnham, Surrey, as a “gift” to say thank you to the town. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-24 14:46:01 UTC ]
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Peter Spier’s take on The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night is full of mischief and beauty. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2019-11-21 12:30:01 UTC ]
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John Lewis' Christmas advert has come under fire as author and former bookseller Jen Campbell highlighted the similarities between the advert and her children’s book Franklin’s Flying Bookshop (Thames & Hudson). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-18 10:24:18 UTC ]
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A bookshop that runs independently Meanwhile, Amazon keeps shittin’ on us endlessly Essentially, the rent keeps rising relentlessly Let the tourists come around, go on a spending spree Stop by, exchange ideas, sip some coffee There will be a cultural revolution in this city Enter me, the Drama... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-12 21:44:15 UTC ]
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ANN PATCHETT IS an American writer and independent bookseller who has authored eight novels, three books of nonfiction, co-authored a children’s book, and edited two books of essays. Her latest novel is The Dutch House, which was released this September. Patchett has received numerous awards and... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-11-12 20:00:45 UTC ]
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Another Story Bookshop is focused on social justice and diversity, continuing the mission its founder established over 30 years ago. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-11-09 10:00:11 UTC ]
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Who doesn’t love an independent bookshop? Think of the Shop Around the Corner in You’ve Got Mail! Think of the Travel Book Co. in Notting Hill! Embryo Concepts in Funny Face! Black Books from the British sitcom of the same name! Think of the real brick-and-mortar bookshop in your own community.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-11-08 19:34:19 UTC ]
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Publishers in many countries are finding success with nonfiction children’s books that offer illustrated explanations of complex concepts. The post Agent Stephanie Barrouillet: Nonfiction Leads Global Children’s Book Scene appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-11-04 06:30:22 UTC ]
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