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 ]
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Booksellers will soon be asked to choose their top 10 “surprise Christmas hits” from... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 25/10/2011 - 09:00 The co-owner of the Big Green Bookshop has launched his own publishing company and is set to release his first book with author Greg Stekelman. Simon Key, co-owner of the independent bookshop based in Wood Green, London, has... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 09/09/2011 - 16:39 The Big Green Bookshop is marking the scrapping of the iconic decade-long Waterstone's three for two offer by launching its own. For one day only (10th September) the London independent bookshop based in Wood Green will be... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 11/08/2011 - 08:57 The Big Green Bookshop is to hold a comedy gig to raise money for the victims made homeless by the "appalling behaviour" of rioters in Tottenham last weekend. Londons Wood Green where the bookshop is based was also hit by... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 05/04/2011 - 08:28 The Big Green Bookshop is celebrating after achieving 96% of its path to financial safety. The indie retailer based in Wood Green, north London, sent out a mass appeal to its customers a month ago asking them to buy one extra... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 07/03/2011 - 15:05 The Big Green Bookshop has raised nearly half of its fundraising target to secure its future at the beginning of its appeal week. Owners of the London independent bookshop, Simon Key and Tim West, appealed to 1,000 loyalty... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Fri, 25/02/2011 - 08:38 The Big Green Bookshop is appealing to 1,000 of its loyal customers to help secure its future by buying one book each. Owners Simon Key and Tim West of the indie in Wood Green, North London, have also set up an online donation... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The bookstore proprietors of today are putting inclusivity first, building communities, and opening up shop in unexpected places. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Maman & Me’ author Roya Shariat talks about writing her cookbook while overseeing social impact and partnerships at Glossier. From the time she sat down with Glossier founder Emily Weiss for a job interview, Roya Shariat told anyone who would listen that her dream was to write a cookbook.... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-10-25 18:15:00 UTC ]
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Heartland Fall Forum, the last regional gathering of booksellers this year, kicked off yesterday with what promises to be a high energy show that drew 547 booksellers, authors, and exhibitors to Detroit for networking, education, and an opening night party at Third Man Records. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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As the cofounder of BookXcess and Big Bad Wolf, Andrew Yap is the most powerful bookseller you likely don’t know. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-30 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Quantum cosmologist Laura Mersini-Houghton winds back the clock to ponder the origin of our universe's origin. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-08-05 10:00:13 UTC ]
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Source Booksellers has been transformed from a small business serving its Detroit community to an indie with a global customer base. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Amy Argetsinger traces the path to the crown, as well as the contest’s evolution. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-10 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bookseller is calling for authors to pen an “ode to booksellers” as part of a celebration of the trade during a time when high-street bookshops are unable to open their doors. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-14 20:12:04 UTC ]
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The easing of lockdowns and strong increases in digital sales led to double-digit sales gains for four trade publishers that reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30 over the same period in 2019. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-13 05:00:00 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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Although serial entrepreneur Rufus Griscom has a background in books, he had no intention of getting into the book business when he launched a new venture, Heleo, in 2015. With the Next Big Idea Club, that's changed. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After San Diego bookseller Seth Marko, the co-owner of the Book Catapult, underwent emergency heart surgery last week, other indie booksellers in San Diego and beyond stepped forward to keep the store open while he convalesces. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The all-seeing Amazon, Google, and Facebook have every incentive to help the national security state undermine privacy, free speech, and democracy. We’ve read this book before. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2019-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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