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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Joy Buolamwini, author of "Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines," joins the L.A. Times Book Club on Nov. 14. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-11-03 00:31:12 UTC ]
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A new book argues that corporate publishing has transformed what it means to be an author. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2023-11-01 10:00:00 UTC ]
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This year’s regional bookseller shows were upbeat and exciting gatherings, where both traditional and nontraditional booksellers networked, met authors, and discovered the hottest new releases. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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WordsWorth Books founder Stavis, a leader in computerized inventory and online selling and cofounder of the WordStock inventory and POS system, died on October 20. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The tech industry is reeling from the combination of a rough economy, the COVID-19 pandemic and some obvious business missteps. And while that led to job cuts in 2022, the headcount reductions have unfortunately ramped up in 2023. It can be tough to keep track of these... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-10-16 15:52:41 UTC ]
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The Mountains & Plains Indie Booksellers Association's annual FallCon kicked off quietly Wednesday afternoon, but quickly picked up steam Thursday as more than 200 booksellers gathered in Denver to network with each other and to meet authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The SA Book Awards program bases its shortlist on the bestseller date of Nielsen BookScan in a program now 23 years old. The post Winners in the South Africa Book Awards: Voted for by Booksellers appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-10-05 17:18:44 UTC ]
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Forthcoming titles from religion and spirituality publishers aim to get families talking about right-to-life messaging, sex trafficking, climate change, houselessness, gender roles, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Genre fiction by such authors as Colleen Hoover, N.K. Jemisin, and Rebecca Roanhorse remains extremely popular with readers. As publishers increase their output to meet demand, booksellers are making more and more room on their shelves for the titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Illustration by Krishna Bala Shenoi. Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso is a weekly series of intimate conversations with artists, authors, and politicians. It’s a podcast where people sound like people. New episodes air every Sunday, distributed by Pushkin Industries. * To celebrate the release of her... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-09-19 08:35:25 UTC ]
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A book-length thought experiment uses math to investigate some of life’s big questions. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2023-09-18 12:19:43 UTC ]
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Amazon Prime Day came and went in July, but Amazon’s not done with its membership-only sales events for 2023. The company just announced that it will hold “Prime Big Deal Days,” another Prime Day of sorts, on October 10 and 11, mirroring what it did during the same month last year. Engadget will... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-09-18 11:58:42 UTC ]
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This month, TikTok's trends newsletter spotlighted a new book-related hashtag, #independentbookstore. We spoke with bookstore owners and staffers about the value the app has for booksellers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In the run-up to the holiday season, we asked a number of booksellers about the children's and YA titles they expect to fly off their shelves, from publishers large and small. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Van Nuys native Paul Yamazaki, a longtime veteran of San Francisco landmark City Lights, will receive a lifetime honor at the National Book Awards next month. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-09-06 14:00:49 UTC ]
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In the first half of 2023, publishers struggled to keep expenses down, with multiple companies citing higher costs as the major reason margins shrank in the first six months of 2023. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsHefty performance for a 14-inch deviceCrisp oled displayTop-notch keyboard and mouse padSturdy, durable chassisConsCan get hot to play onSome fiddling with settingsOur VerdictIf you’re looking for serious power in a tiny package, the Asus Zenbook 14 Pro OLED... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2023-08-31 10:30:00 UTC ]
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Nielsen’s big data trading rollout comes prior to MRC audit meetings and without Nielsen detailing findings that could drastically impact ratings for some Spanish-language networks and other programming. Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2023-08-28 09:30:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers, exhibitors, and authors alike can expect a mix of business and camaraderie at this year's fall trade shows. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-08-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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From upstarts to stalwarts, independent presses are stocking the upcoming season with unconventional and adventurous books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-08-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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