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 ]
Kirk Cameron has had a tough year, not unlike poor, pregnant Mary. “We tried to go to libraries across the country and we’ve been turned away,” he told a church gathering this week in Charlotte, N.C., of touring his conservative children’s book As You Grow, about a tree SYMBOLIZING FAITH getting... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-17 13:22:18 UTC ]
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On May 10, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark stood on the floor of the House of Representatives and read aloud from a children's book to members of Congress. "The end of the day was also my own," she read. "Bled out on the floor and never got home." These chilling words tell the story of Joaquin... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2023-05-15 06:00:00 UTC ]
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Children’s illustrator whose picture books with his wife, Elizabeth, and authors such as Ted Hughes, are enjoyed worldwideThe illustrator Gerald Rose, who has died aged 87, was the youngest winner of the Kate Greenaway medal for children’s book illustration, in 1960. Then still in his mid-20s... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-12 17:25:36 UTC ]
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At Edmonds Bookshop in the historic town center of Edmonds, Wash., Michelle Bear refers to herself not as the owner but as “the most recent and honored caretaker.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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“How’d you become a children’s book author?” The answer for Kouri Richins, a Utah mom of three who wrote Are You With Me?, a children’s book about coping with grief, is that she allegedly poisoned her husband, then wrote a book about loss. The Associated Press reports that Utah police arrested... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-09 14:02:02 UTC ]
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The Internet is abuzz over a forthcoming nonfiction book, a 544-page memoir (including 40 full-color photographs) slated to be published by Flatiron on July 9th. Why? Because The Internet thinks it was probably written by Taylor Swift. It all started when the owner of indie bookshop Good... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-08 16:47:07 UTC ]
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A 57-year-old “self-styled poet” (aren’t they all?) has spent $116,000 of his own money to build a bookstore in a mountaintop village. Oh, and it’s shaped like the number 7 and contains 7,000 books. No, this is not a parable. As Jiang Libo told the South China Morning Post: Before my bookshop... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-08 15:04:22 UTC ]
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When we were but children in a distant former colony, we had a set of cardboard coronation crowns upholstered poorly in imitation velvet so we could play kings and queens. The Queen was on our money, and her portrait hung in our primary school. Now we are on the eve of the next coronation, and […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-05 13:32:01 UTC ]
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Professional seaweed harvester and marine biologist Amanda Swinimer has published a children’s book highlighting how important seaweed is for nutrition and for protecting the planet against climate change. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2023-05-05 04:24:48 UTC ]
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The owner and operator of the Mysterious Bookshop in Lower Manhattan, the oldest bookstore in the U.S. specializing in mysteries and thrillers, said his duties running Mysterious Press don’t leave him with enough time to interact with customers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors like Louisa May Alcott and A.A. Milne learned their success in children's literature didn't translate to respect for their art. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-27 10:33:00 UTC ]
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From Chicka Chicka Boom Boom to Bunnicula, these earrings for children's book lovers are a delight. - Kelly Jensen Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-24 10:32:00 UTC ]
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The garlanded short story author will release her next collection solely in bookshops and select independent online outlets to coincide with Bookshop DayPrize-winning author Lydia Davis’ new collection of short stories will not be sold on Amazon, with the author saying she does not “believe... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-19 10:05:07 UTC ]
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The actor, director, and author-illustrator will give the closing keynote presentation at the U.S. Book Show children’s book program on May 24. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Kate Morton’s seventh novel, Homecoming, lands at #2 on our hardcover fiction list. Plus children’s book juggernaut Mo Willems makes his adult debut, and a pair of new books on our hardcover nonfiction list encourage readers to get physical. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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We talk with Annie Carl, founder of the Neverending Bookshop in Edmonds, Wash., a community bookstore that focuses on genre titles and children’s and YA. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Another day, another piece of horrifying anti-trans news in the book world. Even by recent standards, though, this one seems particularly fucked-up. An Alaska-based children’s book illustrator has been dropped by his publisher after making terroristic threats against transgender people. Mitchell... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-06 18:26:08 UTC ]
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The founder of England's Usborne Publishing, Peter Usborne, is said to have died 'unexpectedly but peacefully,' surrounded by family. The post In England: Children’s Book Publisher Peter Usborne Remembered appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-04-03 17:12:06 UTC ]
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Joshua Rothes of Sublunary Editions and Phil Bevis of Chatwin Books have formed Asterism Books, a wholesale distribution portal and bookshop for independent small presses. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Lockdown in Literature, by The Editors of WLT Lit Lists [email protected] Mon, 03/20/2023 - 14:39 Photo by Jens Maes / Unsplash There has been plenty of handwringing among some over whether it’s too soon to write pandemic literature, but these... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-03-20 19:39:01 UTC ]
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