Fiction Photo by Peter Boccia / Unsplash After renting a room in an Indian family’s house in England, the Croatian tenant becomes privy to one member’s dreams of return. “This is it!” Parvati, a young Indian woman, shows me a tiny room with scarcely space for a bed, a chest-of-drawers, and a chair. The place is so small we can barely both fit in it. The walls are covered in scruffy wallpaper, moisture has accumulated near the windows, and the curtains smell of dust. So, the room is minute, the house is neglected, the street is nondescript, and it is a long way from the city center. They told me it is known as Little Asia. It’s not ideal, but I don’t have a lot of money. I moved to England two weeks ago and urgently need a place to lay my head. Parvati is charging a reasonable rent, and I don’t need much. Also, I like her family. Her husband, Arjun, and two sons with big brown eyes greeted me excitedly when I entered the house. “I’ll take it!” I nod. Parvati claps her hands joyfully and then steps to the window and opens the curtains. “And here is the garden,” she says timidly. I peep out of the window. Before my eyes emerges a typical English backyard, only this one is entirely overgrown and unkempt. You can barely see to the fence, it is so overrun with ivy. The roof of the garden-shed has collapsed, the walls are higgledy-piggledy, and it looks as if the whole lot is about to collapse. Potted plants, rain-soaked toys,... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2021-06-07 20:25:08 UTC ]
One of the world's most famous bookstores was forced to close because of the coronavirus outbreak and asked for help to pay the bills Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2020-04-12 16:59:42 UTC ]
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The best-selling author and co-owner of Books Are Magic discusses how her store is weathering the crisis while supporting writers, staff, and other bookstores. For years, independent bookstores fought to stay in business in the face of big box stores and Amazon’s unstoppable growth. Now, they... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-04-10 10:30:03 UTC ]
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Flyleaf Books’ owner reflects on running an "essential" business during a crisis. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The plight of independent bookstores during the coronavirus pandemic has brought an outpouring of public support—but, along with it, an often-overwhelming deluge of messaging about whom to support and how. A new app, Save Your Bookstore, is trying to pull more of it together in one place. Save... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-09 16:59:54 UTC ]
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James Patterson has a long history of helping independent bookstores. In in 2014, he donated $1 million to indie bookstores, and staring in 2015, his Holiday Bonus program has given payments between $500 and $5,000 to bookstore employees each year. Now, as bookstores struggle to keep afloat... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-03 14:23:07 UTC ]
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Save Your Bookstore points you to the best way to get cash to shuttered booksellers near you. As COVID-19 has forced small bookstores to close, many are wondering how they’ll survive—though a surge in support from communities placing online orders is helping. A new app is designed to let you... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-04-01 14:00:29 UTC ]
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Starting this week, Washington D.C.’s Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe is using Postmates, an app largely used for food delivery, to get books in the hands of readers in the D.C. area. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Sixteen-year-old Porter Square Books is the first New England bookstore in more than a decade to receive this honor and the second bookstore in Cambridge, Mass. Texan Bob Barnett, a sales representative for 25 years, was named Rep of the Year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookshop.org has reached a new milestone in generating revenue for independent bookstores. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-03-31 20:01:01 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster has launched a company-wide effort to support the newly established independent bookseller–focused online bookstore Bookshop.org and its affiliate network of independent booksellers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Indigo Books and Music, Canada's dominant bookstore chain, closed all of its 199 retail locations on March 18. On Friday, March 27, the company laid off 5,200 of 7,000 total employees. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Indie booksellers in New England and in California will be getting additional assistance from their regional bookstore associations, including management counselling, tech support, and promotional opportunities. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Portland's beloved indie bookstore Powell's Books rehired more than 100 employees after seeing a surge in online orders. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-03-29 18:12:16 UTC ]
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Regional independent booksellers associations are working to support their members with information, digital resources, virtual events, promotions, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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On this episode of Sheltering, Maris Kreizman talks to Kate Elizabeth Russell about her recent novel, My Dark Vanessa. Kate shares the things that are helping to get through this time of isolation: Fiona Apple, the game Animal Crossing, and eating “like she’s at a sleepover.” Kate’s local... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-25 19:00:22 UTC ]
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We’ve already brought your attention to the ways you can help bookstores (and bookstore workers) during the coronavirus pandemic, and here’s another one: a collective of recently laid-off booksellers has started an online storefront at Bookshop.org (in case you missed it, Bookshop is the new... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-25 15:14:23 UTC ]
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More than a dozen out-of-work booksellers in New York City have launched The Bookstore at the End of the World on Bookshop.org, to "make money doing what they do best." Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Chicago authors are spotlighting the unique plight of two local indies that both closed to walk-in traffic on March 16: one bookstore that was only officially open for one day, and another that had changed ownership two weeks earlier. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Welcome to episode one of The Antibody Reading Series, a weekly reading and Q and A hosted by Brian Gresko. Tonight’s guests are Kendra Allen, Maisy Card, and Hilary Leichter. You can buy their books from The Antibody‘s local indie, Greenlight Bookstore or from Bookshop.org: Kendra Allen, When... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-24 23:55:25 UTC ]
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THESE TIMES: Francesca Marciano on the new silences filling the streets of Rome · Want to help a bookstore? Buy a gift card · And don’t forget bookstore workers! | Lit Hub Coronavirus Coverage “We look for evidence of race not because it mattered to them but because it matters now.” Katy Simpson... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-24 10:30:38 UTC ]
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