Will browsing be allowed, or will we have to judge a book by its cover? With Waterstones and some indie shops set to open on 15 June, Alison Flood finds out what the plan isMelissa Davies had planned to fulfil a lifelong dream and open her independent bookshop, Pigeon Books, in Southsea, at the beginning of April. Those plans were put on hold by the coronavirus pandemic, but with a relaxation of lockdown rules from next week, bookshops will be able to open to customers – for the first time in over two months. Davies and her husband are now preparing for a very different sort of opening. “We had to quickly rethink our entire business plan and how we could operate, and now we’re gearing up to open our doors for the first time under really different circumstances,” she says. The tiny Pigeon Books will ask its browsing customers to use hand sanitiser, or wear gloves, before and after touching books, and will restrict the number of customers in the shop to two at a time.“We’re excited about opening but also worried about how we’re going to make it work and how we can keep ourselves and our customers safe,” Davies says. She continues to work full time in customer service, and to write (her first poetry collection, Pineapples in the Pool, was published by Unbound in 2018). “We’ll be opening with reduced hours for a few weeks to see how things go. We’re so nervous about it though. Who opens a bookshop in a pandemic?” Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2020-06-12 06:00:14 UTC ]
The impact of the coronavirus has seen the Booksellers Association issue a rallying cry to the trade, as many publishers enforce home working to safeguard staff. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-19 23:39:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Bookshop.org, an alternative to Amazon that shares proceeds from book sales with independent bookstores, will give more money to those stores in response to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on small businesses. Bookshop announced today that it would increase bookstore partners’ affiliate... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-18 15:09:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The winners of the regional and country round of the Independent Bookshop of the Year Award have been announced, with nine shops in contention for an overall prize of £5,000. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-17 14:37:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this
THESE TIMES: How to support your local bookstores during the coronavirus pandemic · What China’s literary community is reading during the pandemic · The first lines of 10 classic novels rewritten for social distancing · Can’t decide what to read? Tell us your favorites and we’ll recommend a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-17 10:30:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this
I had a fight with my mother the other day. In the past we had argued on many things but never politics, because we’d seldom talked about it. The video call, which started with her asking me about the outbreak in the US, ended up opening my eyes to the chasm between me and the […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-17 08:49:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Though most bookstores are closing their doors to the public, you can still buy books from them! And because you believe in our shared responsibility to preserve the wellbeing of those most vulnerable among us, you’re staying home and reading books, right? This past weekend saw many book people... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-16 19:01:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The growing impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the publishing industry came into view this week as some independent bookstores reported slowing sales and the number of book festival and author tour cancellations rose. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Authors including Cressida Cowell, Damian Barr and Sophie Hannah will take part in Independent Bookshop Week (IBW). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-05 23:53:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Indie bookshops are cashing in on a pre-order boom for Hilary Mantel’s new book and are hosting everything from midnight openings to silent discos this week. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-01 15:13:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Ruth Jones will be embarking on a UK tour to celebrate the publication of her new novel Us Three in a collaboration between Fane and Transworld. The tour, combining a Fane-produced theatre tour with bookshop events organised by Transworld, will comprise seven dates across the UK. It begins at... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-28 11:07:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Button & Bear children’s bookshop in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, has been forced to close today (Wednesday 25th February) owing to rising floodwaters. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-25 14:31:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The British Book Awards, or Nibbies, have revealed the regional shortlists for the 2020 Independent Bookshop of the Year with a record 49 bookshops from nine regions across the UK and Ireland vying to be named the country’s best indie retailer for books. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-18 22:49:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Bookshop Santa Cruz in California and Changing Hands Bookstore in Arizona, have partnered in a drive to register Arizona voters and persuade them to vote Democrat in this year's presidential election. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Could a bespoke book subscription service break you out of your reading rut or encourage you to explore new genres?Heywood Hill bookshop has stood on the same spot since 1936. It inhabits a Georgian townhouse at 10 Curzon Street in Mayfair, London, a blue plaque outside commemorating its most... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-02-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A pair of Prosecco-drinking burglars have been sentenced after police caught the two men knocking back alcohol during a break-in at Gay's the Word bookshop. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-13 04:34:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Just a month into 2020 and my wishlist is already straining under the weight of all the new titles I’m looking forward to being published. Maybe it’s working in a bookshop or the concentrated effort I’ve been making to retreat into a fantasy-bubble when I’m at home, but I’ve found myself excited... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-03 09:50:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The copy of Françoise Frenkel’s No Place to Lay One’s Head that was recently found, I’m told, in Nice, in an Emmaus Companions charity jumble sale, had a curious effect on me. Perhaps because it had been printed in Switzerland in September 1945 for Geneva-based publishers Jeheber. That... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-27 09:49:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Sometimes you just have to read between the lines—the felines, that is! There’s something about books and cats that just go together. You’ve probably met your fair share of bookshop cats, but have you ever stumbled into a store looking for A Tale of Two Cities and left with two kitties? Otis and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-16 18:38:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this
An indie bookshop which was the official bookseller of the Barnes Children’s Literature Festival has been replaced by organisers in favour of Waterstones. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-14 03:02:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Roger Robinson has won the £25,000 T S Eliot Prize for his "searing" poetry collection A Portable Paradise (Peepal Tree Press). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-13 13:53:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this