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 ]
A Big Green Bookshop crowdfunder to get copy of climate activist Greta Thunberg's book into schools across the UK has raised more than £11,000 in a month, with Penguin Random House matching copies raised and creating an accompanying classroom pack. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-27 01:46:04 UTC ]
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Wood Green's co-operative bookshop, The All Good Bookshop, has secured temporary premises and plans to open this week. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-18 22:20:02 UTC ]
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Malorie Blackman laments the lack of BAME children’s characters. I know – it’s a real battle to get writers of colour publishedMy daughter, like me, is of mixed heritage. She has wildly curly hair, as have I. When she was born four years ago I was given five copies of the same kids’ picture book... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2019-08-17 07:00:41 UTC ]
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Tributes have been paid to Gay’s The Word bookshop co-founder Jonathan Cutbill, who has passed away aged 82 after a period of ill health. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-15 17:00:19 UTC ]
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Hatchards’ new bookshop at London’s St Pancras Station will be officially opened tomorrow by children's author and illustrator Benji Davies. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-07 09:17:40 UTC ]
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A reader recalls a favorite independent bookstore in Southampton in the UK. Hear all about radical bookshop October Books. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-08-06 10:39:02 UTC ]
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W H Smith has opened a flagship branch of The Bookshop, the largest yet of its 12 standalone stores, at Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-05 09:37:10 UTC ]
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This giveaway is sponsored by William Morrow. From the New York Times best-selling author of The Bookshop on the Corner comes this witty ... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-08-02 10:31:10 UTC ]
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John Francisconi, the general manager of Bank Square Books in Mystic, Conn., is finishing up a three-week residency at Otherwise Bookshop in Rome and reflects on the experience for PW. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Edinburgh's latest indie The Portobello Bookshop has opened its doors to the public, with customers queuing to get in on its first day of trading. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-29 21:32:06 UTC ]
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James Patterson visits a recreation of Susie's Restaurant and Joseph Coelho receives an Independent Bookshop Week Award in this week's pictures round-up. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-26 10:48:30 UTC ]
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Cultural Cross Sections Dipika Mukherjee A writer travels from Chicago to a residency in rural Malaysia, where part of her novel-in-progress is set. While encountering the many living creatures who surround her and making progress on her work, she... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2019-07-23 13:14:38 UTC ]
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Indie press Open Pen and Newham Bookshop are joining forces to host a fundraiser for the homeless in East London. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-22 07:47:05 UTC ]
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We talk to Galway institution Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop, which will celebrating its 30th birthday in October, and Nibbies Children’s Bookseller of the Year shortlistee, The Blessington Book Store. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-18 23:52:32 UTC ]
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Foyles bookshop has joined forces with indie publisher Jacaranda for its Twenty in 2020 initiative, celebrating black British writers. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-17 20:34:16 UTC ]
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Gardners Books has joined forces with ecommerce firm Monwell Ltd in a new partnership that will see the wholesalers take over the Guardian Bookshop account from Bertrams. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-16 23:50:20 UTC ]
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Spoken word artist Steven Camden has won this year’s £1,000 CLiPPA (Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award) with his poetry collection Everything All At Once (Macmillan Children’s Books). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-03 13:47:22 UTC ]
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The owner of New York's Book Culture bookshops says the business's four stores are in danger of closing unless they receive help from the city. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-25 02:20:48 UTC ]
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Independent bookshop Travelling Through has shut down following five years of trade, as Booksellers Association m.d. Meryl Halls says the closure has highlighted how "fragile our high streets are". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-25 00:29:42 UTC ]
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A number of literary prizes were awarded this week, while independent bookshops across the country celebrated Independent Bookshop Week. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-06-21 09:00:49 UTC ]
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