“The pandemic has made people aware of the need to support their local bookshop,” said Maria Carme Ferrer, president of the Catalan booksellers’ association. “Bookshops are local cultural centres.” – The Guardian
Inspired by stories about the woes of local indie bookstores, the couple at the head of a skin-care company (this is Los Angeles, after all) decided to do what they could to aid small businesses, including indie bookstores, in the area. “The thing I’m fearful the most of after this is, when we lift our … Continue reading “An L.A. Couple Rallies To Save Indie Bookstores And Other Small Businesses”
Yes, it’s partly due to Brexit, and partly due to the pandemic, but the port at Felixstowe backed up so far that some companies won’t even try to import. “People are contacting us saying they’ve paid for books on pre-order as gifts, and we ultimately can’t guarantee delivery.” – BBC
At least that’s the hope of many U.S. booksellers – that the 44th president’s memoir will juice sales in a way that will help offset pandemic losses. “Demand among American customers is so high that Penguin Random House, Crown’s parent company, has printed 1.5 million copies in Germany to bring over on cargo ships.” – … Continue reading “An Obama May Save Bookstores, Again”
Personalized book and wine deliveries, a mix of weekly children’s online reading clubs, subscriptions services, and a heavy uptick in the use of the internet – all are helping Canadian independent bookstores survive. But another lockdown may be coming before buyers can get their holiday shopping finished, a make or break proposal for small indies. … Continue reading “As A New Potential Lockdown Looms, Canada’s Indie Bookstores Are Doing Surprisingly Well”
One bookstore near the High Line in New York: “The last day we were open, I asked customers where they were from. Turned out that they were all British flying back home. The last sale was to an Englishman, who bought Albert Camus’ The Plague. We wished each other luck.” – The New York Times
“Why, they wonder, are their fellow employees still out of jobs while the owner gets a government payroll loan and has the money to invest elsewhere?” (Owner Nancy Bass Wyden spent more than $100K on stock in Amazon this year.) “Bass Wyden … says she needs to spend money to make more money while the … Continue reading “Strand Bookstore’s Owner And Remaining Staff Aren’t At Each Other’s Throats, Exactly, But …”
The UK’s second lockdown is terrifying for small bookshops in the run-up to Christmas. “Bestselling novelist Holly Bourne came up with the idea of providing stores with signed, personalised bookplates to incentivise customers to buy from their local shop rather than online.” – The Guardian (UK)
Well … there are a lot of reasons why not, but if you’re Anne Marie Kessler in Klamath Falls, Oregon, you’re doing it to give back to your community – who also helped renovate the 1906 hotel that had been vacant before she and her husband decided to move in. “We’ve had 106 people who … Continue reading “Sure, Yes, Why Not Open A New Indie Bookstore In The Fall Of 2020?”
Bookshop opened in the U.S. in January, hoping to build its site slowly while helping independent bookstores in the States. Five weeks later, cue COVID-19 shutdowns. “By June, Bookshop sold $1m worth of books in a day. The platform has now raised more than $7.5m (£5.7m) for independent bookshops across the US.” Now it’s starting … Continue reading “A Site Built To Compete With Amazon, But For Indie Bookstores, Makes Moves In Britain”
