The BRN's first themed event featured presentations from Dr. Will Smith and Professor Simon Eliot. Dr. Smith discussed the multi-generational history of Sam Read Booksellers, emphasizing oral histories and archival research. Professor Eliot highlighted the value of "unwitting testimony" in archives, using examples like public library catalogues and publisher correspondence to reveal hidden insights.
The second themed Bookselling Research Network event featured a round table discussing bookstores' financial and social dimensions. Three presentations explored the complexity of book retail (Dr. Simon Frost), bookstores as cultural and entrepreneurial nodes (Prof. Corinna Norrick-Rühl), and factors like community and curation explaining the resurgence of independent bookstores (Dr. Ryan Raffaelli).
An Interview with Dr Simon Frost Dr Simon Frost, Principal Academic in English at Bournemouth University and author of Reading, Wanting, and Broken Economics: A Twenty-First-Century Study of Readers and Bookshops in Southampton around 1900 (SUNY Press, 2021) part of SUNY, speaks with Dr Eben Muse (the Stephen Colclough Centre for the History and Culture of the Book) about […]
Join Dr Kathy Liddle and Dr Sarah Pyke as they present their work on feminist and queer bookstores as places of contested cultural interactions. Kathy Liddle My presentation today will focus on two strands of my research on North American feminist bookstores. First, I will briefly discuss my published research on the role of feminist bookstores as what I […]
The talk delves into sidewalk bookselling in New York City as a space for negotiating cultural, social, and legal belonging. Despite municipal regulations, booksellers create inclusive spaces on these contested sidewalks. Kristen Highland, an Assistant Professor, discusses her research on book history and will be interviewed post-talk, followed by a Q&A session.
This talk explores the significance of books in Chinese society and their role in achieving common prosperity. It provides new insights into the relationship between government policies and the growth of physical bookstores in China. Simon Mahony discusses how official publications and government plans highlight the importance of literacy and culture.
Join Josh Cook, a bookseller and co-owner of Porter Square Books, as he discusses his new book "The Art of Libromancy: On Selling Books and Reading Books in the Twenty-first Century." Cook, an author known for "An Exaggerated Murder," shares his literary journey and insights from his extensive experience in the book industry.
Join Praveen Madan, Peggy Holman, and Amanda Hall in discussing the Re-Imagining Bookstores movement, which advocates for bookstore support in the U.S. They envision new business models, community engagement, and sustainable practices to strengthen and reinvigorate bookstores, promoting literacy and civic engagement. Madan, Hall, and Holman bring extensive experience and innovative ideas to the cause.
The presenters retain copyright for all images in the presentation except those listed below. Images may be re-used with permission of the copyright holders, either Pritha Mukherjee or Kanupriya Dhingra. Slide 2: Photograph of the book launch of India Book Market Report, 2022. Image of Nielsen Bookscan India Book Market Report 2022 from “New report […]
Mark Pearson is the CEO and co-founder of Libro.fm, the digital audiobook platform for more than 2,600 independent bookshops around the world. Before that he was the publisher at Pear Press. You can learn more about Libro.fm at https://libro.fm/story and through our annual social purpose reports.
Matthew Chambers, Author of London and the Modernist Bookshop (CUP 2020), will be discussing his work on the role of literary communities and networks in the growth of the bookshop. The event will be recorded. A “bookseller” could once describe a retailer, publisher, printer, or even binder, and while these roles were more definitively disambiguated […]
The Bookseller Oral History Project, initiated by Lanora Jennings in 2023, aims to preserve the voices and experiences of booksellers, highlighting their roles in supporting societal movements and balancing commercial and social profits. The project underscores the historical significance of bookstores as community hubs and platforms for resistance and progressive discourse.
