RISE Insights: Bookshops, censorship and freedom of expression
The European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) have published their 5th RISE Industry research paper: Bookshops, censorship and Freedom of Expression. This Industry Insight reports on the impact that censorship and attempts to limit free speech through legislative action by local...
New BA Report on Cultural Value of Indies in England
The Booksellers Association has released a report on The Cultural Role and Value of England’s Independent Bookshops. It found that Indie bookshops have adapted creatively to challenges like online competition, urban decline, and the pandemic, fostering local culture through events and...
BYOB: Bookshop Books
We are looking forward to our second pre-holidays Bring Your Own Book event.
Bring a favourite book (or two) that you’ve read (or want to read) featuring bookstores (fiction, non-fiction, all welcome!). This will be a relaxed and informal chat—perfect for getting into the holiday spirit with fellow book lovers!
Conversation with Evan Friss, Author of The Bookshop
Evan Friss’s The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore is “an affectionate and engaging history of the American bookstore and its central place in American cultural life, from department stores to indies, from highbrow dealers trading in first editions to...
Bookshops are bucking the high street trend. There are lots of reasons why
Samantha Rayner, Professor of Publishing and Book Cultures at UCL and co-Director of the Bookselling Research Network, has published a piece in The Conversation on how bookshops are “bucking the high street trend”. Read the full story on the link below.
BRN Conference 2025: Bookselling as Resistance
Conference in Münster, Germany, combined with the annual meeting of the Bookselling Research Network (BRN).
Champions of Literature by @GeorgethePoet
Written and performed exclusively for #IndieBookshopWeek “Champions of Literature” by @GeorgethePoet Filmed at New Beacon Books: https://www.newbeaconbooks.com/ Independent Bookshop Week takes place 15 – 22 June 2024. Find out more about the campaign: https://booksaremybag.com / booksaremybag https://x.com/booksaremybag / booksaremybag
In Conversation with Jane Cholmeley
In 1982, in the midst of Thatcherite-Britain, Jane Cholmeley, Sue Butterworth and Jane Anger decided they needed to open a feminist bookshop in London. The result was the Silver Moon Bookshop. For seventeen years, the Silver Moon survived commercially, selling books...
Reading, Wanting and Broken Economics: with Dr Simon Frost
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...
History of Bookselling
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.
