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.
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...
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.
Bookselling in India: The ‘Proper’ and the ‘Parallel’
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...
The Art of Libromancy: On Selling Books and Reading Books in the Twenty-first Century
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.
Reviving the High Street report
Earlier this week, RISE Bookselling unveiled the campaign on 'Reviving the high street: Booksellers Call to Action', in response to the increasing challenges that booksellers and retailers working across European town centres and high streets are facing.
First Annual Bookselling Research Network Meeting – 21st January 2022
In January, we were delighted to host the first annual meeting of the Bookselling Research Network (BRN), bringing together those from industry, associations and academia that share a common interest in the history, practice, and culture of bookselling. Despite the challenges...
Interview with Anne Brichto of Addyman Books
Anne Brichto and Derek Addyman opened Addyman Books in 1986, Murder and Mayhem in 1997, and in 2003 the Addyman Annex. All three stores are within walking distance of each other in the book town of Hay-on-Wye. The stores specialize in collectable...
Indies in Scotland
I set out to explore the role of Indies in Scotland, focusing particularly on bookshops that are geographically remote. I was interested in business practices, especially the innovative and the entrepreneurial, as well as the challenges indie bookshops regularly have to face. I also explored the role these bookshops have in their local communities – the kind of extra, add-on qualities that are so difficult to represent on a spreadsheet.
