A rather biting article appeared in The Guardian in which brick-and-mortar bookstore chain Waterstones' founder Tim Waterstone said he doesn't feel guilty about the role that the megachain played in killing indie bookshops in the UK. At the time comparable to Borders or Barnes and Noble, Waterstones had the same deadly effect: sweep in, undercut the little guy, then close the … [Read more...] about Founder of Waterstones Not Sorry About Loss of Indie Bookstores
indie bookshop
Who’s Surviving in the Publishing Evolution? Indie Bookstores
With all the talk of digital revolutions and self-publishing turning mainstream, there's been a quiet player in the game who's seen an evolution of its own, but appears to be going strong. It's a strange paradox that everyone bemoaned the death of mom-and-pop bookstores under the competition from Barnes and Noble, Borders, Books-A-Million, and even Walmart, and yet that same … [Read more...] about Who’s Surviving in the Publishing Evolution? Indie Bookstores
James Patterson Makes New Donation to Bookshops
Bestselling author James Patterson has run a number of programs that supply grant-type funding for bookstores, committing significant funds to helping independent retailers keep their doors open. Those grants have served for projects like building in video conferencing capabilities to have virtual author signings in the store, to renovations, to even just paying shop employees … [Read more...] about James Patterson Makes New Donation to Bookshops
Publisher Terms: Amazon Behaving Badly, or Business As Usual?
News came out last week that Amazon is butting heads with one of the Big Five publishers, Hachette Book Group, over contract terms. In true "I'm bigger than you, so I can" fashion, Amazon has imposed lengthy delays on the shipment of some of Hachette's titles, almost amounting to refusing to sell them at all. In an even more nefarious approach, Amazon is even suggesting … [Read more...] about Publisher Terms: Amazon Behaving Badly, or Business As Usual?