James Daunt, managing director of Waterstones, said the coronavirus crisis has led to "unprecedented demand" and called for all bookshops to be kept open over the coming months to meet a social need, the Bookseller reported. According to Daunt, overall sales, including online, were up 17% on March 18 alone at the bookstore chain, which has thus far closed only four campus bookshops temporarily.
"In the behavior that we're experiencing at the moment, demonstrably books are a necessity and, frankly, a social support for people that are going to be spending a lot of time in their homes," he said, adding that it was vital all bookshops remain open because they provide a social good for adults staying at home and children whose schools have been closed.
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Hachette UK CEO David Shelley said the company "has seen an increase in book orders from China once again after 'several months of very low orders' as a result of the coronavirus outbreak," the Bookseller reported, adding that in a letter to authors, illustrators and translators, Shelley acknowledged these are "very uncertain and unsettling times," but reassured them that there are positive signs "so it feels hopeful that they are out of the worst of the virus, and that at some point we will be too."
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| Paolo Ambrosini | |
"Plenty of time to read and no bookstores open--such is the situation in Italy under coronavirus lockdown that is making independent booksellers see red," AFP (via France 24) reported. Paolo Ambrosini, a bookseller in Verona and president of the Italian Booksellers Association, said, "Online bookshops are open with their delivery men on the move and employees doing the packing. If books are deemed unnecessary, then let them be blocked everywhere."
Publisher Mondadori said the closure of its 600 or so bookshops had been "partly offset" by the strong growth of online sales, which had risen by more than 50%, AFP noted, adding that in Belluno, to the north of Venice, "a mayor on Monday allowed the five booksellers in the municipality of 27,000 people to deliver to people's homes."
Alessandro Tarantola, who now locks himself in his bookshop to take calls and deliver books immediately, wearing a mask and gloves, said, "Reading is a fundamental thing, it opens the heart, the mind, allows us to lose ourselves in a world other than the one in which we live now."
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This year's Hay Festival in Wales has been canceled due the coronavirus outbreak, "with organizers saying it is now in 'immediate financial jeopardy' and has 10 days to raise emergency funds," the Bookseller wrote. A £150,000 [about $193,535] GoFundMe page has been set up to help support the event's immediate future.
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A list of "schedule changes and event cancellations at independent bookstores across Canada" was featured by Quill & Quire, which noted that as the country's chief public health officer "urges Canadians to stay home amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, indie bookstores are altering their hours, offering discounted or free delivery and, in some cases, closing entirely."
"Right now we are doing our best to keep as safe as possible and to keep the stores open so all the staff get paid," Ian Donker, general manager of the four-store Book City chain in Toronto, told the Star. "I've been doing the 16 and 1/2-hour day circuit for the last week and a half or so, and I'm beat."
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In France, Hachette Livre and Editis announced measures to help independent booksellers through the coronavirus crisis following the closure of all shops in France, except for those considered essential, and the total national lockdown, the Bookseller reported. Hachette is halting the launch of all new titles in France and other Francophone markets "to allow bookshops to anticipate fully the return (to normality) when it comes," and will postpone by 60 days booksellers' payment deadlines for March, April and May. The company is also preparing "a financial plan to help indies rebuild their stocks after the crisis is over. The measures would take account of the length of the crisis," the Bookseller noted.
Editis also said it would immediately credit book returns already registered and would postpone its January, February and March invoices until June. It will also suspend the launch of new titles to all retail customers between March 26 and the end of April. Gallimard will postpone its publishing program for the same period, while Media Participations said it would delay bookshops' payment deadlines.
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Australian Booksellers Association CEO Robbie Egan reported to members that he has been speaking with and corresponding with publishers about the issues bookshops are facing and the possible assistance that could be provided, adding: "We are putting together a social media campaign promoting local bookshops along the lines of our very successful Love Your Bookshop Day initiative which we will start rolling out shortly. Publishers and authors are all pushing this also so there is a lot of noise about what bookshops are doing. We will look to push out in about a week for an extended period. Australia Reads--the rebranded Australian Reading Hour--promotes the benefits reading more broadly. It happens in September, but #AustraliaReadsAtHome is promoting the benefits of reading at home during the COVID-19 crisis."