International Update: U.K. #Booksellerschat, Norway's Hazmat Booksellers

"Booklovers will return from this crisis hungry for human connection, desperate for conversation, stimulation, inspiration. Booksellers will be there, arms open," Meryl Halls, managing director of the Booksellers Association of the U.K. and Ireland, said during the Bookseller's inaugural weekly live Twitter conversation, #Booksellerschat, on Tuesday.

Meryl Halls

In an interview with the Bookseller's editor Philip Jones, Halls called out the "supply chain gaps" and the "need for indies to be [better] online," while acknowledging the "big risks" involved in making key decisions. She advised bookshops "to max out all the grants they can access. Check with local authorities for what's coming. Harangue landlords for rent relief. Take all the help you can get. Furlough your staff, take government support. And protect your staff/selves." She also urged the government to "realize that the job retention scheme will need work; freelancers and self-employed are vulnerable. Rent relief will need urgent attention."

She added: "I am unutterably proud of booksellers at the moment--they are weathering a historic battering and we will do all we can to keep the sector intact... book lovers will return from this crisis hungry for human connection, desperate for conversation, stimulation, inspiration. Booksellers will be there, arms open."

Halls also noted that the BA had initially called for bookshops to be an essential service, but decided not to push it: "We asked for this right at the start--they did it in Belgium--but soon realized that many booksellers were uncomfortable being open, felt a duty of care to staff etc.--so we didn't push. But I think it could be a key plank for the aftermath--bookshops are essential."

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The Edinburgh International Book Festival, scheduled for August 15-31, has been canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Festival director Nick Barley wrote: "This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but it has been reached in unison with Edinburgh's other August festivals. Whether it's our authors, audiences, supporters, staff and suppliers, or citizens and visitors to our wonderful city, the health of the people we exist for is of paramount importance.

"I am aware that the Book Festival is an important supporter of literary activity not only in Scotland but in all four corners of the earth. My heart goes out to everyone who will miss out this year.... We will be working hard in the coming months to ensure the Book Festival Charity survives this unprecedented time and is able to continue to provide a place where writers and readers can converse and connect."

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In Canada, McNally Robinson Booksellers, which has locations in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, announced that due to new legislation, as of April 1 the company will no longer be able to offer shopping by appointment inside the bookstore. This will continue at least until April 14. McNally Robinson is still fulfilling phone and online orders, and will "deliver within Winnipeg, ship anywhere across the globe with Canada Post, and offer curbside pickup at Grant Park."

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Sign on the door at Cappelens Forslag in Oslo.

Norway's hazmat booksellers: bookshop owners Pil Cappelen Smith and Anders Cappelen of Cappelens Forslag in Oslo had opted "to go delivery-only to keep their business afloat at the start of lockdown," the Guardian reported. On their final delivery run before shutting up shop, they chose to "deliver books wearing full hazmat suits and gas masks in order to raise local awareness of the seriousness of the situation."

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While a small number of Dymocks stores in Australia have closed during the Covid-19 outbreak, most still remain open. Books+Publishing reported that Dymocks stores in Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Geelong and Carindale had closed, but the company "confirmed the decision to continue to trade is up to the individual franchise owners."

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Bookstores are among the retailers that "will gradually reopen in Huanggang, a neighboring city of Wuhan, once the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak," Xinhua reported, citing a notice issued by the city's prevention and control headquarters on Tuesday. Huanggang, the second-most populous city in central China's Hubei Province with 7.5 million people, discharged its last two Covid-19 patients on March 18 as confirmed cases were reduced to zero. It had reported the second-highest number of confirmed cases at one point of the outbreak, behind the provincial capital Wuhan.

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