By 8 a.m. I am being filmed putting books away and trying to "look natural." When we are properly open there is a small flurry of customers. By 11 a.m. there are extremely polite but awkwardly elaborate dances going on as people try to maintain social distancing, even though no one is really in anyone else's way. Customers apologizing to each other unnecessarily in a small bookshop is probably the most English scene there has ever been. --Tamsin Rosewell, a bookseller at Kenilworth Books, Kenilworth (via the Guardian)
Independent Bookshop Week, the Books Are My Bag campaign run by the Booksellers Association, celebrates indie bookshops in the U.K. and Ireland. Thanks to Covid-19, the 2020 edition of IBW is like none before.
"We couldn't be more delighted by the enthusiasm for Independent Bookshop Week 2020 from across the book trade," said Emma Bradshaw, BA's head of campaigns. "In this immensely challenging time, we hope that book lovers across the country will enjoy the many fantastic online events and exclusive editions on offer from indie bookshops, while remembering to choose bookshops and shop local."
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| Celebrating at Bookends Keswick. | |
On Tuesday, the Guardian ran an article headlined " 'We're back in business': U.K. bookshops see sales soar." The accompanying photograph--a POS station in a London branch of Waterstones--was an unfortunate editorial choice during IBW. That said, Waterstones Swansea did tweet amends: "Doors open in an hour. Just to confirm--we are still a bookshop. A few of the details may have changed but, basically, you can buy books from us if you want to. If you can, though, please buy a book from your local independent bookshop, too--it's #IndependentBookshopWeek."
Bradshaw told the Yorkshire Post it was too early to tell if the recent upward momentum in the independent sector could be maintained when the Covid-19 quarantine was over: "I'm sure there will be casualties but so far only one shop has told us they won't reopen. And a lot of people are reassessing their lives and would love to open a bookshop of their own."
Author Damian Barr, who has been on an Instagram Literary Salon Bookshop Tour for IBW, observed: "Indie bookshops do so much for readers and writers--they're the beating heart of publishing. It's a joy to be able to celebrate a different indie every day for a week, in addition to our Indie Bookshop of the Month feature on Salon. I've been desperate for a bookshop browse during lockdown so this will give people a chance to get among the shelves again."
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| At Beckenham Bookshop, an aquatic-themed protective screen. | |
Bookshops were allowed to open in England June 15, though not all have yet. Almost nothing is as it was, except indie determination and adaptability. Cogito Books, Hexham, noted: "As we celebrate a rather different #IndependentBookshopWeek to those we're used to, we just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who's come along to buy book, offer words of support or just to say hello at our 'pop-up' counter over the last week and a half; it is, as ever, very much appreciated. Although no one's coming over the shop threshold at the moment, we're still determined to share the book love with some super tempting displays inside."
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| At the Snug Bookshop, Bridgwater. | |
For IBW at the Ironbridge Bookshop, Ironbridge, "we usually celebrate more so, but this year I'm just thankful to be open. Tell me about your favorite bookshops! I have always felt at home in a bookshop, no matter where it is, they bring and spread joy to everyone. Booksellers are among the nicest people I've ever met and I feel blessed to be a part of the book world. I wanted to share some pictures of some of my favorite bookshops that I've visited over the years."
Bookshops that haven't reopened yet are missed. When Scottish indie Category Is Books in Glasgow tweeted Wednesday about "booksellers now emerging from holiday! (still working at home and doing deliveries, give us a couple days and we will catch up on orders.)," author Dean Atta responded: "Missing walking into @CategoryIsBooks and immediately being offered a cup of tea, missing LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Yoga on Saturday mornings, missing these two lovely people and the whole community around this bookshop!"
With the future of indies still uncertain at best, Leanne Fridd, co-owner of seven-month-old Bookbugs and Dragon Tales in Norwich, shared a perspective with the BBC that best captures this year's IBW spirit: "We hadn't factored a global pandemic into the business plan, surprisingly.... We're still very far from out of the woods but the bigger fear was that we wouldn't be able to survive--and still is. But we try and be really optimistic and positive and do everything we can. If we don't survive, it won't be because we haven't poured our heart and soul into everything, trying so many different ways to help people feel engaged with us."
Exhale... and maybe tune in to the Bookshop Band later today for a special Indie Bookshop Week live concert edition of the Lockdown Book Show. Yesterday, the band tweeted a picture of their second album, And Other Dystopias (2012), which has taken on new relevance: "Digging up old linocuts--this one seems quite appropriate. Mr. B's @mrbsemporium have revamped the shop and we're all wearing facemasks."