British communities secretary Robert Jenrick announced that the government will allow store opening hours to become "a matter of choice for the shopkeepers and at the discretion of the council," enabling stores to open for up to 24 hours a day in the run-up to Christmas and in January, the Bookseller reported, adding that for booksellers, "there are conflicting signals about how many will be taking advantage."
Phil Henderson, Blackwell's sales and marketing director, said: "We've seen customer shopping habits change this year, and they will continue to evolve, so we welcome the flexibility offered to allow us to manage what we hope will be significant volume of customers through our shops."
A spokesperson for Waterstones said its focus was on the safe reopening of its Irish and English stores this week: "Opening hours will vary depending on the shop's local market but we currently have no plans for any of our bookshops to open for 24 hours."
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| Packing orders at Sevenoaks Bookshop | |
Smaller shops in England and Wales can open on any day or time they prefer, but several indies told the Bookseller they were not sure there would be customer demand for late-night shopping.
"The thing is we are quite stretched as it is in terms of staffing," said Fleur Sinclair, owner of Sevenoaks Bookshop. "Although I can see the advantages, perhaps for those in city centers, we have been working our socks off all through lockdown to keep everything going.... We need to look after our mental and physical health. We'll be keeping to normal opening hours so we all can survive until Christmas--it's been a long year!"
Sheryl Shurville, owner of Chorleywood Bookshop, called it "a hollow gesture" and "so impractical" on the part of government. "Who is going to be shopping in the middle of the night? And who is going to want to staff the shops in the middle of the night?"
Noting that the government's easing of regulations would not make "a blind bit of difference" for his store, Nic Bottomley of Mr. B's Emporium in Bath said: "We are reopening the shop floor on Wednesday. We are busier than ever online. It will just be a question of managing [the flow of customers]; we simply won't be able to accommodate the amount of people we usually would fit in. There's going to be a lot of queue management."
Booksellers Association managing director Meryl Halls observed: "It makes sense to spread customers out as widely as possible, to keep retail a safe and responsible space, and extended opening hours will allow consumers to spread their shopping times. We are concerned for the well-being of our members though, as booksellers are exhausted from the pressures of the Covid crisis, and we are urging booksellers to take care of their own health and well-being as they enter the Christmas frenzy, and not burn out from overwork."
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Bookshops in France are emerging from their second nationwide coronavirus lockdown, which was imposed last month. "Deemed non-essential then--to the dismay of many--bookshops and other small stores have now reopened for business," France24 reported. "Desperate for a boost after a trying month and a difficult year, French booksellers are raising their iron curtains at just the right time, with the Christmas shopping season afoot and the Prix Goncourt awarded on Monday."
"I'm very happy," said a customer at Librairie La Belle Lurette in central Paris. "I wasn't bothered about the clothes shops reopening, but anything book-related: Yes!"
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Guadalajara, Mexico, was named World Book Capital for the year 2022 by UNESCO director-general Audrey Azoulay. A UNESCO Creative City since 2017, Guadalajara was selected for its comprehensive plan for policies around the book to trigger social change, combat violence and build a culture of peace. The year of celebrations will begin on World Book and Copyright Day April 23, 2022.
Guadalajara's proposed program focuses on three strategic axes: regaining public spaces through reading activities in parks and other accessible places; social bonding and cohesion especially though reading and writing workshops for children; and strengthening of neighborhood identity using intergenerational connections, storytelling and street poetry. Activities will include literary events in collaboration with Latin-American writers, an artistic project on the Tower of Babel, events linking theatre and music to literature and the use of local radio for poetry readings. --Robert Gray