The Covid-19 pandemic "contributed to a stellar year for the Irish book trade in 2020," with sales of €161.5 million (about $196.6 million)--a figure surpassed only in 2008--and a €14 million (about $17 million) increase on revenue in 2019, according to Neilsen BookScan, the Irish Times reported. A total of 13.1 million books were sold last year, almost a million more than in 2019--an increase of 7.8%.
Bookshops were closed for months in 2020, with the first lockdown in April prompting the lowest-ever recorded book sales for a single week, but this "was countered by 21 weeks of double-digit percentage increases on the same weeks in 2019, suggesting that customers were buying in bulk when they had a chance," the Irish Times noted. Books published in Ireland sold 2.3 million copies, bringing in €32.1 million (about $39 million) in revenue. About a third of sales came from school textbooks and study guides.
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Alif has opened the biggest bookstore in Qatar. Gulf Times reported that the 4,000-square-meter (about 43,000 square feet) showroom is located in the heart of Doha's city center and "houses a one-of-its-kind showroom offering customers a large collection of books, a wide range of international lifestyle products, and a selection of technology and entertainment goods."
"Alif meets the needs of the avid reader, the modern-day student, and the lifestyle connoisseur all in one place," said CEO Ramzi Rizeq. "At Alif, we strongly believe that people are at their best when they are inspired the most. This is why we want to be the catalyst that motivates people to learn, innovate, create, and excel in everything they do and at the same time empower the people of Qatar to continue discovering."
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British indie bookstores Darling Reads in Horbury and Maldon Books in Maldon were named joint winners of the 2021 National Book Tokens Newcomers of the Year award, presented to new bookshops "based on how they've welcomed National Book Tokens customers... to their bookshop during their first year of trading."
Congratulating the winners, the Booksellers Association noted: "Darling Reads opened its doors in July 2020, and Maldon Books in December 2019. After an incredibly tough year, the number of people opening new bookshops has increased, which speaks volumes about their appeal and importance to the book industry and the local high street."
"We're absolutely over the moon to have won this award from National Book Tokens," said Asher Woolford and Laura Iveson of Darling Reads. "We've worked really hard over the past few months to establish ourselves in our local community and, despite everything, continue to supply our wonderful customers with books. This feels like real validation of that, and the team at National Book Tokens (and the Booksellers Association) have been so supportive and helpful while we have been finding our feet in this industry."
Maldon Books owner Olivia Rosenthall noted: "Opening a bookshop in such a difficult and uncertain year has had its challenges, but our customers and the local community have continually kept us going, and for that we will always be grateful. The support we have received has been phenomenal, and we're so thankful to everyone who has shown us such kindness from the very beginning and throughout the ups and downs of 2020.... We can't wait to see them and open our doors again."
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"The funniest part of this job is definitely reading, but, boy, what a race against time trying to read everything!" La libreria del Golem in Turin, Italy, posted on Facebook. "How many books can you read together to always be on track... sometimes your hands aren't enough and you can keep them up with your feet!" --Robert Gray