Samir Mansour's Bookshop in Gaza City, "a beloved local institution," was destroyed last Tuesday by an Israeli air strike targeting the building where it was located, AFP (via NBC News) reported. Founded 21 years ago, the bookshop and publishing house "was one of the Gaza Strip's largest sellers of books for children, students, academics and anyone else who loved to read. He also printed books and published stories written by local authors."
"The bookstore was like my soul," said Mansour, who was born in the Gaza Strip and said he had no involvement with politics. "Books are my life." He would like to rebuild his store eventually, though he's unsure when it will happen: "We will wait until the war finishes."
For Palestinians, "the bookstore played a key role as a center of intellectual life, and its destruction represents the wider loss of culture in Gaza," AFP wrote.
Staring at the rubble, Mansour told AFP (via France 24): "Forty years of my life were obliterated in less than a second. There are 100,000 books under this rubble." A GoFundMe campaign set up for the bookseller has already raised more than $100,000 toward its goal of $250,000.
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Several Welsh publishers have joined forces to form the umbrella organization Cyhoeddi Cymru/Publishing Wales. The Bookseller reported that CCPW "was launched in recognition of the absence of a single voice for Wales' publishing sector."
The group includes the University of Wales Press, Welsh Academic Press and Firefly Press in Cardiff; Graffeg in Llanelli; Crown House in Carmarthen; Y Lolfa in Talybont; Honno in Aberystwyth; Parthian Books in Cardigan; and Atebol, which has offices in Aberystwyth, Carmarthen and Cardiff.
CCPW "intends to develop publishing from Wales and promote it to the world, establishing a clear identity for the sector," the Bookseller wrote, adding that it "will also be a platform to showcase the country's writers and illustrators, as well as its publishing across all genres."
David Bowman, publisher at Crown House, said that CCPW's "aim is to be the recognized, authoritative voice for the publishing sector in Wales, representing all Welsh publishers, both for our collective benefit and for the advancement of the sector. The organization will support members to expand our reach across the globe, and will foster an ambitious and professional environment in which the sector can thrive."
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"Change is afoot" at Canadian indie Munro's Books, Victoria, B.C., which posted on Facebook: "You may know our store was originally a Royal Bank of Canada. Built in 1909, it has undergone many transformations over the years.... Perhaps our most striking behind-the-scenes features are the old bank vault doors. They don't get much use these days, though we still name our storage spaces after them ('the hardcover vault,' 'the remainder vault').
"While we treasure the touch of drama they bring to our bookselling home away from home, they're not the most practical feature when trying to haul boxes of books in and out of tight spaces. That's why tomorrow, we'll be removing one--just one!--of the doors from our receiving room.... (And rest assured, the door is not an original feature. Our building has received multiple heritage awards, and we're devoted to maintaining its character even as we modernize.)" On Thursday, the deed was done. --Robert Gray