Fifty bookshops across the U.K. are opening early September 7 to mark the publication of Sally Rooney's new novel Beautiful World, Where Are You. The Bookseller reported that as part of Faber's campaign, 30 branches of Waterstones shops and 20 independent booksellers "will open their doors to give customers the first chance to buy a copy and to receive an exclusive goodie bag and merchandise."
Among the participating indies are Portobello Books, Linghams, Kibworth Books, Griffin Books, Max Minerva's, Topping & Co, Nomad Books, Village Books, Chorleywood Bookshop, Lutyens & Rubinstein, BookBar, Sevenoaks Bookshop, Bookseller Crow, Hastings Bookshop, City Books, Maldon Books, Dial Lane Books, Red Lion Books, Phlox Books and the Bookery.
Rooney's novel has two cover designs, created especially for indie bookshops, Waterstones and Easons. The exclusive edition for indie bookshops features a yellow color scheme, while the Waterstones edition is in blue and a trade paperback exclusive to Easons will feature yellow-sprayed edges, the Bookseller noted.
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Congratulations to Canadian bookseller Paragraphe Bookstore in Montreal, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. "No small feat for any bookshop, let alone an anglo one in Quebec," the Gazette reported. "And don't let the 'e' on the end of its name confuse you about the linguistic contents therein. Paragraphe has weathered its share of storms over the years, most recently the pandemic and subsequent physical loss of its customer base from downtown universities and office buildings. But even with the store closed for a few months, customers remained loyal and made purchases online for curbside pickup."
The bookshop was launched September 3, 1981, by Richard King and Jonathan Penney, who "took over the Mansfield Book Mart and re-dubbed it Paragraphe Bookstore. It's now part of the predominately French Renaud-Bray bookstore chain," the Gazette wrote.
"The key to our longevity is we adapted," says Peter Mandelos, the shop's director for the last 33 years. "At the beginning, we were a general bookstore, and then we went into the library market in 1987, supplying books to English libraries in Quebec. We're probably the No. 1 English book supplier to those libraries. And in 1988, we started supplying books to courses at McGill as well as John Abbott.... We just learned how to find our way through our book selections and customer service. "
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Viti Books, in the Daxing district of southern Beijing, China, "aims to become a starting point for the rebirth of a new sort of social interaction. 3andwich Design is behind the interior design of the bookshop, having designated specific areas for adults and children, for leisure and concentration, where everyone can feel at home," Floornature reported. --Robert Gray