Chapters Bookstore in Dublin, Ireland, which closed January 31 after 40 years in business, has announced it is reopening March 11 under new ownership. Founder Willie Kinsella sold the store to Kevin Neary and Michael Finucane, the co-founders and former directors of GameStop Ireland. They opened their first Gameworld shop in a small space at the back of the old Chapters store in Middle Abbey Street in 1994.
Chapters noted that after the impending closure was revealed, "we were shocked and amazed at the outpouring of emotion and affection that was directed our way, the queues down the street, media coverage, lovely posts, and comments online, not to mention the fantastic interaction in the store made a sad moment bittersweet. It also made everyone connected to Chapters conscious of what a unique and singular space the store is... this colourful individuality is too good to let go of."
Although experienced in retail and retail environments, Neary and Finucane "believe the secret to Chapters' continued success will be to let it do what it does fantastically well--stocking, selling and trading the widest range of new and second-hand books it is possible to fit onto the 1.2 km [about 3,935 ft.] of shelving in the store!"
Investment will be made in improving the EPOS and stock visibility systems, as well as converting the website to e-commerce.
"That 300 square feet grew into GameStop Ireland," Finucane told the Irish Times. "It was a great journey but it had its roots in Chapters.... Like everybody else, we were very sorry to see it close. So we reached out to Willie to see if anything could be done. We're hoping to keep all the good things that people loved about Chapters. Chapters has done so many things right over the years, and that's why it's held with such great affection."
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Sweden's first Literature Summit was held recently in Gothenburg. "With the aim of discussing the future of literature on national, regional and local level, the summit joined forces from politics, civil society and the book trade," the European & International Booksellers Federation's Newsflash reported.
On behalf of the Swedish book trade, Maria Hamrefors, chairwoman of the Swedish Booksellers' Association and EIBF board member, presented three suggestions to save and promote local bookshops: an appeal to local territories to purchase their books from local bookshops through direct procurement; a call for communes and regions to cooperate with local bookshops; and a designation of Swedish Arts Council's funds for literacy to bookshops.
"Bookselling is not just any kind of business," Hamrefors said. "It is especially important for qualified literature and it keeps prices up, which brings more remuneration to the authors."
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Canadian bookseller Audreys Books, Edmonton, Alb., is teaming up with indie publisher Durvile Books to offer The Little Book: Story Reader for a Free Ukraine, a traditional Ukrainian children's title, originally published in 1940, that was used in prairie schools.
Audreys Books is donating 100% of its margin on this book to the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation, as well as all related costs to support the sale of the title. Blitzprint in Calgary and Friesens in Winnipeg are donating the first print run of the Special Humanitarian Edition 2022.
"I have had this beautiful little book, originally printed in 1940 in Winnipeg, all through my life," noted Durvile publisher Lorene Shyba, who is Ukrainian Canadian. "It has traveled with me from city to city and country to country since the days my Babka grandmother used to read it to me. A cherished object now put to a heroic cause. It came to me that with a translation (being done right now), this book would be a good way to help my ancestral homeland, Ukraine, in this terrible time of invasion." --Robert Gray