The Booksellers Association of the U.K. & Ireland has announced the program for its first Sustainable Bookselling Conference, which will focus on "demonstrating how bookshops can be more environmentally friendly," the Bookseller reported. The initiative is part of the BA's commitment to champion environmental efforts in the bookselling community and follows the formation of the BA's Green Bookselling Task Force in 2018 and the creation of the Green Bookselling Manifesto.
Scheduled for April 26, the virtual Sustainable Bookselling Conference features keynotes by environmental policy adviser and author Tara Shine and business coach Catherine Weetman, as well as workshops in which booksellers can share their own experiences. The day will start with an introduction by Debbie James of Kibworth Books and BA managing director Meryl Halls.
"We are delighted to confirm the programme for our first Sustainable Bookselling Conference, which shines a light on how we can prioritize the environment while still bringing books to readers," Halls said. "We hope that attendees take away tangible steps to be more sustainable in their business. We look forward to hearing experts share their insights and booksellers sharing their experiences."
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Waterstones has partnered with publishers and authors for an initiative called Read for Ukraine, with a goal of raising £1 million (about $1.3 million) for Oxfam's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, the Guardian reported. Every branch of Waterstones, Foyles, Blackwell's, Hatchards and Hodges Figgis will have a Read for Ukraine table at the front of the shop, featuring a mix of fiction and nonfiction titles donated by publishers and their authors. Oxfam's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal will receive all the proceeds from sales of the books.
James Daunt, managing director of Waterstones, said: "We are very proud as booksellers to be able to work with authors and publishers to make this collective contribution to help the humanitarian effort to support those affected by the crisis in Ukraine. We thank the authors and publishers for their generosity. This is a compelling selection of books, with every penny from their sale going to support this urgent work."
Danny Sriskandarajah, CEO of Oxfam GB, commented: "We are incredibly grateful to everyone involved in the Read for Ukraine initiative for their support to people fleeing devastating conflict in Ukraine. As humanitarian needs continue to grow, the money raised will help Oxfam and partner organisations in eastern Europe to provide vital support to people who have already lost so much. With so many people displaced by the conflict, we are also working to set up safe travel routes for refugees and advocating for governments to honour their international commitments to the rights of all refugees."
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"Shared bookstores," featuring shelf sections operated by different owners, are spreading throughout Japan, "allowing book lovers to casually open their own stores and sell books they have recommended or have finished reading," the Mainichi reported, adding that the stores "deepen interactions between owners and contributes to the liveliness of local shopping streets."
In Itoshima no Kao ga Mieru Honya-san (Bookstore where you can see the face of Itoshima), "large wooden bookshelves that cover the entire wall of the store are immediately noticeable upon entering, and each of the 100 frames, separated into 30-centimeter squares, has an 'owner" who rented the shelf as their own sales space. The owners range from university students to elderly people in their 70s, who each bring in their own recommended books and other items to place on the shelves," the Mainichi wrote.
Co-owner Maki Nakamura recalled that when she moved to Itoshima, she visited Book Mansion, a pioneering shared bookstore in the Kichijoji neighborhood of Musashino, and was moved by the experience. When she found a vacant property in a shopping district in Itoshima, she and Ryota Odo raised funds and sought prospective owners through crowdfunding to open the store.
"The owners come to the store on days when they are not on duty and organize events and socialize with people on their own initiative," Nakamura said. Currently, there is a waiting list to become an owner.
Book Mansion's Ko Nakanishi said the number of shared bookstores has now grown to nearly 40 nationwide, adding: "I started a shared bookstore because I thought this could be a way of operating a business, but such bookstores have become places that connect people, and recently they are being called community bookstores." --Robert Gray