More events, fewer books planned at ‘Smiths Alternative’
Smith’s Alternative Bookshop is being transformed into ‘a more dedicated theatre/event space’ following its recent sale, reports Canberra news website RiotACT. RiotACT reports that new owners Jorian Gardner and Domenic...
Smiths Alternative Bookshop sold
Peter Strong, owner of independent Canberra bookstore Smiths Alternative Bookshop, has sold the business. Strong told Books+Publishing that the new owners are a Canberra-based couple, who plan to refurbish the...
UK independent bookshop numbers decline
In the UK, the total number of independent bookshops on the high street has declined for a sixth consecutive year but children’s bookshops have ‘bucked the trend’, reports the Bookseller....
Sunset Books to close by February
Independent Sydney bookstore Sunset Books and ABC Centre will close by the end of February. Owner Greg Field told Bookseller+Publisher that, with the ‘retail model under pressure’, he has made the...
Book Bonding to open second store in regional Victoria
Independent Melbourne bookstore Book Bonding will open a second store in Gisborne in regional Victoria next month. Natasha Boyd, who owns the Book Bonding business in Niddrie in Melbourne’s north...
The main events
With the right preparation, author events can be a win-win for booksellers and publishers. Eloise Keating asked Text Publishing publicity manager Jane Novak and Hardie Grant Egmont publicity manager Jennifer...
ACCC releases free shopping app
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has created a free shopping app designed to provide advice about returns and warranties to consumers, reports Inside Retail. The ACCC Shopper app,...
Collins opens company-owned store at Sydney hospital; further hospital stores planned
Collins Booksellers has opened a new company-owned bookstore at the Royal North Shore Hospital in St Leonards, Sydney. The store officially opened on 12 December to coincide with the official...
Riverbend opens pop-up store
Independent Brisbane bookseller Riverbend Books has opened a temporary pop-up store in the same street as the well-known bookstore. Riverbend owner Suzy Wilson told Bookseller+Publisher that the store, which is located on...
Melbournalia pop-up store returns for second year
The Melbournalia pop-up store has returned to Melbourne’s CBD for a second year, with a single store located at the Queen Victoria Markets. Melbournalia, the brainchild of Dale Campisi and Michael Brady...
New Melbournalia pop-up store launches with books, events
A pop-up retail store selling books and gifts about Melbourne has returned to the city’s CBD. Melbournalia is the brainchild of Dale Campisi and Michael Brady from boutique publisher Arcade...
Mary Ryan’s Toowoomba reverts to company ownership
The Mary Ryan’s bookstore in Toowoomba, Queensland, has reverted to company ownership after operating as a franchise for five years. Mary Ryan’s CEO Bill Concannon told Bookseller+Publisher that Mary Ryan’s...
Melbourne’s Westgarth Books closes
Westgarth Books in Northcote, Melbourne, has closed, and its retail space is available for lease. The bookstore closed soon after holding a large ‘garage sale’ in September. Situated close to Westgarth Cinema, the...
New manager for Better Read Than Dead
Robert Watkins will join independent Sydney bookstore Better Read Than Dead as store manager and buyer next month. Watkins told Bookseller+Publisher that he finishes in his current role of marketing...
WH Smith ebook performance ‘ahead of plan’, profits before tax up 10%
British retailer WH Smith, which operates eight stores in Australia, says its performance in the ebooks market, where it sells ebooks in partnership with Kobo, ‘continues to be ahead of...
Booksellers share Christmas picks
Booksellers from Embiggen Books, Readings, The Sun Bookshop, Avid Reader and Avenue Bookstore have shared their most-anticipated Christmas titles on the Wheeler Centre’s website. Nominated titles include Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight...
Beyond bookstores: Books in retail spaces
Clothing stores, craft shops and even chocolatiers are all potential booksellers, writes Andrew Wrathall. Prominently displayed in Surfection, a clothing store in an inner-city Melbourne shopping centre, is a stack...
Your store: Chapter Two’s pop-up stalls
Shoppers in Adelaide’s CBD have been treated to a new kind of book-buying experience over the past couple of months, with book stalls popping up on the city’s busy street...
Your store: A royal display
To celebrate the launch of Philippa Gregory’s latest novel The Kingmaker’s Daughter in August, Simon & Schuster partnered with Dymocks George Street to create a window display with a difference....
Victorian bookshop for sale
Country Tales Bookstore in Bright, Victoria, is currently for sale. Owner Sally Taylor, who opened the independent store in early 2010, told Bookseller+Publisher that she is selling the business as...