The Christian Bookshops Blog

URC bookshop closes its doors

NEWS HAS EMERGED* that the URC Bookshop, which advertised widely for a new manager and assistant manager earlier this year, has now closed down, having quietly closed its doors on Friday September 3rd. This puts the number of Christian bookshops known to have ceased trading on the most recent trade Day of Prayer at two: two independents that essentially stood alone and died alone.

Standing alone is, of course, what independents do. It’s what they like to do, it’s what they’re good at; and given the fate of the SPCK Bookshops and the breakup of Wesley Owen, there’s no guarantee of security in being part of a chain either. Given the state of play at LST, my own former employers, there is no security in being part of a larger institution either if that institution is not committed to bookselling as an essential part of its ministry.

But whilst acknowledging all of these points, I still find myself wondering whether working more closely together — treating one another as partners in mission rather than as competing businesses — could have made the difference that might have saved both the Fareham Well and the URC Bookshop?

We’ve talked about being ‘Stronger Together — Weaker Apart’ (see Joy McIlroy’s report Christian Resources Together Retailers and Suppliers Retreat: A Bookseller’s Perspective if you need a reminder) but whilst we’re good at singing together on retreat, we are still learning how to dance together in reality.

Christian Marketplace, October 2010

There are signs of hope, however: it’s encouraging to see that the PA Christian Suppliers Group now has its own column in Christian Marketplace, p.17, just over the page from the BA Christian Booksellers Group column, p.15.

Although both groups exist as subgroups within their own separate, commercial organisations, Christian publishers/suppliers and Christian booksellers/retailers are at last beginning to unite under a missional flag. Commercial considerations are not being ignored yet we are finding our ‘common thread’ (to steal from Doug Ross’ column title, which falls neatly between the CBG and CSG pages).

I look forward to the day when we see these two groups fully working together, not only talking about one another in the pages of a magazine but offering a constructive joint trade commentary, actively co-operating in a regenerated trade in reality as well as on retreat.

If you read nothing else in October’s Christian Marketplace, read those two columns, listen to their call, and make sure you’re part of it. Don’t leave it to the point when there are so few of us left that we have no choice about working together…

* h/t John Duncan, 29/9/2010

Elaine Reid, Alban Books, writes:

We are sad to report the untimely death of our MD Jane Grounsell after a two-year battle with cancer. Jane was a much-loved colleague who will always be remembered with love by all at Alban.

Jane was the most warm, friendly, charismatic, intelligent and inspiring lady who we were privileged to have at the head of our Alban Books’ team. We were so fortunate to have a Managing Director who was not only a fantastic colleague but a very dear friend as well and Jane buoyed our team on with her enthusiastic and optimistic attitude to life and work. Jane will be sadly missed.

I echo those words. I only knew Jane through our email exchanges but it was under Jane’s leadership that Alban Books became one of the first — and most generous — sponsors of the UK Christian Bookshops Directory. She had a tremendous gift of encouragement and will, indeed, be sadly missed.

A more complete obituary may be found in The Scotsman:

Obituary: Jane Grounsell, publisher, 56

Jane Grounsell, a well-known figure in Edinburgh’s small publishing community, has died, aged 56.

Born and raised in Leeds, Mrs Grounsell graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in zoology before taking up her first job as a picture researcher for Marshall Cavendish in London, working on the part-work encyclopaedia Tree of Knowledge.

Working in pre-internet days, when images were selected by looking at slides over afternoon tea, Mrs Groundsell [sic] excelled at her job, using her considerable charm and no-nonsense approach to befriend the eccentric ladies who managed some of the richer and more inaccessible picture libraries at the time.

She had a keen eye for the stunning photograph, which could both illustrate the text and be visually appealing, and it was not long before many of the illustrations from her Human Life strand were being used on the cover of the magazine…

• Read the full obituary

LESS THAN A YEAR after the UK Christian book trade was plunged into turmoil by Biblica’s decision to pull the plug on its UK operations, STL UK’s new owners, who picked up the pieces in Carlisle in the wake of Biblica’s pull out, have announced an exclusive UK trade representation and distribution deal with Biblica Europe for the forthcoming 7th edition of Operation World alongside an exclusive UK distribution agreement for Biblica US titles.

Although Biblica’s international leaders have yet to publicly acknowledge or show any signs of repentance for the damage they caused not only to the UK trade but, more importantly, to individual lives and livelihoods, this new trading relationship must surely be good news and a sign of hope as trust is slowly rebuilt in the trade: congratulations to all involved at STL UK on showing sufficient grace to broker this deal. May it open the door to a new era for the entire trade.

From the official press release, issued Friday 17 Sept 2010:

STL Distribution to Distribute New Edition of Operation world to UK Trade (pdf, 635kb)

STL Distribution to Distribute New Edition of Operation world to UK Trade

STL Distribution and Biblica Europe have signed a new agreement which will see STL Distribution acting as the exclusive sales representative and distributor to the UK trade for the new edition of Operation World.

With over 1 million copies of past versions sold, this fully updated and revised 7th edition is the must-have definite [sic] guide to praying for the people and nations of the world. Featuring a daily prayer calendar, maps, political, economic and religious information on each county, along with answers to prayer, this eagerly anticipated resource will be published 15th October 2010.

Graham Sopp, Executive Director of Biblica Europe, said “Operation World is widely regarded as the definitive source of prayer information about every country in the world. Our hope is that Operation World will encourage many more Christians to pray for the nations of the world. We are very pleased to be working with STL Distribution on this project.”

Operation World
The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation

Jason Mandryk (Ed)
Biblica, October 2010
HB: 9781850788614, £19.99
PB: 9781850788621, £12.99 (introductory price)
PB + CD ROM: 9781850788751, £24.99

At the time of going to press, this edition of Operation World was not listed at stldistribution.co.uk

Update 22/09/2010: More info now available from STL

As mentioned yesterday, I invited Open Door Trading director Paul Mogford to tell us about their acquisition of and plans for the former Footprints bookshop in Middlesbrough.

Paul writes:

Open Door Bookshop: download the flyer (pdf, 115kb)

2010 looks like its going to be a busy year for Open Door Trading Ltd. Not only incorporating No Frontiers into our workload, we will be opening Open Door (Christian Bookshop) on October 9th. Based in the centre of Middlesbrough, we are buying the current Christian Bookshop (Footprints) run by John Gaines. There has been a Christian bookshop in Middlesbrough for many years – CLC then Footprints – now we pick up the baton to maintain a clear Christian witness on the high street. We will be building on the work done by faithful Christians over the years.

Open Door Trading currently supplies event and web retail services to Newfrontiers, No Frontiers and others, as well as other distribution services. We will be creating a friendly welcoming shop that is accessible to Christians as well as those who have not yet found faith. The store is on one of the main roads in town, near the bus station and a major shopping area. We’ll be stocking a good range of cards and gifts, as well as best selling and core books and music. Upstairs, we intend to open a quality second hand floor as an additional attraction to serious buyers.

The Christian bookshop trade has often faced significant issues; of late, major changes in suppliers, Amazon and other major online suppliers. Middlesbrough faces the additional issues of being regarded as one of the poorest areas in the country. It is reckoned that the town is well placed to be the worst affected by current government spending cuts (over 40% of employment is derived from council or government work).

So why is this a good time to buy a Christian bookshop? Well, it is clear that at times of national stress, many turn to faith and the Church for help — we want to reach out to non-Christians who are looking for someone beyond themselves. Secondly, there is a deep spiritual hunger in the UK: we want to supply resources that help churches and individuals reach out. Third, specialist knowledge and customer care opens up markets that don’t just want mass purchase: we have well trained specialist staff ready to serve! Fourth, there is a large demand in local churches to be well served – we will be going to our local churches, not just waiting for them to come to us.

Finally, it’s part of our overall plan to expand into all areas of Christian retailing – events, bookshop, web, who knows where else this journey will take us?!

Incidentally, our landlord is a Muslim – very gentle, very caring, very devout. But excited about having a Christian bookshop in one of his premises (as he has been with Footprints)! Strange hey? Who says God doesn’t move in mysterious ways!!!!!

Previous posts

• Opening doors to welcome the world: No Frontiers and Open Door Trading, 25/05/2010
• New Frontiers for No Frontiers? 24/05/2010

As the title says, a roundup of recent news and notes. Despite what some may think, this trade of ours is alive and kicking. Here’s the proof:

A NEW CHRISTIAN BOOKSHOP and café has opened in Comber, Co. Down: Revive Bookshop and Coffee House. From a review at yelp:

I was never expecting to find this little gem when I was wandering down one of Comber’s more drab streets, but I did. As soon as I spotted the sign for a bookshop, I simply had to drop in and see what I could find. Interestingly, the second unexpected matter of the day came to the fore, and I got a pleasant surprise when I learnt that this place is actually a Christian bookshop. I know that this may put some people off, but it really shouldn’t, and here’s why:

• Read the review to find out

THE HUB, WALSALL, now has a facebook page as well as a group: head on over and give ‘em some facebook lurrrve… (translation: hit the page ‘like’ button; go on, you know you want to).

OASIS, KETTERING, have joined the online revolution and launched a website: www.oasisbookshop.com — get over there and grab a bargain whilst the launch celebration party is still running…

TWO BRANCHES OF CLC are on the move: the Coventry branch has relocated to 1 City Arcade, Coventry  CV1 3HX; and Dundee is moving (or has moved: it’s happening this week) into the former Wesley Owen premises, 112 Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4EH. Email addresses and phone numbers for both branches remain unchanged.

FOOTPRINTS, MIDDLESBROUGH has been acquired by Open Door Trading, who took over No Frontiers from Kingsway earlier in the year. The shop is being renamed Open Door Bookshop and opens its doors at 9am on October 9th 2010. I’ve invited Open Door Trading director Paul Mogford to tell us all about it: look out for that story tomorrow.

LST BOOKS & RESOURCES bids farewell to yours truly tomorrow, Thursday 16th February [oops!! Thanks Katharine!] September 2010. Some personal reflections over on my personal blog: The Final Week and The Hardest Part. My soon-to-be-erstwhile assistant, Nick Aston, assumes the mantle: please pray for him as he attempts to do both my job and his own in less than half our combined hours. It’s a turbulent time at LST at present as the entire institution seeks to reorientate itself in the current economic climate: the bookshop’s troubles are but one small part of a much bigger picture.

UKCBD entries for all of these should be added or updated this week, time permitting. You’d think leaving LST would leave me with lots of time on my hands but it just ain’t so…

GOT NEWS? If you’ve got news you’d like to share about your shop or staff, please leave a comment or contact me direct to be included in the next roundup.

Church Times, 10 Sept 2010, p.12: Welcome to the secret world of Christian books

WRITING IN THE CHURCH TIMES last Friday, 10 Sept 2010, the Rt Revd John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford, has issued a challenge to churches to wake up to the importance of reading Christian books and supporting Christian bookshops.

Acknowledging the inevitability of change with the growth of online sales, the Bishop nonetheless remains convinced that bookshops have a part to play in the church’s strategic thinking:

The disappearance of Christian books from the High Street makes them seem esoteric and cult-like. We want people to select from a range of available titles, not just go online to buy the one that has got through to popular consciousness. We want people to browse, explore, and be attracted to alternative titles.

What, then, is the answer? Reading champions:

The key, of course, is finding someone, or preferably a team of people, with real enthusiasm to lead this ministry of reading, with permission to badger the incumbent. They could keep up with reviews of new books through websites such as www.thegoodbookstall.org.uk.

They could also encourage us to buy from Christian bookshops rather than online, and give us a lead in praying for those shops and their unobtrusive ministry. They could be reading champions for an increasingly literate Church. As so often, under God, the answer lies in our hands.

That, beloved reader, means your hands and mine: the Bishop has issued a challenge to the churches. Now it’s our turn: carpe diem! Why not contact your diocesan or area bishop and invite him to the shop to discover first hand what you can offer to the churches under his wing? Tell him you’ve just read the Bishop of Oxford’s article (links below) and you’re keen to follow up on the ideas he’s put forward. Offer to hold an Open Day for local clergy! Offer a regular book review column for church magazines and websites! Liaise with publishers and suppliers to ensure that you’ve got see-safe supply then send someone in to freshen up those dire bookstalls the Bishop of Oxford describes. The opportunities are endless — and God has placed them in our hands.

Read the full article:

• Church Times (CT subscribers only Update 24/09/2010: now public)
• ScribD

UK Christian Book Awards: Nominations now open for the Ultimate Christian Library Book 2011

FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS of last year’s search for the ‘Ultimate Christian Library Book’ — won by Gram Seed’s One Step Beyond (CWR 2008, full details below) — the award’s organisers, Speaking Volumes, have decided to do it again.

Nominations are now open for the Ultimate Christian Library Book 2011, with the same judging criteria as last year:

Judging for the shortlist will be based on its suitability or likely popularity in a public library.  This requires the book to be attractive, readable and on a subject that will capture the interest of the wider public and encourage them to look further onto [sic] the Christian faith.

Also as last year, it’s a tight deadline for nominations: 30th September 2010. Although there’s no entry fee, nominations must be accompanied by four copies of the book, a requirement that effectively restricts nominations to publishers and authors as it’s unlikely that anyone else will have that many copies going spare. Nominated titles must have been published in the UK since September 2009.

Shortlisting will take place once all nominations have been collated ready for a public vote in January 2011. The award itself is due to be made at next year’s Christian Resources Exhibition at Sandown Park, Esher, in May 2011. The winning author will take away £1,000 in prize money plus an allowance of £500 worth of books to donate to the library of his or her choice.

This Year’s Winner…

One Step Beyond
One Man’s Journey from Near Death to New Life

Gram Seed with Andrea Robinson
ISBN 9781853454622 (1853454621)
CWR, 2008 (176pp)
£7.99

Have you got the Golden Ticket?

STL UK’S DECISION earlier this year to offer carriage-free delivery on all UK orders was a lifeline thrown at just the right time for us at the LST Bookshop: no more having to hold back until we reached that ever-elusive carriage-free minimum order value, we could simply process orders of any size at any time — and that’s precisely what we have been doing, much to the delight of our customers.

For STL themselves, of course, that decision has come at a price: smaller orders to process and shipping costs to absorb — yet rather than tighten things up, they’ve gone on to offer us better terms and better discounts, albeit on what seems to be an increasingly narrow range if the September/October bulletin is anything to go by.

And now, rather than revert to a carriage-free minimum, they’ve gone the extra mile with this Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inspired initiative of a Golden Ticket — two steps further, in fact, with Silver and Bronze tickets on offer as well. All we need do to qualify for entry is place bigger orders: to be in with a chance for the Golden Ticket, worth £500, place an order for £250 or more; for the Silver Ticket, worth £300, place an order for £150 or more; and for the Bronze, worth £150, place an order for at least £75, the old carriage-free minimum.

So before you press send on that small order, pause for a moment and think: what would you do with a bonus order worth up to £500? Would another couple of items take your order up to the next level? Might it be worth waiting until a little closer to the deadline in case there’s something else to add?

STL, I salute you: thank you.

• Golden Ticket Terms & Conditions
• Golden Ticket Press Release

The Well, Fareham: Ceased trading 3rd September 2010

THE WELL, FAREHAM, has become our latest casualty in the struggle to survive as shopping trends change.  According to a report at portsmouth.co.uk, the shop’s demise is attributable to both online competition and “the growth of cafe culture”, the very culture that Living Oasis and other recent initiatives such as Cornerstone, St Neots, are focusing on.

Sadly and particularly poignantly, the day The Well ceased trading was 3rd September 2010, the date of our latest Day of Prayer for the UK Christian book and retail trade, yet somehow the rest of us in the trade seem to have been unaware of this situation unfolding: an unfortunate lesson for all of us on the importance of networking, of sharing our difficulties and our joys and of keeping in touch with one another.

From the shop news page:

The Well closed its doors to customers for the last time on 3 September after the chair of trustees had led a short celebration of thanks for all those who have worked to make the Well such an important part in the lives of so many people over the past 10½  years. The Reverend Peter Hall (vice-Chairman of Christians Together in Fareham) then signalled the final closure with prayers of thanksgiving and a blessing for the future of the Well Charity.

Tough Questions…

• Is café culture part of the problem or the solution?
• Why did local churches in Shrewsbury rally round to save Illuminate yet local churches in Fareham appear to have been unable or unwilling to do so for The Well?
• What can the rest of us learn from these starkly different outcomes?

Join the conversation on facebook…

How was it for you? For me, last week’s Day of Prayer was wonderfully encouraging and I’d like to offer my personal thanks to everyone who took part. Whereas this time last year most of the online activity seemed to be via twitter, this year facebook took the lead: almost every time I logged on to facebook, someone within our trade had posted an update to say that they were praying or somebody else was. I invited Julie Buesnel to offer us some reflections from her perspective at one of our more far-flung outposts, Christian Solutions, Jersey:

Julie Buesnell, Christian Solutions, Jersey

Julie writes: We must never underestimate the power of prayer.

On Friday we had many people emailing in their support, not only for Christian Solutions; but also for the whole of the Industry. Customers came in and out throughout the day. Some prayed downstairs (one lady was here for her lunch hour) others walked around the shop quietly praying by themselves. Many of us across the Island of Jersey were united in Prayer for the whole of the industry. This shows the level of support that we have.

At one point the shop was so full of praying and buying Customers that I couldn’t get from one side of the shop to the other. We were greatly encouraged at the support that we received. We are indeed the Light in the Market Place and the day of prayer is so important. People are beginning to catch our vision, and realise that they don’t have to buy on Amazon to get a quick delivery. Deliveries to Jersey from our Suppliers are fantastic at the moment.

People are also realising that if they do buy from us instead of online and maybe, yes, pay a little more, what they are actually doing is supporting the mission side. We must be thankful to God for those people who are supporting us, and keep praying for those who don’t.

I was also contacted by the local Radio Station to give an interview at the most popular time of day 5.45pm, yes pm, not the usual 6.45 or 7.45am on a Sunday morning. It was a very short interview and I did feel cut off in my prime; but those who listened said I got the message across: praise God for that.

These days of prayer are so very important. Many people come into our shop searching for something, not always knowing what, but we can point them in the right direction and help them to find Jesus. Through the shop only last week, I met three people plus a mum who are searching for something, this has resulted in me taking them along to the local Christianity Explored course starting on 27th September at Pizza Express. It is for these people that we continue to put in all the hours, and it is all for the love of Jesus.

I look forward to the next day of prayer.

From the other end of the country…

• GLO Bookshop, Motherwell: A Word of thanks…..