April 8, 2011

News Roundup: Baker Academic move to SPCK | Hodder titles now available from IVP | Letchworth Christian Bookshop hold Bible Reading Marathon | Living Oasis Phase 2 Openings Delayed | and more…

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Publishers, Christian Suppliers, Lion Hudson, News, SPCK, STL | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Baker Academic move to SPCK

AS ANNOUNCED IN DECMBER LAST YEAR following their acquisition of 200 titles from Hendrickson, Baker have now moved their range of academic titles (Baker Academic and Brazos Press) from Lion Hudson to SPCK. Commenting on the move, Dwight Baker, President of Baker Publishing Group, said:

While Lion Hudson has been doing an excellent job in selling these titles into the trade, Baker felt the need to move their Academic titles to a firm that has had a long history of publishing and selling to the academy in the United Kingdom.  The purchase of over 200 academic titles from Hendrickson Publishers this past October was the tipping point for this decision.

Baker’s other imprints, including Bethany House, Revell, Baker Books and Chosen, remain with Lion Hudson whilst Alban Books continue to represent all other Hendrickson lines to the UK.

Hodder titles now available from IVP

Hodder titles now available from IVP

Hodder titles now available from IVP

IVP HAVE ADDED Hodder Faith to their distributed titles list, bringing NIV Bibles and top selling authors such as Tim Keller and Philip Yancey into their portfolio. The announcement was made in the March edition of their monthly e-Bookmark trade newsletter, with further details in a separate trade announcement (pdf, 2.6MB).

Adding the NIV to their list alongside the full range of the ESV from Crossway as well as the NRSV, Good News Bible and range of Greek/Hebrew texts already available via HarperCollins Religious and Bible Society respectively makes IVP an increasingly important player in UK Bible distribution.

The full range of ESV and Crossway titles are also available from STL (pdf, 3.1MB) with 90 day payment terms and higher discounts on initial orders.

The Comet 24: Letchworth bookshop celebrate The Bible with reading marathon

The Comet 24: Letchworth bookshop celebrate The Bible with reading marathon

Letchworth Christian Bookshop hold Bible Reading Marathon

THIS SATURDAY, 9th April, sees Letchworth Christian Bookshop — winners of STL’s Golden Ticket in October last year — launch a Bible reading marathon as part of its celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible.

The project, which runs for two weeks with readings by volunteers in 15 minute slots during shop opening hours, has already made local headlines in The Comet (pictured).

Full details are available on a dedicated website, www.wordaloud.webeden.co.uk. Anyone wishing to take part is invited to check the schedule posted via Google Docs then contact the shop to book a slot.

Living Oasis Phase 2 Openings Delayed

LIVING OASIS LEEDS have apologised on facebook and in a letter posted at Network Leeds (4th April 2011) for the further delay to opening at their new location, advising prospective customers to contact the Harrogate store. Previously billed at Network Leeds as “the first Living Oasis shop to realise the full vision the Nationwide Christian Trust had when taking over 19 former Wesley Owen stores in early 2010″, the new Leeds store was originally expected to open by late January/early February this year but has run into financial difficulties.

A series of prayer meetings is being held, next meeting 14th April 2011, with a fundraising meal scheduled for 6th May 2011. The actual opening date for the new store remains unknown.

The new Liverpool store — originally expected to open within “a couple of months” of the old store’s closure (facebook announcement 29/12/2010) — appears to be facing similar difficulties with no updates to their facebook page since 22nd March when a series of weekly prayer meetings was announced. As of the date of this report, no indication of when the store will open has been given.

Unicorn Tree Books flood claim declined

CITY OF LINCOLN COUNCIL SOLICITORS, Hill Dickinson, have declined the flood claims submitted by Unicorn Tree Books and other retailers based in Lincoln Central Market following damage caused when the duty caretaker was unable to find the stop cock after a pipe burst during harsh weather in November last year (reported here 02/12/2010).

In a letter dated 25 March 2011 claiming to have “fully investigated the matter” Hill Dickinson state that “our client’s duty to maintain is one of reasonableness” and conclude that “the incident was caused solely by the extreme temperatures experienced at the time” — a conclusion that completely disregards the Council’s failure to follow its own published advice to householders who may be concerned about the possibility of burst pipes in their homes:

Preventing frozen and burst pipes

  • Make sure you know where your stop tap is and that it is working.

One can only wonder quite what is going on in the mind of someone who regards such gross negligence as “reasonable”…

Web Shops for Churches

Premier Church Insight: Endis Inspire Shop

Premier Church Insight: Endis Inspire Shop

PREMIER CHRISTIAN MEDIA, publishers of Christian Marketplace magazine, have joined forces with Endis in partnership with STL Distribution to deliver online shops direct to churches via a custom-branded, fully integrated web service. Orders, returns and refunds will all be processed by STL in Carlisle — identified only by their address on the demo shop Contact Us and Returns pages — backed up by a dedicated telephone support line.

Full details of the service may be found on the Premier Church Insight > Endis Inspire Shop introductory page.

Reactions from retailers have ranged from a sense of outrage through concern about the implications for church bookstall services to cautious optimism at the possibility that the service could conceivably form the basis for a Christian version of Gardners’ Hive.

STL have emphasised that Endis are simply another trade customer and STL’s involvement with the scheme is solely order fulfilment. They are, however, currently investigating options to provide a comprehensive web solution for retailers: STL remain 100% committed to supporting and working with their retail partners, including amongst other initiatives the development of a Church Resources training programme designed to equip shop managers with the expertise needed and a sales kit that will enable them to pull local churches together and present new or existing product that will enhance church life.

Women in Christian Publishing Inaugural Event

WOMEN IN CHRISTIAN PUBLISHING, a new group created by the Publishers Association, held its inaugural event on 1st April 2011 with a visit to the Houses of Parliament hosted by the Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, who was appointed as Speaker’s Chaplain in June last year.

Those present included Victoria Beech (Beech Publishing/Christian Education) and Janet Evans (Dernier Publishing), who has published some photographs of the event on facebook:

Dernier Publishing > Facebook Photos > Women in Christian Publishing

Dernier Publishing's Facebook Photos: Women in Christian Publishing Inaugural Event

 

September 14, 2010

Church Times: Bishop Calls for Churches to Appoint Christian Bookshop Champions

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Bookshops | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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"Welcome to the secret world of Christian books": John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford, Church Times, 10 Sept 2010, p.12

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:

 

August 3, 2008

The Dave Walker Reposts

Posted by Phil Groom under Book Reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
[3] Comments 

UKCBD > Christian Book Reviews > Arts & Media > The Dave Walker Reposts

The Dave Walker RepostsThe Dave Walker Reposts 
May 2006 – July 2008

Dave Walker and Matt Wardman (Ed) 
ISBN: (N/A) 
The Wardman Wire, 2008 (130pp) 
Free Download

Category: Arts & Media 
Reviewed by: Phil Groom

Sometimes things don’t work out as planned, even for highly placed business men and lawyers. Taken largely from the “Save the SPCK” pages on Dave Walker’s The Cartoon Blog, this publication reveals the sad and sorry story of the demise of the SPCK Bookshops following their handover to SSG, the Society of St Stephen the Great, in 2006 — and ends abruptly with a note from Dave dated July 8th 2008 on his silence following the tragic suicide of Steve Jeynes, former manager of the SPCK/SSG bookshop in Worcester.

Or rather, I should say that silence from Dave seems to be where Mr J Mark Brewer (co-owner of the bookshops with his brother, Philip) wanted it to end. Unfortunately, Dave’s not the silent type: he kept on blogging, in his own quirky way, telling the story, reporting evenhandedly and watching with astonishment as the Brewers’ business strategy fell apart.

Trouble is, Dave’s not an especially noisy guy either: he’s a cartoonist who expresses himself in pictures. He doesn’t shout or scream. So when Mr J Mark Brewer sent Dave a “Demand to Cease and Desist” — which if it was anything like the one he sent me was full of self-righteous indignation, allegations and threats of legal action — Dave backed down.

This proved, in retrospect, to be the best move that Dave could have made: the blogosphere exploded with indignation as “Of Course I Could Be Wrong” blogger, MadPriest, declared war by launching a campaign to send Dave Walker solidarity messages to Mr Brewer whilst fellow Anglican priest Sam Norton retrieved some of Dave’s missing posts from Google’s cache and reposted them on his own site.

Alongside this, political blogger Matt Wardman — who compiled and published this report — launched an ongoing and growing campaign in defence of Dave’s right to free speech, whilst Unity, a self-proclaimed “big bad atheist blogger with a penchant for digging into the detail” has been systematically taking Mr Brewer, his business dealings and his correspondence to pieces on his blog, Ministry of Truth. For a more comprehensive round-up of blogs and others picking up on this situation see the Wardman Wire My Name is Dave Walker post index.

Enough by way of introduction, however. Perhaps the best snapshot summary of Dave’s posts has been given by blogger Exigency In Specie:

When you read the posts, Dave spent a good deal of time trying to moderate those reactions in order to thoughtfully report events that he believed should be of concern to a wider audience. As a relatively high profile site he primarily acted as a central resource for collecting together information from the geographically diverse chain. Care in what was written was uppermost, even when emotions grew – you can easily find points where he calls for cool heads, and where he removed comments that he himself deemed were close to the line.

From: Learning the Lessons, 30/07/2008

My own reading concurs: Dave is no irresponsible or reckless blogger. Which begs the question, why the heavy handed intervention?

Dave’s last SPCK related post appears on p.113. Then follow several pages of

These appended articles can be read online, of course, but I’d recommend downloading the entire document (pdf, 2.3MB), either here or from The Wardman Wire and reading it at your leisure.

As you read it, please be sure to send us your comments and feedback. If you run your own blog, please remember that it could be you being chased by angry lawyers next time. Please don’t sit back and hope it doesn’t happen to you: blog the story, join the fight and spread the word. And pray. Pray for the ex-SPCK booksellers whose lives have been wrecked by this fiasco. Pray for those of us standing with them. Please pray for Mr Brewer: despite all he’s said and done, nobody wants to vilify him, I hope: that’s emphatically not what this is about; but I would like to see some justice for these booksellers, and I would like him to respond in a more civil way than we’ve seen thus far.

Finally, when you come across some of the funnier stuff, do have a laugh. Remember, Dave Walker is a humourist.

You’ll find continuous updates in the SPCK/SSG: News, Notes & Info blog. Thanks for reading…

Phil Groom, August 2008

Phil Groom is this site’s Webmaster and Reviews Editor. He’s a regular contributor to Christian Marketplace magazine and is the manager of London School of Theology Books & Resources. Any opinions expressed here are personal and should not be taken as representing the views of London School of Theology or of any other group or organisation.

The Wardman Wire: Dave Walker Archives

The Wardman Wire

Authors | Categories | Publishers | Reviewers | Titles

 

May 20, 2008

Christian Bookshops — who needs them?

Posted by Phil Groom under Bookshop Ramblings | Tags: , , , , |
[33] Comments 

That, I think, is the essence of the question posed by Eddie Arthur in response to my post about Core Stock yesterday:

Why should I buy books from you (or another Christian bookshop) when I can get them from Amazon at a significant discount?

Eddie admits to playing devil’s advocate in posing the question, but even so it’s a question that all booksellers — not just Christian booksellers — are acutely aware of; and if we want to survive, we need to tackle it. But for me, it’s about more than survival: I believe Christian bookshops have a vital role to play in Christian mission — as I observed a couple of posts back, a Christian bookshop is much more than just another business.

But not everyone, it seems, is convinced. In April I responded to Bill Kahusac praying for a Christian bookshop to be closed down and since then I’ve come across several others who don’t like what they’re finding. Phil Whittall — co-owner of Illuminate, Shrewsbury — posed essentially the same question as Eddie at the end of last year, albeit from the other side of the fence:

… do you buy from your local Christian bookshop? If not why not? If so why? Is the lowest price everything when shopping online? Is the presence of a Christian retailer on the high street something to be desired or not?

He received several responses: they’re all worth reading, but this, from Matthew Hosier, was perhaps the most telling:

… I have had a generous book allowance at the church I have been leading, but have spent it almost exclusively at Amazon. My reasons? 1. Yes, it is cheaper. 2. Yes, it is easier. 3. My local Wesley Owen doesn’t often carry the books I want.

Reason 3. is really the deal breaker. I’m sure Illuminate is different, but too often I find Christian bookshops very depressing – either they are dust-filled and stock little but browning copies of 1970s paperbacks, or their stock is all kitten posters, olive wood trinkets, and books reflecting the broadcasting schedule of the God Channel. For this reason, if anything I have actually discouraged people from shopping at these outlets.

Now that truly is depressing. Almost as depressing as being a web server trying to serve a missing page. And it’s a parallel problem: if we’re not delivering the content people are looking for — content that church leaders such as Matthew feel confident enough about to be able to recommend our shops to their congregations — then perhaps we do have our backs to the wall.

Or do we? Is that why we’re there, to serve the local churches? Or are we there to serve the local community as resource centres for their spiritual lives? Or are we simply there on a par with every other business, competing to make a profit? Can we do all three — serve the local churches, serve the local community and make a profit?

For Christian bookshops profit isn’t — or shouldn’t be — our driving force: we are called be a prophetic presence on the high street, not simply another profiteering one. And for that we need churches behind us, supporting us as part of their mission strategy, helping us to reach out to our communities, to be places where people asking questions about spirituality and faith can make their first tentative steps.

We exist to serve God’s kingdom: Amazon exists to make money.

That’s the difference and that’s why I say you should buy from us, Eddie. You too, Bill; and you, Matthew. We also need your help to become the places you’d like us to be. If you visit a Christian bookshop and don’t like what you find or can’t find what you want, don’t just walk away or go to Amazon: talk to us. You have a vision for God’s kingdom: so do we. Let’s work together.

Unless, of course, getting books at the lowest possible price really is the only thing you’re interested in…

Related Discussions

Lessons from America

The Christian bookstore remains important because it keeps publishers in tune with their customers.

Verne Kenney, Vice President of Sales, Zondervan
Cited in Christianity Today, How to Save the Christian Bookstore

 

May 7, 2008

A Problem I’d Love to Have

Posted by Phil Groom under Bookshop Ramblings | Tags: , , |
1 Comment 

Last week’s Bookseller reports on an innovative marketing ploy from Little, Brown: anonymous proofs sent out to booksellers with the challenge to guess the author (‘LB plays guess the mystery author’ Issue No. 5330, 2 May 2008, p.13). Commenting on the ploy, Nicola Hill, the company’s Marketing Director, said,

It’s a different way of getting people to read proofs. People get a million of them every day…

A million every day! Now that, truly, is a problem I’d love to have! Not really a million, of course — but some, please! It seems a long time ago but I’ll never forget my early days as a bookseller with Books Etc at Heathrow Terminal 4: a fantastic place to learn the art of bookselling, non-stop customers, a constant buzz.

And publishers who loved us — at least, so it seemed to me. I knew they loved us because they gave us copies of their books: they couldn’t give us enough! Books galore: advance proofs, finished bound copies, an endless stream of books, books, books. But what they really loved was the sales that inevitably resulted: as we, the booksellers, read the books, we’d enthuse about them to our customers — and nothing sells books better than personal recommendation. Hand-selling, the marketeers called it, though we never sold any books except by hand.

Mealtime Habits of the MessiahThen my good friend Conrad Gempf — author of Jesus Asked and Mealtime Habits of the Messiah — contacted me: “We need you at LBC,” he said, “the bookshop manager’s leaving and we need someone who knows books and theology.” How could I refuse? The opportunity of a lifetime to combine my theological education with my bookselling experience: I was outtathere faster than Concorde! Anyone remember Concorde? (Somewhere along the line I guess I should mention a year in between selling books on Ruislip High Street, but that’s kinda faded into the background…)

And so I became a specialist Christian bookseller… and my supply of books dried up.

Christian publishers, it turned out, and Christian divisions of the secular publishing houses, were a breed apart. Marketing consisted of catalogues and reps info sheets, but no books for booksellers. OK, I tell a lie: very few books for booksellers. But we’re talking about flood dried up to less than a trickle, to less than the equivalent of a tap dripping: instead of a dozen or more every week, barely two or three per year! Free books for booksellers? What a bizarre idea! I asked around other Christian booksellers: they’d never worked in the secular trade; they didn’t read the Bookseller; they really didn’t know what what was going on in the wider bookselling world.

Thankfully Conrad came to the rescue again: not content with having taught me everything I know about the New Testament; not content with having dragged me back to LBC (or LST as it’s now known), he wanted me to write book reviews. So I did. And I still do. And I’ve recruited others to the cause — and the publishers love me again: as I sit here typing I am surrounded by piles and piles of books pending review and seeking reviewers. I am surely the most blessed bookseller on the planet: I am in booklover’s heaven.

But what of my fellow Christian booksellers? Must they continue to go without? Christian publishers, wake up! Let me say again: nothing sells books better than personal recommendation. Hand-selling, if that’s what you want to call it. And how shall they recommend if they have not read the books? If you believe in your books enough to do a print run, believe in the people you want to sell them: run off a few extra, send them to selected booksellers and watch your sales rise!

Don’t go over the top like your secular counterparts who buried us so deep we couldn’t see over the top of our proof mountains: but do send enough to at least give us something to talk about.

And to end this appeal on a positive note: thanks to Ruth Roff of HarperCollins who has already responded, having heard this plea at the BA CBG AGM. Ruth says to any Christian booksellers who may be reading:

HarperCollins are very happy to supply such things as and when needed. When we have a new release I will post something on this Blog site with a contact email address for getting hold of material. The first book we’d like to offer is, of course, the new and revised Bible Book (pub August 2008 ) by the excellent Nick Page. If you would like to receive a review copy then please email charlotte.allen@harpercollins.co.uk. This is open to any Christian Bookshop owners.

So come on, booksellers: don’t miss this opportunity for a revolution in the way we sell! And if you write a review of a book you’ve read, please do send it in — to the publisher as well as for featuring here.

 

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