Following an appeal to the Norfolk Christian community, the business future of the Norwich Christian Resource Centre and Forget-me-not-Cafe now looks reasonably secure due to a number of factors over the past few weeks…
The report goes on to outline those factors:
Support from landlords Norwich Historic Churches Trust
Generous donations from individuals and church organisations
Slightly reduced opening hours
Donations of second hand books
People willing to taking part in sponsored walk (April 29th)
Substantial hymnbook and Bible orders
Whilst reducing opening hours saves on fuel bills and wages, this of course inevitably has knock-on consequences for the staff affected and whilst the shop’s future is more secure, it is by no means guaranteed without the support of the local community. Steve Foyster, Bookshop Manager, concludes his report as follows:
So thanks a million, but the centre still needs the support of both church organisations and individuals to prevent the situation deteriorating again. So please continue to contact NCRC first for all your needs and spread the word to those who are still unaware of the centre’s existence!
Please continue to pray for Steve and the team working with him; and if you live in the surrounding area, please do spread the word.
IT’S BEEN ANOTHER REMARKABLE MONTH in the world of Christian bookselling, with news emerging of shops and businesses struggling or closing down on the one hand, rescues, signs & wonders on the other, and somewhere in between, Christian author Stephen Sizer has his back to the wall as he faces further accusations of antisemitism. Let’s weep with those who weep, rejoice with those who rejoice, pray that truth, honesty and justice may prevail (ideally along with a little common sense), and live in hope of April showers driving footfall into those stores that need it…
ACORN DIRECT — the Christian music mail order specialist once based in the Channel Islands but now operating c/o Footprints, Darlington — are feeling the pinch and have announced changes to their payment processing procedures in an effort to cut costs:
The strains of the economic downturn has caught up with AcornDirect and we need to make some changes over the coming weeks.
With immediate effect we are reducing our payment options to Paypal alone. Paypal accept all forms of credit card payment and you do not have to have a Paypal account.
To use payment without a Paypal account select the “I don’t have a Paypal account” option.
In the next 3 – 4 weeks we will be changing our shopping cart and this may present a few problems. Please bear with us as we make these important changes.
Why change? The internet is a very competitive place to operate in – gone are the halcyon days of the late 90′s when we first traded and we were the only UK Christian Music site. Now there are a few of us all struggling for the same business. Our desire has always been to give the best price and to continue to this we must cut costs. Please pray for us as we introduce these changes.
Our season as your local Christian bookshop in Stamford is drawing to a close. It has been a pleasure and a joy to have been able to serve you as a local christian ministry and bookshop in this community.
We, as a team have enjoyed the immense privilege of serving you and we have been blessed how God has enabled us and provided ministry opportunities along the journey.
As with life, there are seasons and what worked 10 years ago does not work today. Reasons for closing include the tough economic climate, battle for internet sales, the generational change in the importance of the local high street and the presence of E-books.
It is with sadness but excitement about the future that Kayleigh and I will be moving to Birmingham in early May to help build the team there. We have met many friends through the bookshop here in Stamford and we hope to keep in contact with as many as possible.
The building that houses the bookshop is owned by a christian trust and it is hoped that the trustees will work with local churches to maintain a christian witness in this spot. CLC will do all it can to support this.
If anyone is interested in running a church bookstall, CLC will also do all it can to support this. Please contact us for more information.
CLC Bookshop, Stamford will close at Easter, the exact date is still to be confirmed.
With Every Blessing.
The date of the closure has since been confirmed as next weekend, Saturday 7th April, doors closing at 5pm: tea and cake will be available all day and all are welcome. In the meantime the closing down sale is underway and the message is, “Come and grab a bargain while you can!”
EMW’s Cardiff Christian Bookshop stock redistributed
STOCK FROM the EMW Cardiff Christian Bookshop, which closed in January, has now been redistributed amongst their other shops, with clearance titles available for only £1. From the latest EMW Bookshops newsletter:
Closing the Cardiff Christian Bookshop
Closing the Cardiff Christian Bookshop
For me it was a great sadness to stand at the door of the Christian Bookshop in Cardiff and attempt to explain to a woman on a mobility scooter where she could buy a Bible in the city centre.
All of the remaining stock from the Cardiff shop has been distributed around our remaining shops. It does mean that if you can make it into one of our shops over the next few weeks you will find a shelf of books for £1, including Pilgrim’s Progress
Norwich Christian Resource Centre facing threat of closure
FORMER SPCK BOOKSHOP Norwich Christian Resource Centre is struggling to balance the books and if footfall and purchasing do not show significant improvements soon, the shop may reach the point of no return. The difficulties were first reported by Network Norwich, Norwich’s online Christian news portal, then subsequently picked up by the Norwich Evening News:
Commenting on the store’s trading deficit, shop manager Steve Foyster is cited:
If this continues, even in the short term, it is almost inevitable that the centre will close. All the paid staff are braced for another cut in hours and we have been destocking books and CDs by up to 40% via our sale and returning for credit to suppliers.
A sponsored walk around the city centre and along the river has been planned for Sunday 29th April to help raise some of the much-needed funds for the Centre’s survival. The walk starts at 3pm from the Centre (St Michael-at-Plea Church, Redwell Street), covers a distance of 3 miles and ends at the Forget-me-Not Café with complimentary refreshments for everyone taking part. More details and sponsorship forms are available from the Centre or online: Norwich Christian centre’s April Amble.
Norwich Christian centre's April Amble
Spirit Chester: Free Miracles also available
IN CHESTER, a different and more positive story is emerging:
CHRISTIAN AUTHOR and speaker Stephen Sizer, who campaigns on behalf of Palestinian Christians struggling under Israel’s security restrictions, has come under scrutiny from the Council of Christians and Jews, who have lodged complaints to his Bishop and alleged charges of antisemitism and incitement to racial hatred against him with Surrey police.
Stephen has faced such accusations before and has found himself at the wrong end of long-running hate and defamation campaigns from the pro-Zionist movement, some details of which may be found on his blog: Seismic Shock: One Year On (18 Sept 2009).
Whatever your particular views of the current Middle East situation and Israeli-Palestinian relations in particular, one thing is clear: attempting to silence criticism of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians simply by slapping the label ‘antisemitism’ onto those who speak out do not address the issue. Please pray for wisdom, grace, tolerance and understanding on all sides. More information, links to reports elsewhere and some discussion are available on my personal blog: Jeremiah’s Underpants and a Link Too Far: CCJ, Stephen Sizer and The Ugly Truth (16 Mar 2012).
Wesley Owen Coleraine is dead: long live Faith Mission!
CONGRATULATIONS to all concerned at Wesley Owen Coleraine, which reopened this week under the FM Bookshops banner as Faith Mission Coleraine. From their now renamed facebook page:
The future of Wesley Owen Coleraine
At the time of posting, Wesley Owen have yet to update their branches index. The transfer of the Coleraine branch to FM Bookshops leaves the company with only three branches, in Birmingham, Glasgow and York.
THIS is the sort of post I love to post, oh yes. Spring has sprung, the grass is ris, and HERE is where the bookshops is. I fear the Bath may have overflowed, however, as they’ve built an ARK in Grantham, with plans to go to the rescue in Nottingham…
IF YOU’RE ON Richard Greatrex’s facebook friends list or follow the Windflower Books blog then this is old news, of course, but it takes time for these things to filter out into the wider world. Reported in the Bath Chronicle yesterday, Micro bookshop opens in church:
Bath Chronicle, 22/3/2012: Microbookshop opens in church
The first of a new series of Christian micro bookshops has opened in Bath.
The A Great Read mini-shop at St Michael’s Church in Broad Street will fill a gap left by the sudden closure of the Wesley Owen store in St James’s Parade.
It is being launched by the Rev Richard Greatrex, who managed the Wesley Owen store, and online bookseller David Wavre…
Initial sales have been encouraging, says Richard, matching sales on some days in the recently closed Wesley Owen store, where he served as manager.
Volunteers are urgently needed to help run the shop: if you or anyone you know is interested, please give Richard a shout: full contact details on the Windflower Books facebook page.
Meanwhile —
Meanwhile, plans for a Bristol site are moving slowly forward. It will be amazingly exciting if we get the church venue we are negotiating on. A self-contained shop adjacent to a church café in a prime situation. The focus for this shop would be Faith and the Arts, so that while it would have space to stock all the normal resources of a Christian bookshop, as well as secondhand books, it would be specialising in the interface between faith and the visual arts, music and literature.
… and the good news is that the PCC at the Bristol church, St Stephen’s in the City, have approved the project on the condition that “the stock range is similar to that at SPCK Bristol”. Go ahead is subject to finding enough volunteers for the Bath shop. Did I already mention that? Volunteers needed in Bath, please!
Go, gentlemen, go!
Hope on the horizon for Nottingham as the ARK arrives in Grantham
CONGRATULATIONS to husband and wife team David Moreton and Sharon Moreton-Evans on their acquisition of the stock of the Christian Book Centre in Beeston (forced to close earlier this year to make way for a tramline) and the subsequent opening of a new Christian bookshop in Grantham, ARK Books, as reported by Christ Church Chilwell; select their ‘Local News/Events’ tab:
A.R.K Acts of Random Kindness David Moreton and his wife Sharon Moreton-Evans have taken over the stock of the Christian Book Centre in Beeston. A.R.K are offering an ordering service with FREE delivery in this area using their own couriers. Please contact Sally Hodges (local rep) 0115 9280280 or Sharon Moreton-Evans 01476 563556 A.R.K is about to open their first bookshop in Grantham and are in the process of creating a website. They are also hoping to open a shop in Nottingham.
The website mentioned is now live at homepage.ntlworld.com/steven.sutton. It’s early days yet and very much a work in progress, but here’s a screenshot of the work so far:
Registered PubEasy users can now check wholesale availability of and place orders for titles from more than 400 Christian publishers and imprints stocked by CLC, including Authentic Media, BRF, Christian Focus, Church House, CLC Publications (of course), Crossway, CWR, DLT, HarperCollins, Lion Hudson — the list goes on, and on — Sovereign World, SPCK, Zondervan…
CLC Wholesale: Contact Info
The PubEasy system, however, is ISBN based: CDs and DVDs are therefore not currently listed, but the (much improved) CLC online shop — clcbookshops.com— is now running from the wholesale warehouse; listings for CDs, DVDs and some other non-ISBN product can be checked there. Orders for these — as well as for all items in the PubEasy catalogue — may be placed in the time-honoured ways by phone or email: in the words of Chris Magee, Head of CLC Wholesale UK, “We are still of course available to be phoned, as we love to talk to our customers.”
IMPROVED TRADE TERMS: CLC Wholesale’s base discount on most items has been increased from 35% to 38%. Trade customers who were already on 38% should now be receiving 40%. This does not apply to Bible packs and other low discount items. The minimum order for carriage paid delivery remains at £50 trade.
Convivium Press and Alban Books Trade Distribution Partnership: Launch Invitation (pdf, 184kb)
CONGRATULATIONS to Convivium Press and Alban Books on their new trade distribution partnership, to be officially launched on Wednesday 28th March 2012 at St Paul’s by Westminster Cathedral bookshop — and you, gentle reader, are invited to a drinks reception from 6pm to 7.30pm to mark that launch.
RSVP is not essential but would be appreciated: full contact details may be found on the Launch Invitation flyer (pdf, 184kb).
Describing themselves on their About Us page, Convivium Press write:
Convivium Press, an editorial endeavor inspired by Judeo-Christian humanistic values, strives to promote diversity of thought and affirms perspectives and proposals that can enrich community togetherness and encourage reconciliation among all peoples.
Convivium Press chooses books that reflect and are consistent with the intended meanings of the Latin expressions convivialis and convivium, that is, that human beings and cultures can only attain their full capacity within an episteme framework of human relations, coexistence, togetherness, reconciliation, fraternity, and recognition.
Convivium Press intends to build bridges and create bonds between different cultures by providing a space in which there can be an exchange of perspectives and knowledge tools through the publication of English and Spanish books in the fields of theology, Biblical and Semite studies, philosophy, literature, and Christian spirituality.
Convivium Press become Alban Books’ seventh distributed publisher alongside:
CONGRATULATIONS to Petra Nemansky and the team at CLC London on their recent thanksgiving celebration for 66 years of Christian bookselling in the nation’s capital: a remarkable achievement, made all the more remarkable by the fact that they’re still there, doing it, when so many other Christian bookshops are falling by the wayside:
CLC London: Praise the Lord for a great Thanksgiving Celebration!
Not only ‘still there’ in fact, but — as reported last year — relocated to a prime spot just a stone’s throw from St Paul’s Cathedral, hence the party; and with some 70 people packed into the shop, with singing led by Chris Magee, Director of CLC Wholesale UK, Petra herself speaking about the shop’s history, and Phil Burnham, CLC UK Director, delivering a speech about CLC’s mission — to list just a few highlights — it was definitely a party to write home about.
Outlining the shop’s history and the reason for celebrating, Petra said,
The celebration of our new place coincides with the 66th year of CLC’s ministry in London. The first shop at Ludgate Hill was set up in 1946, just after WWII. After that we had a shop in front of St Paul’s Tube station. Twenty years ago we moved to Holborn Viaduct where we had a shop with two trading floors. It’s great to find a place so close to St Paul’s Cathedral again.
CLC London is but one small part of the much larger global picture: across the world, CLC International operate more than 180 bookshops in 58 countries. Emphasising CLC’s status as a missionary organisation, Phil Burnham explained why the shops matter:
In some of these countries we are the only Christian bookshop. It’s not easy to be a Christian in these nations. CLC is a registered charity. With the profit we make, we can support the ministry in countries where it is not yet self-sustaining. We believe that God works through Christian Literature, here in UK and all over the world.
Addressing the UK situation, Phil went on to acknowledge the challenges of survival in the current marketplace:
Nowadays people buy more from the internet. We do have a CLC internet shop, but there’s a lot of competition and people are not always aware that with CLC they are buying from a charity.
Guests departed with goody bags containing a selection of free books courtesy of Christian Focus, Joining the Dots and Kingsway.
Update, 10/3/2011: Follow on report from the team at Christian Resources Leicester: Fluttering Flags and Tummies
By Royal Appointment,
Booksellers to the Queen…
YES, I EXAGGERATE: it’s just a Royal Visit, and I guess there’s no guarantee that Her Majesty and her entourage will visit the shop itself in her visit to St Martins House in Leicester on March 8th, but I hope you’ll forgive my feeling a tad excited about this — after all, St Martins House is where I spent five years of my life back when it was Alderman Newton Boys School; and no, I’m not going to tell you how long ago that was. Over to Christian Resources Leicester for a (slightly) more balanced perspective:
Christian Resources Leicester: The secret is out – It’s Official!
We’ve all been keeping a very hard secret here at Christian Resources. It’s been very, very hard… but now we can share our excitement and enthusiasm with everyone…
“It has been announced today that Her Majesty the Queen is to visit Leicester Cathedral and St Martins House during her visit to Leicester on March 8th. Her Majesty and His Royal Highness Prince Philip will be joined on the visit by the Duchess of Cambridge.”
We’ve known for a few weeks… Janette’s been busy looking at Jubilee memorabilia online… the decorators have been touching up the paint… and we’ve all been planning what we’ll wear on the day… We’ll be giving you some more details in the next few days.. but here’s the rest of the official announcement from the Leicester Diocese website…
CLC Wholesale join PubEasy – Official Announcement
ALMOST AS EXCITING, Bowker — the people who run PubEasy.com — have now officially announced CLC Wholesale’s participation in the PubEasy programme: wholehearted congratulations to Chris Magee, head of CLC Wholesale UK, and his team on a job well done!
PubEasy Newsflash: CLC Wholesale UK to Join PubEasy as an affiliate
London, United Kingdom – March 1, 2012 - PubEasy®, the global enquiry and ordering service for the book industry, today announced that CLC Wholesale UK will join its growing, international e-community of booksellers and their suppliers. CLC Wholesale UK is a leading Christian book wholesaler serving Christian bookshops and retailers within the UK and throughout the world. PubEasy is a service of Bowker, an affiliated business of ProQuest.
“We’re very pleased to welcome CLC Wholesale UK as a PubEasy Affiliate,” said Liz McNaughton, European sales manager of PubEasy. “Having them in our community increases the range of Christian titles within PubEasy and so provides a more compelling offer to Christian booksellers. We believe PubEasy will also enhance the service offered by CLC to its customers, enabling them to conduct business anytime, 365 days a year.”
“Joining the PubEasy community provides a valuable e-commerce offering to our customers,” said Chris Magee, head of CLC Wholesale UK. “This will give the CLC product line increased visibility and provide a faster and more efficient service to our customers. We look forward to serving both our UK and International customers through PubEasy.”
We've been shortlisted for Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year at the @IPG2012 awards! Exciting!— SPCK Publishing (@SPCKPublishing) March 02, 2012
They’re up against Accent Press, Osprey Publishing and Quiller Publishing, but there can only be one winner, to be announced at a gala dinner on March 8th. Now there’s a clash of dates: an exciting day awaits…
From a report issued earlier today in the Bath Chronicle:
Bath Chronicle, 16/02/2011: New chapter for a Christian bookshop
The first of a new series of Christian microbookshops is to be set up in Bath.
The sales at a city centre church will fill a gap left by the sudden closure of the Wesley Owen store in St James’s Parade.
It is being launched by the Rev Richard Greatrex – who managed the store – and online bookseller David Wavre.
The microshop will carry Mr Wavre’s A Great Read brand and will be followed by more in churches in Bristol, Radstock and Frome.
The pair are in the final stages of negotiations over the location of the mini-bookshop.
Mr Wavre said: “Each shop or stall will have a range of top titles, perennial favourites and newly-published books available as well as the monthly comprehensive A Great Read magazines, detailing hand-picked newly-published and established titles.”
CONGRATULATIONS to everyone at Unity Christian Bookshop, Petersfield, on the success of last year’s appeal for funds to prevent the shop’s closure. The successful outcome, securing the shop’s future for another year, was reported last month via the PACT (Petersfield Area Churches Together) website:
A big thank you from the manager, trustees and volunteers at the bookshop in Folly Lane, Petersfield.
[T]he Lord has blessed us indeed! Our campaign raised sufficient funds to cover the shortfall of £5,000 and enough to kick start the shop going into the New Year. So the Unity Bookshop will remain trading. Our Christian friends from far and wide have stepped forward with their financial support and prayers, without which this would have been a very different story.
The news of this successful outcome was warmly received at the PACT Annual General Meeting at St. Peter’s Church last week.
The report concludes with an invitation for readers to visit the shop — but if you live too far away to visit in person, not to worry: you can discover Unity Christian Bookshop on facebook.
Like UKCBD, TGB’s mission is supporting Christian bookshops, and the site includes news, reviews (books and music), as well as a bookshops directory. Is your shop listed? Is it up to date? With the busiest time of year upon us, it’s more important than ever to make sure your shop’s details are correct.
Watford was a franchise rather than owned by NCT, which allowed the store to survive the collapse of NCT in August. The only other surviving stores appear to be Inverness, reopened by CLC earlier in the year amidst some controversy but very clearly now the right move by CLC, and Weston-super-Mare, under new ownership as Life WsM.
Sadly neither Leeds nor Liverpool have been successful in taking on the leases dropped by NCT, although Liverpool appear to remain optimistic that something can be achieved. Requests for continuing prayers for all involved have been posted by both groups:
NEW AUTHOR:
Jo Patterson, wife of Al and mother of three has written a novel in the Christian fiction genre that speaks into teenage pregnancy issues. This work – as well as being a good read “I’ve cried every time I’ve read it” – will be a valuable resource to equip the local saints in youthwork activity and in all pro-life efforts.
The new title is planned for a launch later in 2012.
No more music CDs after 2012?
ANYONE OUT THERE still got their heads buried in the sand over the impact of digitisation? Then go read this wake-up call from Paul Wilkinson of Canada’s Christian Book Shop Talk:
Christian Book Shop Talk: Music Industry Moving to End CD Format in 2012
IN WHAT MUST SURELY QUALIFY as one of the most bizarre rulings emerging out of the UK’s commitment to remain in Europe, Graham Allen of Leamington Christian Resource Centre has been advised by one of his school customers that supporting local businesses is classed as discriminatory under EU regulations, which specify that the whole of Europe is now ‘local’:
Hello Graham,
Schools purchasing comes under the remit of the County council and I cannot comment on their policy as I am not familiar with it.
However, you should be aware that Councils and other public bodies are unable to select to purchase on the basis of location as this discriminatory. As much as we would like to do this we have to find other ways to place our business locally – including information events and tender support (all of which the district council does in conjunction with the chamber of commerce). We have had success with this approach on the basis that the more local suppliers that bid the better the chance of us being able to place the business within the district.
The public sector is also bound by EU regulations that have strict thresholds for purchases of goods, services and works, and these also restrict the ability to purchase ‘locally’ as locally is considered to be Europe wide. The threshold levels are not high and relate to commodities over a contract term. This makes it easy for public bodies to breach the regulations unless strict controls are put in place.
Thank heavens for that little loophole at the end: just don’t tell the powers-that-be in Brussels or they’ll no doubt apply their concept of local to all purchases…
THERE’S RARELY A WEEK GOES BY when I don’t discover yet another Christian bookshop or publisher facebook page to like or twitter feed to follow. Here’s a random snapshot of just some of the Christian bookshops now using facebook to connect with colleagues and customers:
Christian Bookshops on Facebook: a random selection from the UKCBD facebook page sidebar - click through to discover more!
And last but not least: a social media experiment, The UK Christian Bookshops Daily, autogenerated courtesy of @smallrivers from twitter and facebook keyword searches for Christian Bookshop and the UKCBD blog RSS feed. The keyword search isn’t quite as smart as it might be, so don’t be surprised if some content seems out of place: let’s say we’re in beta phase. Best of all, however: the virtual paper system allows me to update the paper on the fly as I come across stories around the web — if you’d like to see your news or website featured, give me a shout here or mention @UKCBD in a tweet.
IT’S ALWAYS A CHALLENGE trying to keep the Directory up to date, but for those who may be wondering, you can now find the 10 most recent updates conveniently listed on the homepage:
If your entry needs updating, please give me a shout. It can take anything from a few days to a few weeks for me to get there, depending on other commitments: please be patient and remember that UKCBD is a 100% voluntary project. In the meantime feel free to leave a comment — or invite your customers to leave feedback — on your entry’s standalone page: simply click through from the main Directory where it says, “Out of Date?” — bottom right of every entry that’s been updated in the last couple of years.
All updated entries now include a facebook ‘Like’ button: reach more people by asking your facebook friends to hit it!
RT @hivestores: Booksellers, check this out to get your shop on the Guardian's map. Perfect opportunity for small but special... http:// ... 15 hours ago
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