February 16, 2012

Microshops: the way forward for the UK’s Christian bookshops?

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Bookshops, News, People News | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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CONGRATULATIONS to Richard Greatrex as the next step forward for his recently announced bespoke bookstall service to churches begins to take shape in Bath in partnership with agreatread.co.uk, bringing the two worlds of online bookselling and local shopping together.

From a report issued earlier today in the Bath Chronicle:

Bath Chronicle, 16/02/2011: New chapter for a Christian bookshop

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.”

 

February 15, 2012

Unity Christian Bookshop, Petersfield, saved for another year

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Bookshops, Independent Booksellers, News | Tags: , , |
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January 2012: Christians Save Bookshop!

January 2012: Christians Save Bookshop!

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:

January 2012: Christians Save Bookshop!

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.

 

November 4, 2011

News Roundup: The it’s-all-been-happening-this-week Edition

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Book Trade, News | Tags: , , , , , , , , , |
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IT’S ALL BEEN HAPPENING THIS WEEK: from Thomas Nelson publishing being swallowed up by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to CLC Wholesale announcing plans for a trade website. In the meantime, with the busiest time of year upon us, it’s more important than ever to make the most of every opportunity to connect with customers and to make sure that other sites such as UKCBD and the Good Bookstall that link to yours are up to date: latest news from both below, with much more sandwiched in between:

Bishop's Blog: The Good Bookstall Newsletter

Bishop's Blog: The Good Bookstall Newsletter

The Good Bookstall Newsletter featured on Bishop’s Blog

CONGRATULATIONS to the Good Bookstall on seeing their latest newsletter featured by twittering Bishop of Huntingdon, the Rt Revd David Thomson, on his blog: The Good BookStall Newsletter.

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.

See below for a note about UKCBD updates.

Storehouse Watford

Storehouse Watford

It’s Official: Storehouse is the new name for Living Oasis Watford

CONGRATULATIONS to the recently rebranded Living Oasis Watford on their official name change to Storehouse (Watford), formally registered with Companies House this week on Tuesday November 1st, 2011.

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 joins Jarom Books

CONGRATULATIONS to Jacques More and Jarom Books on the arrival of new author Jo Patterson. In a brief announcement posted on November 2nd, 2011, Jacques writes:

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

Christian Book Shop Talk: Music Industry Moving to End CD Format in 2012

Shop local — anywhere in Europe!

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…

Social Media Update

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

Christian Bookshops on Facebook: a random selection from the UKCBD facebook page sidebar - click through to discover more!

Those I’ve stumbled across this week are:

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.

UKCBD Winter Updates

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:

Latest Updates (most recent first)
The House on the Rock, Bury Updated 3/11/2011
Storehouse: The new name for Living Oasis, Watford Updated 3/11/2011
The Hub Christian Resource Centre, Walsall Updated 1/11/2011
The Sycamore Tree Christian Bookshop, Nuneaton Updated 31/10/2011
CLC Bookshop, London Updated 30/10/2011
Turning Point Garments Ltd, Bathgate Updated 30/10/2011
Jubilate Christian Bookshop, Stratford-upon-Avon Updated 25/10/2011
Ashburnham Christian Trust Bookshop, Battle Updated 08/10/2011
Glorious Beginnings, Willesden Updated 29/9/2011
The Good Book Shop, Belfast Updated 7/9/2011

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!

Thank you.

 

October 31, 2011

Good News as CWR appoint Roger Compton and extend ebooks range

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Book Trade, News, People News | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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CONGRATULATIONS TO CWR on their recent appointment of Roger Compton as their UK Retail Merchandiser for dated, seasonal and core titles — and congratulations to Roger himself, too, of course!

In a Trade Announcement posted in the Christian Authors, Booksellers and Publishers facebook group last week (Wednesday 26th October), Eddie Olliffe wrote:

CWR is pleased to inform you that Roger Compton has been appointed as CWR’s UK Retail Merchandiser for dated, seasonal and core titles. As many of you will know, Roger has long-standing experience in sales to the specialist Christian retail sector, having worked for the past 12 years with STL Distribution, latterly Trust Media Distribution.

This is a fixed term appointment, designed to maximise the sales and visibility of our dated and seasonal ranges particularly in the busy autumn period and then beyond to Lent and Easter. Roger will complement the excellent work of our three existing contracted sales reps (from Joining the Dots plus Stewart Anderson) and Roger will work mainly in London, the South-east and the Midlands. I’m sure that many of you will be pleased to see Roger again on the patch!

Earlier in the month, Eddie also posted details of CWR’s growing range of ebooks, now available through Gardners to retailers offering ebook sales via their own sites or taking part in the Hive network; ISBNs added, full list including dated materials available to download:

CWR eISBNs (pdf, 49kb)

CWR eISBNs (pdf, 49kb)

CWR’s recent range of eBooks is available to trade customers via Gardners Digital Warehouse and Gardlink for Windows. There are five titles (see below) + five dated notes (including Every Day with Jesus) in both Kindle & ePub format.

  • One Step Beyond (Gram Seed, 9781853455896)
  • What to Say When People Need Help (Selwyn Hughes, 9781853456640)
  • God’s Questions (Phil Greenslade, 9781853456190)
  • Leadership (Phil Greenslade, 9781853455902)
  • Coached by Christ (Andy Peck, 9781853455919)

Ebooks Elsewhere…

CWR are not the only Christian publisher getting up to speed on the ebooks front, of course: Darton, Longman & Todd have a good selection available in Amazon Kindle and Apple iBook format; and SPCK have a growing range, conveniently showcased for the rest of us by Keith Jones, who are undoubtedly leading the way as a Christian ebook retailer, with regular updates posted via twitter:

If you’re serious about keeping up to speed with digital developments, make sure you’ve read Bendicte Page’s Bookseller report, 7/10/2011, Christian publishers turn to apps in market squeeze and

Update, 31/10/2011, 12 noon:
 

October 21, 2011

The Hub, Walsall, completes major relocation: reopens Saturday 22nd October

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Bookshops, Independent Booksellers, News | Tags: , , , , , |
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Press Release, 21/10/2011: Walsall Christian Bookshop Completes Major Relocation - Opens Saturday 22nd October

Press Release, 21/10/2011: Walsall Christian Bookshop Completes Major Relocation - Opens Saturday 22nd October

CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES to Luke Hughes-Bunger and his team at The Hub, Walsall, as they finalise preparations for reopening on Saturday 22nd October 2011 at their new location in Stafford Street. Adapted from the official press release, issued today:

The Hub Christian Resource Centre, Walsall, has today announced that it has completed its relocation to Stafford Street, and will be open to the public on Saturday 22nd October 2011.

Nearly 2 years after the closure of Wesley Owen and the subsequent birth of The Hub, Christian retailing in Walsall is undergoing yet another major development. The Hub, which vacated it’s former shop in The Crossing at St Paul’s in Walsall town centre less than one week ago —ringing up it’s final sale there at about 4pm on Saturday 16th October — has completed the refitting of 31-31a Stafford Street in just one week, and will open this Saturday

Although renovation of the former White Mountain store — which had sat empty for over 12 months — had been ongoing for several weeks, the fact that the staff and volunteers have completed the transformation, with no outside contractors, is nonetheless testament to their passion for the shop, their mission to keep Christian books, music, cards, gifts and resources on the high street of Walsall, and the belief of all of those who volunteered, that Christian retailing is important, and the service offered is worth preserving.

Director Luke Hughes-Bunger said,

First and foremost, we must thank each and every person who has helped us throughout these last weeks and months. Without our numerous volunteers, drivers, painters, decorators, handymen and women and well-wishers, as well as those who have supported us in prayer and financially, this move would not have been possible.

We must also thank God. Without him, there would be no reason for The Hub to even exist. It is because of Him that so many people have given so much and have continued to support the work we do.

The move, which has been on the cards for several months, is in response to numerous factors, including the ongoing recession, increasing costs, the seismic shift in the layout of Walsall’s town centre, and a desire to diversify and beyond what would have been possible at The Crossing at St Paul’s to name just a few.

Luke explains:

The move came about for a variety of reasons, you can’t put your finger on any one thing which made us say ‘go’. Everything just fell into place, and just at the right time, to make it possible, which is often how we have found God to move in these circumstances.

The recession is real, and shows no signs of letting up. We cannot simply bury our heads in the sand and hope the storm will pass. If we believe that there is still a place for Christian bookshops on the high street, which we do, then we must be proactive in finding ways to secure the survival of our shop.

It’s a buyers market right now, and the cost savings which can be achieved by moving just a few minutes away from the town centre, is very significant.

The Hub leaves The Crossing, which has been the home to Walsall’s Christian bookshop since St. Paul’s converted the ground floor to a shopping centre more than14 years, and moves to Stafford Street, the home of The Beacon, Walsall’s first independent Christian bookshop.

Christine Bunger, also a Director of the shop, said,

It’s sort of like coming full circle. As Walsall’s layout once again changes, and development continues in this part of town following major investment in the area by Tesco, Walsall College and Walsall Housing Group, it seems fitting that The Hub is able to return home to the same street where it all began with The Beacon, more than 40 years ago. Once again, an independent Christian Bookshop sits pride of place on Stafford Street.

Luke explained further:

Moving also gives us a freedom to diversify, and to grow beyond the confines of ‘The Crossing’ our home since we opened in February 2010.

That’s not to be disparaging towards our former landlords. They have been fantastic — everything we could want in a landlord in many ways — however the fact remains, much of what The Hub would like to do is already offered by St Paul’s. By moving, rather than reducing the Christian presence in the town, we are actually increasing it. St Paul’s will continue to minister to the people of the town, through the great work they do, and The Hub can minister to different people, in a different part of town.

 

September 1, 2011

News Roundup: The New Beginnings Edition

Posted by Phil Groom under Bookshop Ramblings, Christian Bookshops, News | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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NEW BEGINNINGS: they’re what following Jesus is all about, from life through death and back to life again, and to get the month of September off to a good start we have a series of new beginnings to celebrate — but each has come at a cost. As I prepare this post, I’m listening to Coldplay’s latest single, Every Teardrop is a Waterfall, and one line seems to stand out especially: “I’d rather be a comma than a full stop” — it seems to sum up our calling as Christians, to be commas rather than full stops in God’s purposes, ready for whatever comes next. But the role of a comma, like a grain of wheat, is far from easy: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies,” said Jesus, “it remains only a single grain—”

Enough of my ramblings for now, however; on to the stories:

In Brief…

Christian Marketplace reports on the Altar Missals shenanigans with CTS: An unholy row over Missals

Glenn Myers, author of June’s Guest Post, Why I started telling stories to tell the truth, is now twittering with the rest of us @Glenn_Myers

Janet Wilson of Dernier Publishing fame has entered the blogosphere: head over there for the latest info on all Dernier’s books for children & teenagers.

What is the future for Christian bookselling? Clem Jackson reflects on the current state of the UK Christian book trade: join the conversation on facebook.

Cornerstone Clapham survives Riots

CORNERSTONE CHRISTIAN BOOKSHOP, CLAPHAM, had a narrow escape in London’s riots as windows were smashed and a fire started, causing some £4,000 worth of damage — fortunately, however, one of the rioters had a change of heart and returned to put the fire out. A report posted by the Barnabas Fund, Christian Bookshop at Centre of Riots Saved, describes another rioter about to set fire to the premises but being dissuaded by someone, whom the shop’s owners believe was an angel, shouting, “No, don’t do that, I live upstairs!”

Whatever you make of the supposed angelic intervention, the good news is that the shop was able to resume trading after only one day. Please pray for owners Brian and Ulrike Warner as they continue to pick up the pieces…

GLO Motherwell Relaunched

CONGRATULATIONS to Andrew Lacey and the team at GLO, Motherwell, on Monday’s rededication and relaunch of the shop following a comprehensive refit and re-merchandising. Andrew explains on their facebook event page:

Given the significant changes in the Book market, we have decided to re-allocate our floor area and completely re-merchandise the store. We have ‘reversed’ the shop layout to bring Card & Gift product to the front of the store, and moved the ‘Printed Page’ product to the back of the store. We continue to give God’s Word, the Bible, the ‘prime’ trading position in the store, and the popular Children’s area remains unchanged.

A summary of the benefits of the recent re-merchandise of the store

  • By moving Gift and Card products to the front of the store, we hope to encourage more friends from the local community to browse these products.
  • The range of DVDs and other media titles has been significantly increased, and a wide range of audio-books has been brought in.
  • We continue to carry a huge range of books and this has been re-merchandised to the back of the store. This area of the shop now includes a coffee machine and reading tables. Comfy chairs have been placed to enable customers to relax and browse the wide range of titles. This has created a lovely relaxed atmosphere, and DVD players and computer systems have been provided to allow customers to sample some of the resources on show.
  • Space is being created to allow a relevant range of second hand books to be sold. We are currently appealing for donations of books.
  • In response to customer requests, we are developing a suitable selection of local interest and general books.
  • The GLO Bookshop is now part of the ‘HIVE’ network of local independent bookshops. This give us the ability to retail e-Books (see the link below). The HIVE network also provides access to over 4.5 million general book and DVD titles at very competitive prices. We would encourage friends of GLO to use this facility if they require ‘general’ books, rather than Amazon! If you order from HIVE, GLO will benefit from a commission on each sale. Your items can either be delivered FREE to the GLO Bookshop in Motherwell, or delivered direct to your home for a small charge. In either case, GLO will benefit from your custom.

Photos of the new-look shop are available on facebook:

GLO Relaunch

GLO Relaunch

Goodbye LST Books & Resources: Hello Maranatha

LST BOOKS AND RESOURCES, the first shop to be listed in the UK Christian Bookshops Directory and where yours truly cut his teeth in this strange but wonderful world of Christian bookselling/retailing, is no more. The shop closed on Friday August 26th with a brief announcement on facebook:

LST Books and Resources is no more ;-( However there will be a bookshop at LST opening 30/8/2011 :-) Good Luck to Geoff and Jan. So Ciao for now

The Geoff and Jan mentioned are none other than Geoff and Jan Wallace of Maranatha Christian Bookshop, Uxbridge, fame, and I personally can think of no better hands into which the future of bookselling at LST could be entrusted. Maranatha, as it happens, was the second shop to be listed in UKCBD, which makes them an even more apt successor to the shop at LST. Geoff and Jan, I salute you and wish you every success in this new venture: may the Lord bless you as richly as he blessed me during my tenure as LST’s bookshop manager.

Please pray for Geoff and Jan, especially Jan as she manages the shop on a daily basis, pray for the LST community to fully embrace this new opportunity, and pray for my former colleague, Nick, who took on the mantle after my departure last year, as he moves on to pursue further studies.

Maranatha Uxbridge announce new branch at London School of Theology

Maranatha Uxbridge announce new branch at London School of Theology

Living Oasis…

NO NEW INFORMATION but simply a reminder to keep praying for everyone struggling after the collapse of NCT: those who have lost jobs and livelihoods; suppliers seeking redress for NCT’s debts; and those who are pressing on with the vision, for whom one of the biggest challenges will no doubt be the question of rebuilding trust with suppliers and other business partners after yet another Christian company defaults on its debts.

We’ve already seen one new beginning at Weston-super-Mare, of course, and discussions are still underway in Liverpool over the lease — if you missed it last time, see Phil Jump’s facebook note from 12th August, Living Oasis Liverpool UPDATE.

For latest news on…

and keep an eye on the various facebook pages and groups…

New Christian Bookshop in Bedford

Via twitter; further details to follow. The shop is about a 15 minute walk from the town centre, just a couple of streets away from the Jaffa Orchard café and gift shop, run by a group of people from Russell Park Baptist Church where the new shop’s owners are members:

 

August 25, 2011

Employment Tribunal awards Redundancy Payments to Durham Cathedral Shop Staff

Posted by Phil Groom under News, People News, SPCK, SPCK/SSG, SSG | Tags: , , , , , , |
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Cross-posted from SPCK/SSG News, Notes & Info. Matt Wardman reports, and concludes with a number of questions about some of the loose ends left hanging in this long-running saga — to which I’ve added another and to which you, gentle reader, may wish to add your own, either in the comments here or on the original post…

Durham Cathedral Shop Employees win Redundancy Payout

This news is very much of the ‘we were tipped into a swamp and lost nearly everything, but we escaped the alligators with our lives after each losing half a leg’ variety, but the staff at Durham Cathedral Shop have — 4 years after the saga to which SPCK/SSG News, Notes & Info is devoted kicked off  —received some more good news. It has been ruled that when the staff of the Durham Cathedral Shop were thrown out of their jobs in January 2010, it constituted redundancy and unfair dismissal.

Since Mark and Phil Brewer have done a vanishing trick after running the business into the ground (don’t forget that Phil Brewer used the shop to fund his Trotter-Trading Yellow private aeroplane, and that hundreds of thousands of pounds simply went missing), the Judge rules that payment can be made from State funds.

I should also say that this decision was by a previous shop management, and the shop — and particularly the staff — deserve full support.

Employment Tribunal Report

An Employment Tribunal held on Wednesday 24th August 2011 in Newcastle, and this is a report of the proceedings.

“A sorry tale which has been going on for some time has now come to this.”

The opening comment by Mr Jim Shepherd, Employment Judge, at the Employment Tribunal held on Wednesday 24th August 2011 in Newcastle, between the claimants, the staff of the Durham Cathedral Shop, and the Durham Cathedral Shop Management Company and the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills.

The start of the tale was on 22nd January 2010, when the staff of the Durham Cathedral Shop were all dismissed. The shop was one of the 23 SPCK Bookshops taken over in 2006 by the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust run by American brothers, Mark and Phil Brewer. In 2008 the Durham shop’s management transferred to the Durham Cathedral Shop Management Company, a new company set up by the Brewer brothers. By January 2010 Durham was the only shop remaining under their control, and was a poor shadow of the flagship shop it had been in SPCK days. Phil Brewer contacted the staff and said the company had financial difficulties and he needed to talk to the Cathedral Chapter. On 22nd January 2010 the staff were summoned by the Chapter Clerk, following his discussion with Phil Brewer, and were told the shop was to close immediately. The staff received no written notice of dismissal, were not consulted in accordance with UK employment law and did not receive wages due to them, severance payment nor redundancy payment.

The staff were represented by Sara Devennie, of Beecham & Peacock, Newcastle solicitors, who were instructed by the trade union USDAW, of which all the staff are members. Beecham & Peacock received no fee for this work as part of their on-going commitment to a number of trade unions to fight for the rights of workers.

The Tribunal were presented with the detailed and complicated facts of the case, and ruled that it was unfair dismissal and redundancy. The Secretary of State’s office had investigated the solvency of the Durham Cathedral Shop Management Company and stated it was not insolvent and was still registered as a company, with the registered trading address as the Durham Cathedral Shop. However, the Tribunal Judge stated he felt it unlikely that any money would be forthcoming from the USA.

By ruling that redundancy had occurred, the Judge legalised the claim for state redundancy payments to be made by the Secretary of State. Payments of between £2,000 and £11,000 were awarded to the staff.

The Durham Cathedral Shop, under the management of Durham Cathedral, re-opened on 1st March 2010, and all of the former staff have been re-employed by Durham Cathedral.

That is excellent news, and congratulations go especially to the one member of staff who persevered with the claim. Perhaps ways can now finally be found to look forward at Durham.

Remaining Questions

There are still some very serious questions around the whole SPCK saga, which I hope will be addressed somehow.

The Brewers still deserve to be brought to book for offences committed throughout the last several years. These include the magically vanishing funds from Durham Cathedral Shop mentioned above.

But there is also the small matter of money specifically given for the support of Christian Bookselling in Newcastle, and placed in a separate fund after the sale of the Bible House Bookshop, which seems to have been misappropriated during the time of Management by the Brewer Brothers. Specifically, monies were allocated for improvements to the premises of SPCK Newcastle which – as far as we are aware – were never done. The sum involved was 5 figures.

Questions around the Governance of SPCK itself, and decisions made.

And the whole question of who is going to learn which lessons from this whole Godawful Mess, and whether they actually have been learned?

Stand Up SPCK Up

To Matt’s questions I would add: what of the Durham Cathedral and Chapter’s culpability and liability? Collusion with the Brewers in continuing to allow them to trade, failure to evict them, and — by far the worst blot in their copybook — an abysmal failure in their duty of care towards workers on their premises…

Reports Elsewhere…

 

August 17, 2011

Christian Bookshops Live with Hive!

Posted by Phil Groom under News | Tags: , , , , , , |
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Welcome to hive

Welcome to hive

MORE THAN TEN CHRISTIAN BOOKSHOPS are now live with Hive, the initiative launched by mainstream wholesaler Gardners (discussed here earlier this year) to help bridge the gap between the online and the bricks & mortar shopping experience:

The Hive Network is a radical new concept bringing the benefits of local high street retailing to the ease and pleasure of buying your books and DVDs on the internet.

Whilst everyone enjoys supporting the local bookshops that enrich our environment and bring variety and personality into our high streets, the convenience, range and 24-hour access of shopping online is an activity that many of us enjoy and take great pleasure in. Yet, having goods delivered when we may not be around to receive them does sometimes have its drawbacks… and let’s face it; the high street wouldn’t be as exciting or as colourful without your local independent bookshops.

That’s where the Hive Network comes to the rescue!

For booksellers, the service offers a customisable homepage and a fully functional online shop serviced through their Gardners account, with customer orders and stock orders consolidated into single deliveries, reducing carbon footprint. Customers benefit from the convenience of online shopping with free delivery to the bookshop of their choice for collection at a time that suits them, free home delivery for orders over £15, or 75p for home delivery on smaller orders. The project claims to be “the future of high street shopping on the internet… and internet shopping on your high street!” — the only thing that’s needed to change that from wishful thinking to reality, gentle reader, is you and me; and remember that it’s not just Christian books you can order from your chosen hive-linked bookshop: Gardners’ full range of fiction and non-fiction, including ebooks, is available!

The Christian retailers I’m aware of that have signed up so far are listed below: click through to visit their hive shops. If none of them are in your area, you can use the store locator to find your nearest participating shop; and if your local Christian bookshop isn’t there, why not pop in and encourage them to sign up?

Some have customised their homepages — the best examples I’ve seen so far are GLO and Unicorn Tree Books (UTB) — whilst others have yet to take advantage of this option, which leaves them particularly vulnerable to the potential for embarrassment that fuelled our earlier discussions. If you’re a bookseller reading this who hasn’t customised your home page, I’d encourage you to take a look the GLO and UTB pages to see how it can be done — then go and do likewise!

Customised Hive Home Page for Unicorn Tree Books & Crafts

Customised Hive Home Page for Unicorn Tree Books & Crafts

Discover more:

 

June 18, 2011

News Roundup: The Awards and Congratulations Edition

Posted by Phil Groom under Book News, News, People News | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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OVER THE LAST MONTH or so we seem to have had a plethora of awards in the Christian book trade, so without further ado, congratulations all round to those who’ve won, commiserations to the runners-up, and one or two other congratulatory notes as well because there’s more, much more, to life than winning awards. Rumours of the trade’s demise are a tad premature, methinks…

  • Atheist Delusions Wins Michael Ramsey Prize
  • Booksellers Association launches new Facebook page
  • BRF Author Wins Ultimate Christian Library Book Award
  • CRT Awards to CWR, IVP, Salvation Army and Tyndale House (Updated 29/06/2011)
  • Hope Centre Official Opening
  • Wedding Bells at Dernier Publishing
  • SPCK’s Alan Mordue named as ‘Best Overseas Supporting Vendor’
David Bentley Hart receives the Michael Ramsey Prize 2011 from the Archbishop of Canterbury

David Bentley Hart receives the Michael Ramsey Prize 2011 from the Archbishop of Canterbury

Atheist Delusions Wins Michael Ramsey Prize

CONGRATULATIONS to David Bentley Hart, shown here receiving the Michael Ramsey Prize 2011 from the Archbishop of Canterbury for his book, Atheist Delusions, Yale University Press.

See the Press Release (27 May 2011) for full details: Winner of £10,000 Theology Prize Announced

Booksellers Association launches new Facebook page

CONGRATULATIONS to the Booksellers Association on the recent launch of their facebook page: you don’t have to be a BA member to like it, and it’s an easy way to keep up to speed with their latest news delivered direct to your facebook feed. You are on facebook, aren’t you??

Brad Lincoln receives the Speaking Volumes 'Ultimate Christian Library Book' Award 2011

Brad Lincoln receives the Speaking Volumes 'Ultimate Christian Library Book' Award 2011

BRF Author Wins Ultimate Christian Library Book Award

CONGRATULATIONS to Brad Lincoln, pictured with (left to right) Paula Renouf and Geoff Booker of Speaking Volumes, presenting him and BRF’s Karen Laister with the Ultimate Christian Library Book Award 2011 at CRE Sandown Park on 11 May 2011 for his book, One Dad Encountering God.

More details from BRF: One Dad Encountering God Wins Award!

• More pictures and previous award winners

Christian Resources Together Awards

Update, 29/06/2011: Christian Marketplace has now published the full list of award winners: Stott wins Book of the Year award; congratulations especially to Mary Bartholomew of the Good Bookstall on her Long Service Award: very well deserved indeed.

CONGRATULATIONS to the many and various winners of the numerous awards presented at this month’s Christian Resources Together event at High Leigh. The CRT publicity engine seems to be grinding a little slowly and I’ve yet to receive details of all the winners, but — with a special mention for IVP on a double win, overall Book of the Year for John Stott’s The Radical Disciple and Over 12s Book of the Year for Rachel Gardner’s Cherished — those that have come to my attention so far are:

Double Christian Resources Together Awards 2011 for IVP

Double Christian Resources Together Awards 2011 for IVP

The Mayor of Macclesfield snips the ribbon for the Hope Centre's official opening

The Mayor of Macclesfield snips the ribbon for the Hope Centre's official opening

Hope Centre Official Opening

CONGRATULATIONS to all involved in the recent official opening of Macclesfield’s new Christian bookshop and resource centre, The Hope Centre, who you’ll also find twittering with the rest of us @HopeCentreMacc. With only 6 followers as I post this update, they’re looking kinda lonely so why not head on over there and show them some twitter love? Opening day photo courtesy of Robert Marshall, @rajm: discover more on flickr.

Wedding Bells at Dernier Publishing

VERY SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS to Janet Evans of Dernier Publishing, due to marry Andrew Wilson on 2 July 2011. Janet writes:

… for those of you who don’t know, I will be marrying Andrew Wilson on 2nd July. After eight years on my own since my first husband died, it is wonderful to have someone to share life with. We met at CRE last year. (I’ve since met another couple who met at CRE!) Andrew is on the staff of a charity that supports those around the world who are persecuted for their faith in Christ. He is also a former journalist, and does some editing and proof-reading for us.

More news from Dernier Publishing coming up next week…

SPCK’s Alan Mordue named as ‘Best Overseas Supporting Vendor’

LAST BUT BY NO MEANS LEAST, CONGRATULATIONS to SPCK Sales Director Alan Mordue, recognised by the USA’s Episcopal Booksellers’ Association award as ‘Best Overseas Supporting Vendor’ for his ongoing work over the last three years, including annual visits to the Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit and Society of Biblical Literature meetings.

 

May 5, 2011

Mayor of Watford to Open new Living Oasis Store this weekend

Posted by Phil Groom under News | Tags: , , , , , |
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Living Oasis Watford: Official Reopening 2pm, Sat 7th May 2011

Living Oasis Watford: Official Reopening with the Mayor at 2pm, Sat 7th May 2011

THIS SATURDAY, 7th May, is expected to see hopes and dreams for Living Oasis Watford fulfilled as the store reopens at its new location at 15-17 The Parade, Watford, next door to Presence. The opening takes place at 2pm, presided over by Mayor of Watford Dorothy Thornhill, who was also there for the original opening last year when Living Oasis took over the former Wesley Owen premises.

Hearty congratulations to all involved!

From the Christian Gateway Watford news page:

New Living Oasis Watford shop – official opening Saturday 7th May, 2pm
Living Oasis is delighted to announce the opening of its new Watford Christian resources centre, which will be located at 15-17 The Parade on the High Street (two doors up from T J Hughes).

The new store is spread over two floors, and we hope will play a significant part in helping resource and equip Watford’s Christian community to boldly share Gospel Truth in a high-quality context that connects with life in today’s world. The large shop will carry an impressive 7,000 product lines including a vibrant children’s section, a large selection of Bibles and practical theology titles…

 

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