July 9, 2011

Shout out from Christian Retailing mag: Sign the Christian Retailing Pledge!

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Book Trade, Church Resources | Tags: , , , , |
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Sign the Christian Retailing Pledge!

Sign the Christian Retailing Pledge!

CHRISTIAN RETAILING MAG has issued a shout out via facebook to the world’s Christian retailers to “sign the Christian Retailing Pledge and commit to the ministry of Christian resources”:

I believe in the power of Christian products to change lives. I believe I am called to be part of this ministry through Christian retailing. Times may have changed, but my calling has not. I believe that the body of Christ still needs strong Christian retailers. So I will not quit. I will not give up. I have faith. I will believe. I am willing to change to better meet the needs of my community, customers, employees and suppliers. I will help others to succeed. I will seek to honor my Lord in my business with the efforts of my hands, my heart, my staff, my store and my commitment to His Word. I love Christian retailing and I thank God for my calling.

If you’re up for it, head on over to facebook today and add your name to the list; and if, like me, you’re no longer a retailer yourself, head on over there and pledge your support as a customer — because without us as customers, the retailers’ pledges are in vain.

 

July 2, 2011

News Roundup: 4th July is UK Independents’ Day | Cambridge Bibles publish first English Language flipback® | and much, much more…

Posted by Phil Groom under Bookshop Ramblings | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Holiday time...

Holiday time...

JULY ALREADY: the sun is shining, Wimbledon is over for Andy Murray, and the holiday season is upon us, oh yes, but there’s still plenty happening in and around the Christian book trade. Don’t forget to shout out with your news if you’d like to be included in the next news roundup… and if you’d like to keep up to speed with the news as it emerges, follow the UKCBD twitter feed:

Independents' Day: Your High Street Needs You! Click through for more info and poster download options...

Independents' Day: Your High Street Needs You! Click through for more info and poster download options...

4th July is UK Independents’ Day

ARE YOU READY? Have you put a poster up? If not, now’s the time to grab one because Monday 4th July is Independents’ Day — atrocious wordplay but a superb initiative from Skillsmart Retail to try to bring some footfall back to the UK’s indie retailers. Anne Seaman, Skillsmart Retail’s Chief Executive, explains the thinking behind the campaign:

We are delighted to lead this campaign and support small retailers. Raising awareness amongst the public is one of the biggest challenges smaller retailers face and our message is about encouraging the public to use their local high street and understand how important a diverse retail sector is.

It’s also essential that local retailers understand that to compete today they need to be top of their game. The time for sitting back has passed and action is required: Your high street needs you!

Find out more and get involved:


h/t Amanda Taylor, Cambridge Bibles

Cambridge Bibles publish first English Language flipback®

The Transetto Bible

The Transetto Bible

CONGRATULATIONS to Cambridge Bibles on becoming the publisher of the first English language flipback®, the Transetto: a new, ultra-compact edition of the King James Version Bible that breaks with tradition by opening vertically rather than horizontally. Published, of course, with the much-publicised 400th KJV Anniversary in mind, the Transetto is available in special trade packs of nine copies plus one free if you request the POS display tower: orders via Lion Hudson.

For those who are beginning to feel that they’ve already seen more editions of the KJV this year than their sanity can handle, don’t panic: more English language flipbacks have just emerged hot off the press from Hodder:

Christian Marketplace news roundup

The latest Christian Marketplace news roundup is out, along with a report detailing all the Christian Resources Together 2011 Award Winners: Stott wins Book of the Year award. Congratulations especially to CLC London and Quench Maidenhead, Large and Small Retailers of the Year respectively.

From Mental Illness to Christian Bookshop Owner: Paul Slennett’s Story

PAUL SLENNETT’S REMARKABLE STORY has made local headlines in the Yellow Advertiser, Bookseller marks 40 years in the business:

A BOOKSHOP owner celebrated 40 years in the business with a message of hope.
Paul Slennett, who runs Christian bookshops in Southend, Chelmsford and Brentwood, said: “I put my trust in God and he helped me turn my life around. He can do the same for anyone.”
The 64-year-old has come a long way from the youngster who ended up in a psychiatric ward, confused and depressed.
Now, as well as the shops, Mr Slennett is behind the Jesus is Alive Mission, which supports overseas aid work, is an author and happily married with four grown-up children who all work with charities.
He said: “I was troubled as a child and teenager. But that all changed when I was in the mental hospital.
“God came to me and said he would be my father and guide, as long as I did what he asked.
“I have done that, and have had a fantastic life as a result.”
After he was made redundant from a job at a ships’ chandlers ‘which was taking up far too much of my time’, God told Mr Slennett that he wanted him to open a Christian bookshop in Southend…

IVP Summer Reading Sale Now On!

IVP’S SUMMER SALE has started, with up to 50% trade discount off selected biography and fiction titles from 1st July to 31st August. To qualify, place an initial order for any mix of 20 or more of the offer titles: download the trade flyer (pdf) for details.

Living Oasis Update: Julie Jowett leaves Harrogate for Spain; and Liverpool plans September Opening

El Palmeral

Mike and Julie Jowett at El Palmeral

IT’S NOT ONLY farewell to Nottingham and Worthing today, but also farewell to Julie Jowett, who has now left Living Oasis Harrogate and her role as the company’s National Sales Manager for what looks very much like a real oasis as she joins her husband at El Palmeral, a retreat/guest house for the over-25s in Spain, tried and tested by none other than Mike Norbury. Congratulations, Julie, and very best wishes for the new venture.

Meanwhile Living Oasis Liverpool have posted photos of the shop’s interior on facebook, announced a proposed opening date of some time in September and now have their own dedicated website, livingoasisliverpool.co.uk. At present they’re still facing £20k budget deficit but remain optimistic and are advertising for investors to help meet the shortfall:

We need to raise just 20,000 pounds more and we have the finance to complete phase 1. If you would like to contribute please contact the store.

There’s optimism and there’s optimism, however: the who we are page describes the shop as being “one of a growing, national chain of stores” — an interesting claim, given the last 6 months of store closures; but unlike the stores that have closed, Liverpool does seem to have solid backing from the local Christian community:

The Liverpool store has its own steering group, chaired by Baptist Regional Minister Revd. Phil Jump and comprises representatives from NCT, local churches, representatives of groups and organisations already working in the city centre, and local Christians with a business background

Here’s to September and beyond!

The Accidental Pilgrim

The Accidental Pilgrim

Maggi Dawn on the move

CONGRATULATIONS to Maggi Dawn, author of a number of books — latest, The Accidental Pilgrim, due out in July — who is on the move to pastures new in the USA to take up an appointment as Dean of Marquand Chapel and Associate Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School.

Hope they allow you plenty of time for your writing, Maggi!

Scam Warning from Sovereign World

PAUL STANIER of Sovereign World tells me that they had a close call with a scammer, but forewarned was forearmed and they avoided the pitfall. Paul writes:

I wondered if you could use your blog to warn Christian publishers and the trade in general over a scam that was successfully used against another Christian company and has been tried against Sovereign World (which failed, as we were pre-warned).

They use card details to pay for books, which appear to be authorised when processed (but it actually later fails in transaction at the bank end, as the card is usually reported stolen). You think you have their trust, so when they ask you to pay for their shipping cost via Western Union to the shipping company that they allocate (their shipping company won’t accept cards) it seems legitimate. The buyer pays for the shipping to you via card, and you then think you are safe to pay on the buyers behalf the shipping company via Western Union. But no… you are not safe because the credit card payment never makes it to your account, and you pay a stranger about £1500 (not a legit shipping company) to Western Union, which is not traceable. They take the Western Union money, disappear and your card payments don’t go through… You lose £1500.

I am wanting to warn the Christian trade, as they appear to be targeting us.

Social Media Update: Look who’s tweeting (and more)

A BRIEF SNAPSHOT: if you haven’t already found them, you can now:

Last but not least: don’t miss the Quench Bookshops blog: a superb example of a Christian bookshop using WordPress.

Twitter, Facebook, Issuu and WordPress are all free services — if you’re not using them to engage with your customers and boost your shop’s online profile, it’s time to get up to speed. If you don’t understand why, pay a visit to Vicky Beeching’s new blog, CyberSoul. For more and more people, the supposed distinction between the “real” and “virtual” worlds is becoming an increasingly false dichotomy — head on over there today and join the conversation where spirituality meets technology … or collides with it, as the case may be…

 

June 30, 2011

Dernier Publishing News: Summer 2011 Update

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Publishers, News, People News | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Janet Evans, Dernier Publishing

Janet Evans, Dernier Publishing

SOMEWHAT DELAYED, so my apologies to Janet Evans (soon to be Wilson) of Dernier Publishing, who writes…

Many thanks to all of you wonderful booksellers who are stocking our books! It has been great to get to know some of you over the past year, some ‘virtually’, some ‘in the flesh’, as it were. It is great to be working with you and to hear some of your stories. It never ceases to surprise me how creative and ingenious some of you are, with cafés opening, events happening, online stores and social networking all making a difference. Good on you: you are doing a fantastic job. It has also been sad to see more shops closing … every loss is a loss to us all, in a way.

So, what of Dernier Publishing? Here are a few highlights of the last nine months or so:

1. This isn’t strictly Dernier Publishing news, it’s more personal, but 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.

Youth Fiction from Dernier Publishing

Youth Fiction from Dernier Publishing

2. We now have nine books out! When I wrote the last piece for Phil’s blog, back in August, we only had six – that’s a 50% increase! Beech Bank Girls II: Making A Difference (chick lit for 10-14s), The Only Way (brilliant book for teens), and The Birthday Shoes (surprise adventure for 8-11s) are all great books. It’s so exciting to see our list grow – not so we can have a bigger stock, but so that we can reach more young people with the good news of Jesus, through exciting, relevant stories. Now that is something to be excited about!

3. Beech Bank Girls I: Every Girl Has A Story was shortlisted for the Christian Resources Together Awards (children over 12 category). Whoo hoo! How amazing is that?! Although we didn’t win, this still means that this book is one of the three most popular Christian books for children of this age in the whole of the UK – wow! Several kind booksellers told me that they thought we should have won – if that was you, thank you very much! Thanks also to everyone who nominated and voted for us, and congratulations particularly to Eleanor Watkins, the author. It’s a brilliant book, worth every penny of the £5.99 price tag! Book III in the series is due for release in October – maybe it will win the award next year?!

4. I did my first ever radio interview on Premier Radio – Lizzie put me at my ease and I was soon into the swing of it. Several enquiries and encouragements have come from that interview, so thank you, Premier Radio!

5. I was asked to present a prize at the Church School Awards (and met Andy from Blue Peter!) This was a great opportunity to begin inroads into books for schools – again, this wasn’t something I set out to do, but the door just opened for us to be there.

6. I Want to Be An Airline Pilot and Beech Bank Girls II: Making a Difference are in the Speaking Volumes catalogue; and The Birthday Shoes was Kingsway’s book of the month in April. So encouraging!

7. We have two more new books coming out in the autumn. Eleanor Watkins has done a brilliant job with the third story in the Beech Bank Girls series; and Living in Hope, the sequel to I Want to Be an Airline Pilot, by Mary Weeks Millard, is due out in October – keep an eye on the Coming Soon pages on our website! Here’s a sneaky preview of the cover illustration:

Living in Hope: cover preview

Living in Hope: cover preview

8. If all of this seems a bit over the top to those of you who are used to dealing with established publishers, please be aware that we started with nothing, not so long ago – precious little knowledge and one computer in my dining room!

It has been continually amazing to see the hand of the Lord at work. Any success we have had is by his grace alone [Editor's note: don't dismiss your own hard work too quickly, Janet! It's grace and guts in this game of following Jesus!]. He has brought along opportunities, made a way where there seemed to be no way, performed many miracles. I do believe that his heart is so much for our young people, who are growing up in an increasingly dark environment, where sin is no longer considered sin, where to go to church and believe in Jesus is weird.

Mostly, we will never hear about or see the results of our books for ourselves, but I sometimes receive encouragements – here’s a recent one, from Gill:

My niece, aged 15, not overly academic, read one right through last night and loved it. I think it’s the first time in her life that she’s read a whole book from choice! Must be good!

May God bless you all.

Janet Evans, Publisher, and Eleanor Watkins, Author, at the Dernier Publishing stand, CRE 2011

Janet Evans, Publisher, with Eleanor Watkins, Author of the Beech Bank Girls series, at the Dernier Publishing stand, CRE Sanddown Park 2011

 

June 4, 2011

Glenn Myers: Why I started telling stories to tell the truth

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Book Trade, Guest Posts | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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Glenn Myers

Glenn Myers

SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT over the weekend from Glenn Myers, indie publisher and author at Fizz Books as well as Mission Journalist and Website Editor at WEC International. Glenn has published extensively with Authentic Media, Christian Focus, Scripture Union and WEC Publications, titles ranging from his fresh-out-of-college World Christian Starter Kit through to the more recent Life Lessons (Christian Focus, 2010).

Like so many others, Glenn has been watching the chaos within the Christian book trade over the last few years with some concern; here he reflects on the power and importance of storytelling and wonders whether that’s part of what’s missing from many of our bookshops…

Why I started telling stories to tell the truth

I have worked for around twenty years in mission journalism (and you may even have stocked some of my books), but I rediscovered something while walking the dog one summer evening about six years ago: my first love was comic fiction. So I went part-time at work and wrote a novel, didn’t sell it, formed my own publisher, and am now discovering the joys of indie publishing — a familiar enough story.

It has opened my eyes, though, to the power and virtues of storytelling. Here are a few:

  • Humans have an insatiable desire for stories.
  • We learn truth through stories, by putting ourselves somewhere in the intersection between the story we are living and the story we are being told. Who, for example, hasn’t heard the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector and not wanted to pray like the Tax Collector?
  • Stories bring a heart-learning, not a head-learning: exactly, in other words, where we want the gospel to go.
  • Three-quarters of the Bible is story.
  • Jesus told stories all the time (except when he was teaching his disciples). In fact, when he talks about the farmer sowing the seed, he’s not talking about ‘preaching the gospel’, he’s talking about telling stories.
  • Jesus’ stories were (a) highly entertaining and (b) designed to make the hearers yearn for reconciliation with God, for a better world.
  • Stories give people space to think things through for themselves, and thus learn deeper and better. Stories fit people’s hearts.

My experience of Christian bookshops is that they are not nearly so story-filled as our culture or our Bible. And I agree with Philip Yancey that it is curious what books Christian bookshops typically don’t stock.

To take a couple of random examples: I’ve just finished The Language of God by the former head of the Human Genome Project, Francis Collins. Published in the UK by Simon and Schuster, it’s a moving story of Francis Collins’ conversion to Christ, and it’s also as accomplished an account of the differing roles of science and faith as I have ever read. Or take the novels of Marilynne Robinson, which have won both the Pulitzer Prize and the Orange Prize for fiction and are just magnificent in their accounts of grace and prodigality within a context of Christian ministry and life. That’s before you start trawling the ocean of classic novels with their redemptive themes. It would be an interesting exercise to get Christian people to list the novels and biographies that cause their hearts to burn and yearn after God. And then stock them.

I expect there are many difficulties with this idea. But Christian bookshops have plenty of difficulties anyway! And isn’t this where Christian bookshops belong? Imagine a curated collection of novels and biographies, from whatever publisher, that are (a) very good and (b) cause people to yearn to meet God. This would be a bookshop that truly was for the High Street; that had a wonderful offering for anyone who was looking for a book for themselves or a present for a friend; and that truly did sow seeds of life.

Nice to dream anyway…

  • Which novels and biographies, as Glenn puts it, make your heart “burn and yearn after God”?
  • Do you stock fiction in your shop?
  • If not, why not?
  • If so, which titles/publishers would you recommend to other booksellers wanting to get started in this area or expand their range?
 

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

 

March 25, 2011

Desert Wells: Bridging the divide between life-in-church and life-in-the-world

Posted by Phil Groom under Book News, Guest Posts | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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DESCRIBED BY THE PUBLISHERS, Darton, Longman & Todd, as written for “anyone who knows deep down that they would like to live and love differently, [Desert Wells] is a fresh approach: ten original short stories written to help us explore paths that deepen our humanity, such as slowing down, listening, forgiving – living in the present.”

I invited Alice Bates, the book’s author, to tell us what inspired her to write those stories. She writes:

Alice Bates

Alice Bates

I’m nagged by the divide between our life-in-church and life-in-the-world as Christians; it seems to me that God never meant that divide to be there, and that God is nothing if not present and working in our everyday lives, the non-church days. And I’m sure that, ever since Jesus came to be a man on earth like us, God is incarnate in every leaf and twig of his creation — is everywhere — only we can’t see him there very clearly.

So how do you recognise God in ‘normal’, everyday life, in the people and things all around? Jesus told stories, usually not ‘religious’ stories, to bring the Scripture out of the synagogue and into the streets, into everyday life — to ‘earth’ it there. To heal that church/everyday life divide. Desert Wells is an attempt to do the same for us, in our world now.

So I’ve taken a verse from the Bible together with a concern we’re likely to share — such as how to listen, forgive, live in the present — and told a story in the light of both, which I hope has something to say about how we live now. The stories don’t mention God; that is part of the point; but I hope they speak of him.

In her foreword Jane Williams ended by urging people to ‘read (the stories) and start to pay attention to the people and things all around that an lead to freedom, growth and joy.’ That was precisely my aim, and I’m so thrilled she put it so succinctly.

Desert Wells Desert Wells
Alice Bates

Darton, Longman & Todd, 2011
9780232527902
£9.99

Trade availability: Direct from DLT, via STL, Gardners or any other DLT stockist.

 

March 5, 2011

News Roundup: 3 for 2 on Commentaries at Eden | Christian Focus enters the Blogosphere | Easter with IVP | Living Oasis: Where is the humanity? | St Andrew Press now with NBM

Posted by Phil Groom under Book Trade Ramblings, Christian Bookshops, News | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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GOT NEWS? If you have news you’d like to see included in the next News Roundup, please get in touch.

Eden.co.uk: 3 for 2 Bible Commentaries Offer

Eden Commentaries Offer

3 for 2 on Commentaries at Eden

AFTER REPORTING Wesley Owen’s 25% off all commentaries last time around, I feel almost morally obliged to give Eden’s latest offer a mention too: 3 for 2 on selected commentaries; but it’s a fantastic offer in and of its own right, and if you go there and make a purchase via this link, you’ll help raise funds to support this site as well.

If you’re an independent bookseller/retailer wondering how you can possibly compete with this sort of offer, my suggestion is get together with a few other independents and form a buyers’ group: you are stronger together, weaker apart; but the only way to turn that into a reality is by actively doing something about it. Discuss…

Christian Focus enters the Blogosphere

LAUNCHED LAST MONTH and aptly named Christian Focus BookNotes, the new blog from Christian Focus is all about their books. It’s a blog worth watching:

Never a company to settle for half-measures, you’ll also find Christian Focus on facebook, twitter and, of course, YouTube. Go on, hit that facebook Like button: you know you want to!

IVP Easter Sale 2011

IVP Easter Sale 2011 (pdf download)

Easter with IVP

IF THERE’S ONE THING you can always rely on in the UK Christian book trade, it’s outstanding seasonal offers from IVP, and their latest Easter offering doesn’t disappoint.

The offer runs from 1st March to 30th April 2011: take any mix of 20 or more titles from a selection of Easter bestsellers and benefit from special trade prices set to allow you to offer your customers reduced prices (ranging from £2 to £8 off) whilst still retaining a standard trade margin. Full details available from the trade section of their website: pdf download.

Living Oasis: Where is the humanity?

THIS COMMENT, left late on Thursday evening by Mrs Diane Hellyer, seems to epitomise everything that’s gone wrong with Living Oasis:

I have been associated with the Christian book trade for over fifteen years and have worked as a volunteer in five different shops in that time, most recently in Sutton Living Oasis. From what I understand of the situation, it is totally shocking how this closure has been handled by the Chairman and the Trustees. That no HR support was offered and no face to face meeting arranged, but that staff were informed of the impending closure by telephone is surely a lack of care and an undervaluing of the staff, the company’s greatest resource. It may not have been commercially viable to maintain a Christian witness in the high street, but under any circumstances the manner of the closure could, and should, have given a clear Christian witness as to the value placed upon the individual.

For the record, I have already raised similar concerns directly with both Andy Twilley and Simon Hole, Nationwide Christian Trust’s Resource Manager, and have now forwarded this comment personally to Ray George himself. As yet I have received no reply…

Newcastle Cathedral Gift Shop Closure

Also on a sad note, the demise of Newcastle Cathedral’s gift shop. I’m told that the shop had just begun to extend its range of books but alas, financial constraints win out yet again. The closure does seem, however, to have been much better handled than the recent Living Oasis closures, with public tribute paid to the shop staff and volunteers. From the Dean’s February newsletter:

There is on the other hand a great deal of sadness over the closure of the Gift Shop. I would want to pay tribute to the staff and volunteers who over the years have shown enormous commitment to this enterprise, played an important part in welcoming visitors to the Cathedral and done their level best to make it work. However the sad fact is that the Shop has been losing money for many years and Chapter felt such a situation was no longer sustainable. The move to Mosley Street certainly did nothing to revive the Shop’s fortunes but was not the cause of its demise. Chapter is not ruling out re-opening a shop in the future. The issue is what, when and where? We will keep the situation under review and assess the feasibility of any new enterprise in the light of the success of the wider development programme. In the meanwhile there will be sale of stock and any shop furnishings that can’t be used will be “mothballed” . Some souvenirs and small items will continue to be sold in the cafe. Meanwhile there will be a party to celebrate the hard work of our shop volunteers and all that the shop has done on February 18th.

St Andrew Press now with Norwich Books & Music

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: if you’ve been used to ordering St Andrew Press (Church of Scotland) titles from Marston, those days are over. St Andrew Press is now part of the Hymns Ancient & Modern stable of church publishing houses and stock needs to be ordered from Norwich Books & Music.

 

February 25, 2011

News Roundup: Celebrating 10 Years Online | Commentaries Sale at Wesley Owen | More Shops Seeking New Owners | More Than Another Day of Prayer | New Blog for Caritas Music

Posted by Phil Groom under Cardiff, Christian Book Trade, Christian Bookshops, Christian Music, Independent Booksellers, News, Wesley Owen | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[9] Comments 
UK Christian Bookshops Directory: Discover your local Christian bookshop!

Celebrating 10 Years Online!

GOT NEWS? If you have news you’d like to share about your shop or staff, please leave a comment or contact me direct to be included in the next News Roundup…

Don’t want to comment here? Join the conversation on facebook instead…

Celebrating 10 Years Online

THIS YEAR sees both the UK Christian Bookshops Directory and The Good Bookstall celebrating our tenth anniversaries: UKCBD was launched 10 years ago this month, in February 2001, whilst TGB was launched 10 years ago next month, March 2001 — and what an amazing 10 years it’s been!

We’ve seen STL expand its territory, Prayer-of-Jabez style, only to see the whole edifice here in the UK come tumbling down when they did a builder-who-didn’t-count-the-cost routine; we’ve seen the destruction of the SPCK Bookshops chain in the hands of the gruesome twosome, Messrs Phil and Mark Brewer; we’ve seen dozens of independent bookshop closures; and we’ve seen Christian Marketplace go from being a monthly independent magazine to a bi-monthly, surviving only as a subsidiary of another giant, the Premier Christian media empire.

We’ve also seen the phenomenal rise of online Christian bookseller Eden.co.uk, the emergence of the ebook and yet — in the face of all these challenges — many shops rising, phoenix-like, from the ashes of those destructions, an important reminder if ever we needed one that God isn’t interested in our ambitions and empires, no matter how much we persuade ourselves that it’s God’s kingdom we’re building — because our God, the God we meet in Jesus, isn’t ultimately found in huge presences or high profiles but is revealed rather in small and hidden things, babies born in poverty, bookshops in backstreets and market halls, and bookstalls at the back of forgotten churches. We strive for ‘Mission on the High Street’ but God calls us to mission wherever we are, with whatever we have.

5 Quid for Life: A Mental Health Safety Net

5 Quid for Life

At UKCBD, I’m celebrating 10 years with a simple commitment: over the next year a minimum of 10% of all UKCBD income will be donated to the new up-and-coming charity 5 Quid for Life: A Mental Health Safety Net. It’s a project that I’ve been privileged to be part of from the outset, emerging out of a friend’s desperation as she poured out her heart over the disruption the current government’s changes to the UK benefits system would have on her. If you haven’t already done so, read about it here: Welcome to 5 Quid for Life; and if you’d like to make a donation, you can do so here: 5quidforlife.org.uk/#donate

For further reflections on the changes the last ten years have wrought, see Mary Bartholomew’s latest Good Bookstall editorial; and as we celebrate 10 years online, congratulations must also go to Luke Bunger and his team at one of those small independents, The Hub, Walsall, as they celebrate their first anniversary after surviving the collapse of Wesley Owen … talking of which…

Commentaries Sale at Wesley Owen

THANK YOU to Wesley Owen Birmingham for letting me know about their commentaries sale: 25% off all commentaries; but anyone wanting a slice of the cake needs to move fast — offer ends tomorrow, Saturday 26th February. Available from all branches and online too!

Meanwhile congratulations are due to the inimitable David Chant, former WO Birmingham branch manager, who has moved on into ‘semi-retirement’ from where he should be able to spend a little more time promoting Planet BB. Have you ordered your stock yet? David’s itching to hear from you…

More Shops Seeking New Owners

CHRISTIAN BOOKSHOPS seeking new owners seems to be a trending topic at the moment. This time around we have two, The Ark, Lymington, and Cardiff Christian Bookshop.

The Ark, Lymington

Shop For Sale: The Ark, Lymington

THE ARK is a Christian Bookshop and Café which opened its doors in 2004 and has gone on to serve the local community and churches ever since, but owner Ginny Ayling now wishes to retire and hand on the business to someone else: sale price £325,000, Freehold. Could that someone be you or someone you know?

The shop is well loved and supported by the local people. Describing the shop, the Revd Peter Salisbury, Vicar of Lymington, said:

The Ark is an important part of the Christian outreach in Lymington and is an excellent central meeting place. All the volunteers are from the local churches and the bookshop gives advice and an ordering service, which we use for our personal and church orders. The Café, which is always buzzing at lunchtime, has a very high reputation and offers friendly and personal service plus gorgeous food – I’m usually in there about once a week!

Download the Particulars of Sale or an A4 Sale Poster (both pdfs) if you’d like to know more or would like to help promote the sale.

CARDIFF CHRISTIAN BOOKSHOP is currently owned and operated by the Evangelical Movement of Wales, who have reluctantly concluded that they can no longer support the shop. From the shop’s February Prayer Letter:

The Evangelical Movement of Wales has decided most reluctantly that it must bring its support of the Cardiff Christian Bookshop to an end. This is most regrettable since it has been such a witness in the heart of the city for almost 50 years. It is, however, very keen that the work and witness should continue and would actively invite Churches and other interested Christian groups to assume responsibility for it and to come forward with proposals for its future operation. The Movement is continuing to own and support the shop in the short term and the business will continue to function as usual.

The business costs around £55,000 per year to run in terms of staffing, rent and other expenses: download the February Prayer Letter (pdf) if you’d like to know more.

More Than Another Day of Prayer

8 Days of Prayer: Launching a Season of Prayer for Christian Retail in the UK

8 Days of Prayer: Launching a Season of Prayer for Christian Retail in the UK (pdf, 90kb)

JOY MCILROY of Ashburnham Books has been busy liaising with Clem Jackson at Christian Marketplace to draw up plans for another Day of Prayer for the trade — but this year it’s more than a day of prayer: the vision is for a season of prayer to run through Lent, starting on Ash Wednesday, 9th March. Announcement here: Day of Prayer for Christian Trade.

The announcement suggests sharing plans via the Christian Authors, Booksellers and Publishers facebook group. Should you choose to do so, please note that that is a closed group, set up specifically to facilitate discussion within the trade away from the public eye — in other words, not the best forum to use if you wish to engage with others beyond the trade…

As with previous occasions I’ll be updating this site’s Day of Prayer page with news and updates as and when they emerge: please do feel free to post details of any plans there and to point members of the general public in that direction.

New Blog for Caritas Music

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, another birthday this month as Caritas Music turned 13 back on February 2nd and have now launched a brand new bright-and-shiny blog for Caritas Music / Eschenbach Editions, where you’ll soon find all the latest news appearing from these two independent music publishers.

Looking Back…

 

September 1, 2010

In the Beginning: Soul Survivor ‘Bible in One Year’ starts today

Posted by Phil Groom under Bookshop Ramblings | Tags: , , , , , , , , , |
[17] Comments 
Bible in One Year

Soul Survivor Bible in One Year

Have you done it? Read the entire Bible within the space of one year?

If not then perhaps now is the time to start, joining in with the thousands of young people across the country who have committed themselves to the Soul Survivor Bible in One Year project.

Even if you don’t plan to join in yourself, at the very least you should think about stocking this Bible, available from STL UK (hardback | paperback) or, of course, direct from HodderFaith; and if you’re not sure what it’s all about, here’s Soul Survivor’s Andy Croft on a mission to persuade:

I confess that I have my reservations about the project, and I tweeted as much from the LST Bookshop:

Finding it difficult to get enthusiastic about the Soul Survivor ‘Bible in One Year’ scheme when it’s based on the NIV *sigh*

But back came a reply in very short order, from @bexp66:

be enthusiastic, my kids are talking bout readin the bible!! Tho they wanted The Message version! What wud you suggest?

Said I:

I just wish Soul Survivor had got together with a range of Bible publishers instead of going for something as flawed as the NIV

and

This could have been such a wonderful opportunity for Bible publishers to work together!

Said she:

agreed, esp. with the flawed comment. Inclusive should have been essential as well.

There’s no doubt about it: the NIV is, to quote Tom Wright, “a visibly and demonstrably flawed translation”, biased in its translation “to make sure that Paul should say what the broadly Protestant and evangelical tradition said he said” — not only on justification, the particular topic Bishop Tom is referring to here, but also in terms of reinforcing misogyny rather than encouraging equality and inclusivity. If it had to be NIV-based, why not at least get into the early 21st Century with the TNIV??

But setting those reservations aside momentarily, it can surely only be a good thing for these youngsters to get to grips with the whole Bible rather than the decontextualised snippets most daily devotionals tend to offer. One can only hope that rather than spoon-feed them pre-packaged evangelical perspectives, the organisers will encourage their young (and not-so-young) conversation partners to read Scripture critically and intelligently, with their eyes wide open to its human origins and foibles: to not blindly affirm, “This is the Word of God” but to ask, “Is this the Word of God?” — and if it is, to ask, “What does it mean for us today?”

Andy Croft’s comments on today’s readings have even got Emma Jane going, and that’s definitely no bad thing. Nice one Emma!

 

May 5, 2008

So you want to open a Christian bookshop?

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

The two most frequently asked questions in my correspondence are:

  1. Will you review my book?
  2. How do I go about setting up or opening a Christian bookshop?

There are other questions, of course: we’ll get to those another time. But for the moment, being contrary, I’ve decided to address the second one first. This advice is far from being a comprehensive business plan: these are simply a few suggested starting points. If you’re already a bookseller, please do add your own comments and suggestions.

Updated 25th June 2011

  1. Start by checking the UKCBD Town & City Index and by asking around: is there already a Christian Bookshop in your area? If so, it’s unlikely that there will be enough business available to support another: go and talk your ideas through with them and see whether you can work together.
  2. Visit as many as possible of the local churches and other Christian organisations in your area to canvas support. (Thanks to John Duncan for raising this point).
  3. Subscribe (free of charge) to this blog. In particular, look out for the News Roundup reports for latest news and commentary on the UK Christian book trade and the wider world of Christian retail.
  4. Keep an eye on thegoodbookstall.org.uk for news, reviews and a vast array of other useful information.
  5. Contact the Booksellers Association (BA) – amongst other things they administer the National Book Tokens scheme and Batch, an online supplier payment system which will help streamline your admin. The BA can provide all sorts of information/advice on things to be aware of, possible pitfalls, sources of supply, deals on shop fitting, insurance, legal advice, systems etc. The BA’s Christian Booksellers Group can offer more specific advice for Christian booksellers. The membership subscription is based on your annual turnover.
  6. Contact TMD (Trust Media Distribution, previously STL-D, Send the Light Distribution). Despite an unfortunate history following a failed attempt to upgrade their IT systems in October 2008 (see STL: A Month of Darkness and related posts), the company has made a good recovery under new ownership and is once again arguably the UK and Europe’s leading Christian wholesaler. They will almost certainly prove to be one of your main suppliers if you decide to go ahead. For options on other suppliers, see Christian Wholesalers: is there anybody out there? It may also be worth contacting members of the Christian Suppliers Group.
  7. Consider subscribing to Christian Marketplace magazine: published bi-monthly, it includes regular columns from the BA Christian Booksellers Group and the Publishers Association’s Christian Suppliers Group along with various other helpful features. Subscriptions are currently free of charge to UK Christian retailers.
  8. Consider attending Christian Resources Together, the successor to CBC, the Christian Booksellers Convention. For many years CBC was the UK Christian book trade event, but in 2009 CBC handed its operations over  to Bible Society’s Christian Resources Exhibitions.  More info and related discussions.
  9. Consider charitable registration: it’s a complicated business but ultimately worth it for the tax breaks and advantages.
  10. Register your shop for inclusion in this site’s Directory!
  11. Come back here and tell us about your experiences.
 

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