A MIGHTY ROAR is, perhaps, something of an exaggeration, but nonetheless I was delighted to discover that the new bookselling venture from Richard Greatrex, Windflower Books, and David Wavre, A Great Read — bringing the two worlds of online bookselling and local shopping together by providing bespoke bookstall services to churches — now has a name: Aslan Books.
I asked Richard to provide a brief description to help in compiling a UKCBD entry. Here it is:
Aslan Books at St Michael’s is the beginning of a new chapter for Christian bookselling in the Bath and Bristol region as we seek to find partner churches to host micro-site bookstalls offering a wide-range of Christian material with friendly staff in welcoming and prayerful buildings.
On display is a key selection of books at competitive prices, typically 10% off the retail price, and we are able to order a great variety of Christian books and resources – from prayer cards to church candles.
St Michael’s central position in Bath means that it will be easy to reach for Christians in the city – there is plenty of parking close by – and the shop offers a very pleasant place to for shoppers to peruse at their leisure and, of course, seek advice.
And here’s Aslan Books’ brand new bright-&-shiny UKCBD entry:
The latest UKCBD entry: Aslan Books, Bath
Like every UKCBD entry, the standalone page shown above is mirrored in the Shop Name and Town & City listings:
If you’re in the Bath/Bristol area — or have friends who are — please do spread the word, call in, buy something and help cheer Richard on; and if you’ve got time on your hands or simply want to gain some bookselling experience, why not volunteer to give him a hand?
There are several other microshop possibilities in the pipeline: keep an eye on Springboard Bath, the local Christian news network, for details…
News & Notes (most recent first)
- David Wavre of A Great Read Tells Us His Top Easter Sellers! Springboard Bath, 11/4/2012
- St Michaels Without Bookshop Needs Volunteers: Springboard Bath, 28/3/2012
- First Microshop now open in Bath: UKCBD News Roundup, 23/3/2012
- Micro bookshop opens in church: Bath Chronicle, 22/3/2012
- Brand New Christian Micro-Bookshop At St Michaels Opens This Week! Springboard Bath, 21/3/2012
- Up and Running: Windflower Books, 17/3/2012
- Windflower Books working with A Great Read Ltd: Windflower Books, 17/2/2012
- Microshops: the way forward for the UK’s Christian bookshops? UKCBD Blog, 16/2/2012
- New chapter for a Christian bookshop: Bath Chronicle, 16/2/2012
To see the name Aslan Books in print again, was a strange experience for me, as I started the first Aslan Books (as part of Lion Publishing), way back in 1980 in Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes. I returned to Lion and Aslan Books was managed by various people over the years, until I bought it from Lion and ran it for 15 years with my wife and wonderful staff both paid and volunteer. Eventually we sold the business to St. Andrews Bookshops, and I went into ordained ministry. St. Andrews still run the shop as a branch now in Wolverton, Milton Keynes. David Wavre will know of this, being a fomer Lion member of staff. May God bless Aslan and the whole concept of micro Christian bookshops!
David Rudiger
Good to get that bit of back-story, David: thank you. Must check with Richard, make sure he’s got some Lion Hudson stock on his shelves 🙂
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