CONGRATULATIONS to The Book Well, Belfast, Christian Bookshop, Ossett, Manna Christian Bookshop, Streatham and Unicorn Tree Books, Lincoln, each set to receive funding in the latest round of awards to support children’s bookselling from James Patterson, as reported by the Booksellers Association yesterday. Continue reading
IN A PRESS RELEASE issued on Friday 10th July 2015, The Hub, Walsall — a survivor of the STL/Wesley Owen meltdown in 2009 — announced that it will be closing down in October this year, a decision which has come after much heart-searching and various attempts to find a viable way forward proved unsuccessful. Continue reading
IF NOT, IT’S WELL WORTH FOLLOWING as the CLC Wholesale team take us on a virtual tour of the UK to visit some of their retail partners — and I say partners rather than customers intentionally because it’s abundantly clear that CLC Wholesale regard those they serve as partners in mission rather than simply business … Continue reading
PHIL BURNHAM, CLC National Director, reports: There was a very informative post here in January about Birmingham and it’s worth re-visiting as background: Birmingham: 120 years of Christian bookselling set to continue as CLC prepare to move into former Wesley Owen premises Now zoom forwards to the present, and after a good many delays, most of … Continue reading
HERE’S A BRIEF SNAPSHOT of how things panned out amongst the UK’s Christian bookshops in 2013: New UKCBD Entries: 34 Ceased Trading: 17 Closures Announced: 7 At first glance, this looks encouraging: exactly twice as many UKCBD entries added as archived; a closer examination, however, reveals that most new entries were for shops that already existed … Continue reading
LIKE A CANDLE FLAME lighting up the darkness amidst recent bookshop closure announcements, good news has emerged from Winslow, Bucks, as Rickfords Hill Publishing — publishers of the much-loved and popular One Pound Classics series — have opened a new Christian bookshop in the town, Tabernacle Books. And the shop’s USP (that’s Unique Selling Point for … Continue reading
AT TIMES LIKE THIS, I hate running this blog. But these stories must, I think, be told: we do both the Christian book trade and the wider Christian church a disservice if we let these things pass unremarked. So today, with a heavy heart, I pass on the news of two more Christian bookshop closures: … Continue reading
FIFTEEN SHOPS are now live on christianbookshop.co.uk, a new network of Christian bookshops set up by Eden Interactive (Eden Ecommerce), owners of the UK’s leading online bookseller, eden.co.uk*. The project — announced earlier this year — went live this month after an extended trial period and offers independent booksellers a free, simple but effective online sales … Continue reading
NOVEMBER 5TH 2013 heralded the end of an era for the Christian book trade as the closure of Wesley Owen’s last physical store, its Birmingham branch, was announced via facebook for the end of this year. Please pray for all the staff affected.
The announcement reads:
“It is with great sadness that we tell you that Wesley Owen Birmingham will be closing down at the end of the year. We’d like to thank you all for your support and custom over the years. You will still be able to purchase all the same great products from http://www.wesleyowen.com in the future, simply using your Wesley Owen membership number. We currently have 25% off everything in store, so come down and grab a bargain before it’s too late.” Continue reading
BIBLE SOCIETY is appealing for funds to help rebuild two of their bookshops in Egypt which have been destroyed during the current conflict. Introducing the appeal, they write: Last week we received reports that two Bible Society bookshops were attacked and destroyed in Southern Egypt. As violence broke out across the country dozens of churches … Continue reading
