1.  You’re based on the Goldsmith campus in New Cross. How do you collaborate with the university to bring the latest books to their students?

We contact teaching staff as far in advance as possible to make sure that we have up to date course reading lists. Once we have an idea of which books from these lists are available, and which are likely to sell well (which is a lot easier to identify now that we’ve been operating for a year), they become part of our range. The books on the reading lists give us a good indication of similar titles and themes that are likely to appeal to students, and we do our best to keep abreast of upcoming courses and books published by lecturers to make sure that we can stock other relevant titles.

We’re also very involved with the newly rebooted Goldsmiths Press – Les Back’s excellent Academic Diary, published last year, was the first book we sold and remains our biggest selling title We’re having a launch in the shop next month for their next two titles, with another on the way in December.

2. Would you say your main customer base is students? Do you think your bestsellers reflect this kind of market?

Yes, most of our customers are students, especially towards the start of the academic year or the new term. However, as a high street bookseller there are a lot of books that will appeal to both students and the general reader, that will sell in significant numbers. It’s really satisfying to see how well these ‘cross-over’ titles go down.

Even our children’s book sales seem to reflect the political and ethical leanings of both the College and the area. For example, our bestselling children’s book is Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World, which pretty much sums up the clientele in the local community.

3. Peckham and New Cross are newly popular areas of London – what’s it like being an independent bookshop during this time?

We attract people from the local areas, including Brockley, Deptford and Lewisham, and it seems people do appreciate and value a real high street bookshop. I think being an independent also adds to the appeal, as opposed to being online or part of a chain. I think creating a particular identity and a welcoming, enjoyable and interesting atmosphere is key to attracting return custom.

I always try to say hello to people as they come into the shop, but will let people browse without asking what they’re looking for (unless they look like they need help), as I know this can sometimes put people off. I think our interestingly eclectic music playlist helps add to the shop’s vibe too – ska seems to be a particular favourite!

4. You run quite a few events in store – what kind of events work best for you and your customers?

We are involved with quite a few events, most of which are on campus, from book launches to supporting events and lectures where authors are involved – we’re either asked to bring books along, or we’ll approach organisers. Currently, we are very excited to be involved with this year’s Goldsmiths Prize.

The events that seem to work best in the shop are book launches as these tend to be quite relaxed and informal – when we clear the shop floor we can accommodate 45-50 people. We’ve tried a few Q&As with authors, but, even though they are free, I think it’s going to take a bit longer to build an audience. We also collaborate with a neighbouring coffee shop called Out of the Brew to hold film screenings and book launches.

5. Do you have any exciting new plans for your store that you’d like to share here?

From quite an early stage, having decided on the shop’s name and recognising the opportunity for marketing slogans and slightly dodgy puns (“spread The Word”, “Mum’s The Word” for Mother’s Day etc.) I wanted to do a larger event – maybe a series of talks that could eventually be worthy of being called a sort of festival. Once I had the name – “Wordstock” – I realised this just has to happen.

1. You specialise in the sale and purchase of rare and out of print books. What motivated you to open a rare bookshop?

When you specialise in particular subjects, and in my case these are the visual arts, then new, second hand and rare books all form part of the literature of interest. So, my shop sells new books alongside the old, and so is not entirely ‘a rare bookshop’ except in so far as in selling new and old is quite distinctive for a bookshop.

I always liked old books and am constantly in awe of their authors for the detail they crammed into them. That was a motivation for starting to buy and sell them. I never think you should disregard the scholarship of the past. I also really like ephemeral pamphlets and essays which often provide chance insights into subjects, or reflect a particular design style.

Initially I just collected the material that interested me for myself, but, being from a family who had shops and having had a spell in design, as part of my own career path, I decided that opening a bookshop which combined family traditions and my own interests would be the dream job.

2. How does the buying of rare books work? Without giving away too many trade secrets, where do you source your best buys?

Buying rare books is not an exact science. The best buys come along when you least expect it them. Constantly being aware of what is coming up for sale through auction houses is useful and so is having shop premises, as private sellers seek you out as a place they might sell their unwanted material. I am sure the best buys ultimately come via word of mouth from lovely customers who have a feel for what we stock. For that I am really grateful.

3. What has been your most exciting find as a rare book buyer/seller?

There is never only one exciting find but a succession of undiscovered treasures keep coming my way. If I was forced to single something out then I would probably say it was a collection of period photographs of country houses I stumbled upon years ago. It was not about their monetary value but their sheer luminosity. I don’t think they had been out of their container since they were taken and I am always a sucker for good documentary sources. Finding a great collection of pictures as good as they were, spurs you on to find other things. It is the unusual which keeps the bookshop an interesting place for me and hopefully for my customers.

4. Your inventory is mainly based around the subjects of architecture, art and design. Being in the historic city of York, do you have much local demand for the history of the architecture?

General books on the history of architecture probably not but the shop does a roaring trade in books on specialist aspects of building history such as stained glass, [ York has the biggest collection of Medieval Glass in its buildings in the country.] stone masonry, decorative details and so on. We also have a lot of enquiries for books on model villages and other aspects of buildings in the city. New Earswick, one of the pioneer model villages, built by Rowntree’s, is just up the road from the shop and York Minster less than 200 metres away.

5. Do you have any exciting plans for the store that you’d like to share here?

Future plans for the shop include developing the online shop to have a wider reach than it has at present. I envisage that the future is to combine on line sales with keeping the bookshop in the mind’s eye for those who want to discover and handle books they did not know even existed. I suppose I just want to keep up a really good level of customer service. We implemented one of the plans to do that only today and that is to reintroduce cloth bags for our customers who buy from us. They have always proved very popular.

1. You’re based in Cheltenham, which is in beautiful Cotswolds district. Do you think running an independent bookshop in this area brings its own set of perks or challenges?

2. Cheltenham is the home of the University of  Gloucestershire – have you found that your customer base and their buying habits reflects Cheltenham’s growing student demographic?

1. Being part of the Portrait Gallery must mean a wide range of customers on a daily basis. Do you find that customers are mainly looking for illustrated art catalogues, or are the fiction and children’s ranges just as strong?

Yes, I would say that sales are good across all the book departments. Like other retailers, we have seen a steady growth in children’s book sales and our new location has given us the opportunity to broaden our offer for families with increased shelf space and a wider range of available titles.

I think it would be fair to say that our book offer is nearly always exhibition led and the real challenge is sourcing titles that will compliment exhibition catalogues and product ranges. Although we keep a core range of History, Fashion, Photography and Art books, the amount of space or prominence we give to these depends on the exhibition programme. Currently, visitors will find a fantastic range of practical art books for those inspired by the BP Portrait Award 2017 exhibition and I’m currently sourcing titles to accompany Cezanne Portraits which opens this October.

2. You’ve recently moved the bookshop to a new space in the main gallery foyer. How has this impacted on sales and shop aesthetics/atmosphere?

The new location is highly visible to our visitors entering through the Main Hall or making their way up to the Gallery spaces. Visitors have been really complimentary about the new bookshop and it offers us a brighter, modern retail space for customers to enjoy browsing in. Our new location is also much more suitable for hosting events and is available for private or public book launches. We have hosted events for fine art and photography books as well as holding publishing industry events. This is an area we are really keen to promote and develop this year.

3. Which exhibition has produced the best selling catalogue in the last year or so?

Our best selling catalogue in 2016 was the book we produced to accompany the Vogue 100: A Century of Style exhibition. This book and the product range around the exhibition did tremendously well as the visitors who came to see the exhibition were so engaged with the experience that they were keen to purchase lots of books and merchandise. We tried to create a book that would stand alone after the exhibition as a history of British Vogue, and it continues to sell very well for us.

4. Best celebrity spot whilst working the shop floor?

Over the past 7 years working at the Gallery, I have spotted a number of famous faces. We try to remain professional but it’s not always so easy for our visitors! Recently a colleague called with an enquiry about a Gallery Publication from years ago. Luckily, I was able to recall the title, find the last copy available and we made the sale. It wasn’t until a few hours later that my colleague informed me that the customer had been Sir David Attenborough!

1. The Lake District has inspired writers for generations – including Beatrix Potter and William Wordsworth. Do you find that your customers are particularly keen on these locally grown works?

Yes, there is a strong interest in Cumbrian authors from both local people and visitors to the area. Visitors are particularly interested in the iconic Lakes literary figures such as Beatrix Potter, Wordsworth and Arthur Ransome and many make a point of reading their books or biographies as part of their holiday. Other Cumbrian novelists such as Melvyn Bragg, Margaret Forster and Sarah Hall are also very popular, especially with local people who have followed their career. We also find that our customers are very supportive of emerging local authors, especially those who set novels in the Lake District, and we always highlight these books for people. I think people enjoy reading a book set in the area they are visiting. There seem to be a lot of crime novels set in the Lakes and I think the idyllic setting provides a stark contrast to a grisly plot.

2. Due to your location, do you find that your customers are from a diverse range of countries?

Yes, there is a lot of diversity and last year there was a marked increase in international visitors which we think was predominantly due to the weak pound encouraging people to visit the UK while the exchange rate was low. Meeting people from different countries is one of the special aspects of working in Bookends in Keswick and it’s always lovely to hear other languages in the bookshop and find out about their countries and what they think of the Lake District.

3. As we all know, independent bookshops are a huge part of the local community. Are there any local festivals and/or events that Bookends are involved in?

We have been involved in the Words by the Water literature festival since it began; it’s a 10-day literature festival held in Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake and it’s always a vibrant, bustling time for us. Keswick has many festivals including jazz, mountaineering and beer weekends and we always make a point of having a relevant window and stocking books which might be of interest plus we often sell books for authors during the Mountain Festival. We take part in the Keswick Advent window which is a nice way to get in the festive spirit and engage with fellow businesses. We also supply books to Keswick Museum and Keswick Theatre which increases our sales and keeps us up to date with events in the local area. We also organise our own author events and reading groups.

4. What’s your favourite thing about running an independent bookshop?

It’s a very diverse job and I like having the opportunity to be creative and flexible. The best thing about our shops are the customers though; we get to know some regulars very well and they tend to be interesting and well-informed people who are very supportive of our shop. It’s also lovely to meet a lot of visitors – they’re on holiday and are usually quite relaxed which means there’s generally an enjoyable atmosphere and I like the fact we get a lot of children in our bookshop. There are some lovely, imaginative and committed people working in the shop as well and I enjoy working closely with them too.

5. Do you have any exciting plans for your store that you’d like to share here?

We’re expanding our presence in Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake with an increased range of books and a weekly story time. Our busy time is approaching over summer and we hope to have some book signings and children’s events in our courtyard. We just have to keep our fingers crossed that we get some decent weather!

1. Tell us about the history of the Bell Bookshop? How long has it been established, and who brought it to life?

The Bell Bookshop was set up in 1966 and has had only two owners in its 50 year history. Originally established by the Brunner family of Greys Court, it was bought by the current owner Michael Pooley in 1980, and he has owned it since then.

2. You have an impressive collection of around 20,000 titles in your store. Which books do you find to be most popular with your customer?

We have a real passion for reading and selling books, have established a reputation for delivering excellent customer service, and built up a very loyal customer base over several generations! Our customers are quite eclectic really, and read broadly across a whole range of subjects. Crime and popular fiction do very well, and there seems to be a growing demand for new Hardback Fiction, which is a bit of a surprise! Definitely a genre that is getting stronger for us. Current shop favourites include Tim Pears’ Horseman & Rory Clements Corpus.

We also do especially well with areas such as Travel & History, and our Children’s section is very strong for us, covering around a third of our current retail space. We feel passionately about our younger readers; it is so important to engage them in the whole process of reading and book-buying at an early stage; it will stay with them all through their lives!

3. As a bookshop in a small town, how do you play a role in the local community?

We have worked hard to establish good links within the local community and hold Book clubs & Author events whenever we can here in the shop. We have an active involvement with a number of local schools, and have recently been doing some story-telling sessions for a few during morning assemblies! Additionally, there is a very successful Literary Festival too in the town; 150 events alone last year, all in the space of 7 days! We provide all the books, and organise/run the signings. It is now in its 11th year & hugely popular; we are very proud of our continued involvement. It generates a real bookish-buzz during the Autumn months.

4. Henley is often associated with the rowing regatta. Does this event impact or influence the type of books you see being bought within your shop?

As a town that is well known for The Royal Regatta in July, we do see an increase in visitor numbers, mainly Americans, here to see the rowing. Many of our lovely local customers do tend to avoid all the traffic chaos by staying away however, so trade can be quite quiet during this week. We could do with a fabulous new glossy book about The Regatta and its history though, as there isn’t much in print at the moment. It could have enormous potential. Perhaps Yale could come up with something!

5. Do you have any exciting plans for the bookshop that you’d like to share here?

We had quite a smart make-over in September 2014 when we expanded our retail space and opened up our till area, which allowed us to develop our stationary and gift books area. This was due largely to being granted a James Patterson Award that summer. Watch this space; we are contemplating more changes, as yet still in the developmental stage.

In the first year of trading as an independent bookshop in London, what have been the highlights for you?

Where to begin! The overall response has been incredible – people are really embracing our thematic curation, discovering titles they wouldn’t normally go for. It’s also a haven from the digital deluge, people are really relishing the no phones atmosphere.

Your new subscription packages offer members hot picks from the shelves of Libreria. How will you go about choosing these books for your customers?

This is a choice we make every month based on something we think deserves more attention, old or new. It’s also made in accordance with Libreria’s philosophy of discovery; we want it to be a talked about subscription, where people are getting something they wouldn’t normally hear about, or even publishers they might not be aware exist. Exciting punchy stories, but we’re also planning a non-fiction paperback pick series.

You hold a wide range of events in store. What are your favourite events to run and why?

It’s an interesting question, but I guess the quirkier the better; for the Geoff Manaugh event (Burgler’s Guide to the City) we did a little risograph publication where the reader had to break into the text in order to read one of Geoff’s essays. But Geoff is just different, and has a unique story to tell, that’s always going to be a winner for us. I think there is a lot of exciting stuff being written on architecture, Stephen Graham’s (who will be speaking with Ian Sinclair at Second Home next month) Vertical is also awesome. Our Veranda spoken word night is gaining real traction, run by Libreria’s Belinda Zhawi who curated our Africana section and is poet in residence at the ICA. I can’t think of another bookshop in London with something like this – a shelf dedicated to African literature and its global influence.

Independent bookshops can be a vital part of the community. What unique qualities do you think Libreria brings to the local area?

They can be a vital part of the community, but they have to be open and embracing. Too often bookshops are inherently unwelcoming places, we have tried to make Libreria an inviting place for everyone and it seems to be working! The most satisfying thing for all of us involved is that it is a broad, diverse crowd of people who come to check out the store and buy books, that’s very rewarding. It’s very much a two-way process of exchanging ideas and fostering creativity, no doubt about it, we are always learning.

Do you have any exciting plans in the pipeline for Libreria’s future that you’d like to share?

Along with our book events (Michael Chabon last Friday was a rare treat), we’re planning a literary drinks evening where we celebrate books and booze, be it Hemingway, Patrick Hamilton, F Scott Fitzgerald or Anais Nin. Plus, we are going to concentrate on ‘beers and browse’ on our late opening nights (Thursday, Friday and Sat till 10pm), and Sunday afternoons, with board games and music.

Jessica Graham, Primrose Hill Books –

It’s nearly 30 years since I first took over the bookshop so we’re very firmly rooted in the neighbourhood now and have forged strong relationships with local schools, shops, offices, churches, the library and the community centre. We’re one of several established family businesses in a friendly, lively area where loyalties run deep. It helps that Primrose Hill is such a beautiful place and a tourist destination and that Regents Park Road is flanked by leafy residential streets in which many local families have lived for decades.

We’ve always aimed to be efficient and flexible and to run an interesting bookshop stocked with a carefully chosen selection of books which reflect the interests and enthusiasms of our customers. As avid readers ourselves, we and our staff all spend a great deal of time recommending personal favourites and it is that above all which keeps people returning for more. Our biannual catalogues highlight our seasonal choices and garner an enthusiastic following! Fortunately, we are never short of local authors and there are plenty of tempting signed copies most weeks.

This Christmas, for example, we have a rich selection of books by local writers – Alan Bennett’s latest volume of diaries Keeping On, Keeping On, Nicholas Crane’s superb new history The Making of the British Landscape – From the Ice Age to the Present. From erstwhile local Diana Athill there’s a gem of a travel book A Venice Diary which would make a beautiful gift as would those by longstanding locals – Helen Fielding’s humorous Bridget Jones’s Baby and Jamie Oliver’s latest collection of festive recipes Christmas Cookbook. There are also books with local connections such as Artemis Cooper’s Life of Elizabeth Jane Howard, John le Carre’s memoir Pigeon Tunnel. and a fascinating book by Isobel Charman entitled The Zoo – The Wild and Wonderful Tale of the Founding of London Zoo.

We’ll be recommending lots of fiction as always, but two exceptional page-turning novels stand out News of the World by Paulette Jiles and an unusual thriller, Darktown, by Thomas Mullen.

For lovers of second-hand books we have a vast collection (over 10,000 titles) in our basement and these are catalogued by subject on our website. The most extraordinary and unusual items have turned up over the years and we all live in hope that one day we’ll find an overlooked but priceless first edition of a rare masterpiece quietly residing in a dusty corner by the fireplace!

What is the most obscure book a customer has asked you for in the shop?

It is impossible to think of just one! This is partly what makes the book trade such a brilliant industry to work in – there are just so many books about such a range of interests and being an independent bookshop we are acutely aware of the importance of matching people with books and books with people – no matter how obscure! We’re always keen for the challenge of tracking down books from just a snippet of information or about something we’ve never even heard of. You definitely learn something new every day here.

You are located in the lovely historic town of Hexham. What are your favourite attractions in the area?

At the top of my list are the landscape and the people who live here. There are some great vibrant communities in and around Hexham and the surrounding hills are beautiful, not to mention Hadrian’s Wall, the North Pennines and our stunning beaches.

The beautiful Tyne Valley that surrounds you must inspire some excellent nature writing! Do you have any recent favourites?

We’re very lucky to live and have a bookshop here in Hexham. There are many authors living locally, whose writing whether fiction or non-fiction is undoubtedly influenced by our beautiful landscape. We recently held a fireside lecture event at The Lord Crewe Arms with Mike Pratt talking about his book My Wild Northumbria in front of their infamous fireplace. His book, published by a small independent publisher Red Squirrel Press, is part pilgrimage and part physical journey. In it he explores the natural kingdom of Northumbria its landscape, its wildlife and its history. Mike also includes field sketches from his notebooks that are closely observed as well as decorative on the page and throughout his writing is his passion for this area and nature. Our customers’ interests in landscape and the natural world mean our shelves have an eclectic selection of books on places all over the UK and even further afield.

Do you have any plans to celebrate the Bookshop Day on 8 October 2016?

We’re very much looking forward to a day of celebrating bookshops! We’re hosting an afternoon tea event with Sue Gee who’ll be talking about her most recent book, Trio, an exceptionally poignant historical romance. Set in 1930s rural Northumberland, it tells the story of a grieving schoolteacher who is brought back to emotional life by a group of musicians, the trio of the title. Sue Gee elegantly interweaves the rhythms of the school year with the changes in the agricultural season, unfolding the plot with the grace and intensity of the music that lies at the book’s heart. Sue heard about Cogito through Slightly Foxed and telephoned the bookshop a couple of years ago looking for books about the area to assist her research for the novel. We were happy to help and posted a copy of The Lost Houses of Northumberland and a local street atlas to her in London. So we’re delighted to be welcoming her to Hexham and celebrating her novel set so close to home.

Can you tell us a little about what makes Cogito Books special?

I mentioned earlier about the people that live here and I think it is not only the brilliant passionate booksellers who work here but also our customers who have helped to create what Cogito Books is today. Cogito Books is at the heart of the community and books are at the heart of everything we do. We know that when people shop for books they are not just paying for a commodity, they are buying something that touches their lives and that is what drives us. It is definitely a two way thing and we have discovered many good books from conversations with our customers. We always go the extra mile for our customers, however obscure an enquiry may be. But most importantly, we treat our customers as humans and books as special things and we aim to make the discovery of books as interesting and enjoyable as possible.

Autumn is creeping up on us now – what books are you most excited about reading over the next few months?

For my money, the most exciting book coming out this Autumn is one I was lucky enough to read a proof copy of a few weeks ago: The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride. McBride’s first book, A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing, is a tour de force, a work that reinvigorated the great Irish modernist tradition for the 21st century, so my expectations were incredibly high for The Lesser Bohemians — and it doesn’t disappoint. I’m also really excited about Verso’s beautiful-looking new edition of Thomas More’s Utopia, featuring essays by China Mieville and Ursula Le Guin. I haven’t read Utopia for years, but it’s obviously an absolutely foundational text in Western literature and politics and I can’t think of any writers better qualified than Mieville and Le Guin to elucidate the contemporary relevance of this visionary book. I know I’m going to be dipping into Teju Cole’s new collection of essays, Known and Strange Things, a lot through the rest of the year and probably for many, many years to come. I love his writing — so eloquent, so insightful.

With great events like the Edinburgh Fringe and the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh seems driven by books! What events do you most look forward to?

The Edinburgh Book Festival is brilliant — it’s probably the greatest celebration of the written word anywhere in the world, and you can tell that most authors love being there as much as the festival-goers. We’re really lucky to share our city with such a dedicated team of people who work tirelessly year-round to bring so many important writers here every August. The Edinburgh International Festival always used to pass me by, overshadowed by the book festival and the Fringe, but since Fergus Linehan took over a couple of years ago, it’s been going from strength to strength. The EIF has long had a reputation for being somewhat stuffy and a bit elitist, but I think that’s changing under Linehan’s stewardship and the quality and diversity of his programming is one of the most exciting things about living in Edinburgh at the moment.

What would you recommend that book enthusiast do and see in the city?

Edinburgh’s literary heritage has almost become something of a cliche about the city, but it’s completely true — books and writing are woven into the very fabric of the city’s life. (How many other cities have a train station and a football club named after novels?) There are lots of statues to literary figures to visit, including one of Sherlock Holmes marking Arthur Conan Doyle’s birthplace, and, this being Scotland, lots of pubs with literary connections (some more tenuous than others it has to be said). You can also spend hours exploring all Edinburgh’s wonderful independent and second-hand bookshops. If you’re planning a literary-themed trip to the city, the website of the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust is a great resource.

For those who don’t know, could you tell us about the Golden Hare name (which we love!)?

The shop’s owner, Mark, commissioned the artist and graphic designer Anna Mill to produce an emblem for the then as-yet-unnamed shop and she came up with the hare which is proudly mounted on our shopfront and who appears on all our bags and other branded items. I don’t think the original intention was for him to be golden, but it does make him a bit more mysterious and magical, and thus Golden Hare Books was born.