Pritchards Bookshop

Welcome to Pritchards Bookshop, our Bookshop of the Month for March. Based in Crosby, it’s been at the heart of the community for over 40 years. Amy the owner, talks to us about why she went into bookselling, moving to bigger premises, and what’s in store! Read on to find out more.

1. We see from your website that you are a long-established bookshop, open for over 45 years. Tell us a little about the history of the shop and the recent move to new premises.

Steve Pritchard opened his bookshop in Crosby in 1975, and it has been at the heart of the community ever since. Over 20 years ago they had to move premises after a large supermarket bought up the land they were on, which meant moving to a smaller shop as this was all that was available in the village. The shop however continued to thrive. I bought the business in 2021 when Steve retired. I knew there was a lot more scope for Pritchards and that as soon as we could, we would expand or move. To have been able to make the move within 2 years was amazing. We have double the square footage, have increased the amount of books and introduced new products and have more room for events.

2. What made you go into bookselling, and what is your favourite part?

I have always loved books, since I was a child, and my parents are big readers. My career has consisted of jobs in retail, customer service, sales and buying, and I have always said I would love to own a bookshop. Coupled with my husband’s desire to own his own business, when this opportunity came up we went for it, no discussion required! My favourite part is the buying; choosing the books during the rep meetings, finding new products to try, and then seeing them sell, nothing beats it!

3. How do you go about choosing the books that line your shelves?

I very much trust the publisher reps I meet with, they are great and this job would be so hard without them. I also analyse what sells in the shop on a daily basis and speak to our customers so I have a good idea of what they want. I also keep an eye on Goodreads and social media to see what is trending. We also like to stock my and my staff’s favourite books because we are always asked for recommendations, and it is important to have a good mix of books, new and older.

4. If you could recommend one book published in the past year, which would it be?

That is a tricky one as some of the best books I have read recently were first published from a few years ago to nearly a couple of decades ago (Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden-Keefe, and Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer). I also reread The Hunger Games trilogy recently which was just amazing. But for a recommendation of a book published in the last year, I would say either Big Swiss by Jen Beagin or Go As a River by Shelley Read.

5. And finally, do you have any exciting plans for the shop in the coming months that you would like to share with us?

Now we have more room I would love to do a regular “story time” for young kids. We are very lucky to have lots of great nurseries and schools close by.

We recently held a Literary Quiz with the bar/restaurant next door which was a big success, so we are hoping to make this a more regular thing. We will hopefully start a book club as well. All the things we could not quite manage in a smaller shop! So watch this space!