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1. Selling a million - the personal touch

If the central buyers at Waterstone's or WHSmith select our green-covered book, Boris the Boastful Frog, then we'll have made a great start, but then there are all the little independent bookshops up and down the country that we need to reach too. We could do a few mass mail-shots and advertise in The Bookseller - and no doubt we will try this - but what we really need is the personal touch - a reputable sales company that will take on our list.

We've heard good reports from book shop owners about Bounce, which claims to represent '30 of the best children's publishers from the UK and beyond' so I emailed publishing manager Danielle Quinn to see if I could set up a meeting. Bounce may only offer us sales representation on a book-by-book basis, which is not ideal, but if they help us to sell a million then we won't complain.

I also called Roy Johnston at Aurum Publishing Group Children’s Books (APG-Kids), which now owns Frances Lincoln (producer of some beautiful children's books), and which sells on behalf of third-party companies.

Roy was one of the first people we met when we started up in publishing - at the time he worked at Ragged Bears (which went into administration this Feb) and we were thinking about using RB to distribute and sell our books and book rights. Back then, we decided not to go down the sales agent route.

Roy remembered us. He was very friendly and we've set up a meeting in London for May 14.

Talking of the personal touch, I decided to follow up yesterday's email with a visit to Sara at WHSmith in Guildford. (I was meeting two friends for coffee and needed an excuse to go into town). Sara was on the shop floor, carrying out an audit, but didn't seem too fazed by my unscheduled visit. I quickly showed her the book and she seemed to like it. Sara said that she'd give some thought as to how we could promote it - perhaps linking up with a couple of local schools that the branch had ties with.

For the last week, we've had the pleasure in hosting a student from a local school (Broadwater in Godalming) - as part of their work placement scheme. He provided excellent help throughout the week and hopefully he gained a good overview of publishing.  He gave me these beautiful flowers as a thank you for his time here - but the thanks should really go to him.

This blog describes the quest of a small independent publisher to sell one million copies of Boris the Boastful Frog to disprove the theory that a book with a green cover won't sell:  

- Copies sold to date - 0 (not yet published)
- Copies still to sell - 1, 000, 000

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2. Selling a million - Waitrose, Waterstone's and WHSmith

When trying to sell books (especially if we are to sell a million of Boris the Boastful Frog), then we must target the big high street names - Waterstone's and WHSmith.

Both select books for their branches centrally and the buyers will be choosing only a handful from the thousands being submitted each year.  Statistically, the chances of being selected are pretty slim.  The book buyer (quire rightly) will be looking out for new titles from Walker books, Frances Lincoln and other more established publishers and the worry is that our titles could just disappear amongst a pile of "others I may look at if I have the time".  However I'm convinced that Boris the Boastful Frog is a strong story and I believe we're in with a good chance.

I tried a 'scatter gun' approach with WHSmith, emailing AI sheets for all the new titles and a low-res pdf of Boris to four names in the central team. Three bounced back, but the fourth reached the Head of Children's Books, who said she'd pass the info over to the Children's Picture Book Buyer, adding, 'If we think the books would work for our range, we'll be in touch'. Hmm... doesn't sound terribly promising, still fingers crossed that the Buyer likes them.

Waterstone's was a little easier. Once the Waterstone's grid had been updated (a spreadsheet detailing our titles), we posted off our latest four books, including Boris, directly to the relevant new title buyer. We now have only three advance copies of each left to last us until mid May so we'll need to use them wisely.

Books parcelled up and ready to go
Both WHSmith and Waterstone's branches can stock books by local authors/illustrators, which in the case of Boris meant contacting the shops in Bath (close to where Steve Cox the illustrator lives) and Guildford.

I emailed Sara, children's manager at the Guildford WHSmith, who in the past has been very supportive of us (as a local publisher). My contact at Guildford Waterstone's had moved on so I emailed the manager details of the book. I was assured that all staff read the 'manager@waterstones...' emails so I took the same approach in Bath.

WHSmith in Bath said that all buying decisions were made 'above' so nothing doing there. Instead, whilst I was in the area (metaphorically speaking), I called a couple of independent bookshops Topping Books and Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights. The children's book buyers at both were friendly and Victoria at Topping was keen that the illustrator (Steve Cox) signed a few copies should she like the book (I'm sure she will!)

Sadly, there are no independent bookshops in Guildford, but there is soon to be a Waitrose which may sell a few books.  I emailed details of Boris and our other three new titles to the central children's buyer there too.

This blog describes the quest of a small independent publisher to sell one million copies of Boris the Boastful Frog to disprove the theory that a book with a green cover won't sell:  

- Copies sold to date - 0 (not yet published)
- Copies still to sell - 1, 000, 000

0 Comments on Selling a million - Waitrose, Waterstone's and WHSmith as of 4/26/2013 7:37:00 AM
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3. Selling a million - hitting the supermarkets

Boris the Boastful Frog - book and advance information

A good step towards selling a million books (and disproving the theory that a book with a green cover won't sell*) would be to persuade the supermarket chains to take the book as a stock item, so...
  1. I've emailed ASDA with the details of Boris (as well as our other three new titles). Asda's corporate colour is green so I'm hoping its buyers won't be put off by the cover. 
  2. I've already emailed details of our latest books to Tesco and received a friendly response from Sophie Wood-Goulbourn, but she works with adults books, so I'm waiting to see if her colleague in the children's team will get back to me.
  3. On the advice of Alan Street at Gardners, I've drafted a letter to Morrisons children's book buyer. Morrisons doesn't give out buyers' email addresses so instead of emailing pdfs we've had to part with one of the only five advance copies of Boris in the country. It will be worth it, though, if the buyer likes the story.
  4. I've also already emailed Sainsbury's with details of the books and made a follow up phone call. I've been promised feedback, but so far I've heard nothing. I'm guessing that no news is bad news, but if I'm going to sell a million, I'll need to persevere.
  5. I ran out of steam so will try Waitrose tomorrow.
This blog describes the quest of a small independent publisher to sell one million copies of Boris the Boastful Frog to disprove the theory that a book with a green cover won't sell:  

- Copies sold to date - 0 (not yet published)
- Copies still to sell - 1, 000, 000




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4. Selling a million - 'Green books don't sell'

When I say 'green' books, I mean books with green-coloured covers, not books about recycling or saving the planet.

Cover of Boris the Boastful Frog


However this isn't my view, it's the view of Maverick's Steve Bicknell, who we met up with at the London Book Fair. Amidst our general chat about the plight of the independent book publisher, he came up with this bald statement in relation to one of our upcoming titles - Boris the Boastful Frog (understandably a green book). His colleague Kimara pointed out that both The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Gruffalo are green and, as we all know, have sold in the millions, but Steve was adamant that this colour was a no no.

Perhaps there's some truth in Steve's book-cover theory, but I like green and I like Boris (the book not the frog) so it's a theory I'd like to disprove - and the way to disprove it? Sell a million copies of course.

So for the next few months I'll be using this blog to chart the attempts of a relatively unknown and very small children's book publisher to sell a million copies of a green book. If we succeed, we'll sit down with Steve and Kimara over a magnum of Champagne. And if we fail? The next edition of Boris will feature a pink frog on the cover (and we'll be drinking shandy).

Copies sold to date - 0 (not yet published)
Copies still to sell - 1, 000, 000

1 Comments on Selling a million - 'Green books don't sell', last added: 5/15/2013
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5. Three Silly Chickens Review

Hi guys. Just a quick one to let you all know that our book Three Silly Chickens , written and illustrated by Tanya Fenton, has been reviewed in the most recent issue of the School Librarian journal. The review, written by Jane Doonan, is very positive, and describes the story as an 'amusing take on a folk tale convention ... dramatised on the page by a fine sense of page design.' 

A link to the Amazon page for the book can be found below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Silly-Chickens-Tanya-Fenton/dp/1907432116




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6. Something beautiful ... a full rainbow



What's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?



In Gateshead, Carol Thorn of Bill Quay Bookshop, chose an elemental phenomena for her most beautiful sight - a complete, circular rainbow:

‘It was incredibly beautiful - like a coloured halo in the sky. Usually you only see an arc because the rest of the rainbow disappears beyond the horizon, but up in the hills where I used to live I was high enough to see the whole thing.

‘When I first saw it, I was like a child. I ran indoors and told my husband, “just come and look at this!” I hadn’t realised until then that rainbows were circles, but it explains why they never have an end. For me this realisation, far from spoiling the mystery, somehow made the whole thing even more beautiful.’

If you've always wondered how rainbows are formed, there is a simple explanation here including a description of the circumstances in which Carol's full rainbow can be observed. It also includes this simple diagram showing white light from the sun refracting as it passes into a water droplet before reflecting back against the back surface of the droplet to make it visible to the observer. Depending on the position of the observer, he or she will only see one colour emerging from any single droplet but as he or she glances up or down he or she will see bands of light emerging from millions of neighbouring droplets.




For a more detailed explanation about the formation of rainbows visit here which includes Descartes' experiment to understand what happened inside the water droplet.



René Descartes' sketch of how primary and secondary rainbows are formed (courtesy Wikipedia)
As it happens, one of our published titles Bella's Bubble by Karen Hodgson features a rainbow - but one with a more supernatural and at the same time more physical form.  In the story, Bella is chasing a giant bubble which ends up bouncing off the magical rainbow before it eventually lands splat on her grandmother's nose.

Bella's Bubble - by Karen Hodgson and illustrated by Rebecca Griffiths  

To help promote our new title The King Who Wanted More, We're finding out what is the most beautiful thing people have ever seen. It could be a landscape, a painting, a building, or maybe something altogether different...it’s completely up to you. Please email [email protected] if you'd like to take part.

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7. Something beautiful ... orchids, Auckland and attics!


What's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?

Aileen Davis of Appleby’s Bookshop in Morpeth couldn't choose between two sights which she felt were the most beautiful she'd seen: the orchids in Singapore (the walkways across the roads, she says, are ‘festooned’ with them)  and the aerial view of New Zealand as you approach Auckland Airport.

‘I was on holiday in NZ three years ago and as the plane came into land, I looked out of the window and on this clear day glimpsed the entire coastline, including the volcano at the other end of the island. I haven’t seen anything more beautiful.’

Singaporean Orchids 
But before you decide to jump on a plane to the Far East, Stephanie Ellison would argue that you should to take a trip to the North East and visit Seven Stories Bookshop in Newcastle:

‘In the attic on level 7 of our shop is an art installation by illustrator/author Oliver Jeffers. It’s very beautiful. I’m sure that everyone in the shop would agree that it’s the most beautiful thing they’ve seen. There are books hanging from the ceiling, and books at all different levels - it’s a sight to behold.’

To help promote our new title The King Who Wanted More, We're finding out what is the most beautiful thing people have ever seen. It could be a landscape, a painting, a building, or maybe something altogether different...it’s completely up to you. Please email [email protected] if you'd like to take part.

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8. Something beautiful ... an oyster sky


What's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?

Jude Innes of J&G Innes bookshop in St Andrews believes that when it comes to a beautiful sight, you can’t beat ‘a good sunset’. In particular she recalls one she saw over the North West Island in Australia. ‘In 1988, while on holiday in Australia, I visited the area and saw the deserted island in the middle of an oyster sky - it was a very beautiful sight.’ If you don’t know what an oyster sky is (I didn’t), Jude explains: ‘it’s where the clouds are all broken up and the sky takes on a peachy hue’.

Whilst the sunset below doesn't show an oyster sky, it is a photograph from North West Island by Kristy Muir which she describes as the most beautiful place she has ever visited: Head north-west for beauty | Sunshine Coast Daily

North West Island Australia

To help promote our new title The King Who Wanted More, We're finding out what is the most beautiful thing people have ever seen. It could be a landscape, a painting, a building, or maybe something altogether different...it’s completely up to you. Please email [email protected] if you'd like to take part.

1 Comments on Something beautiful ... an oyster sky, last added: 12/13/2012
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9. Something beautiful ... Jane Gardam

What's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?

Jane Gardam, OBE author of children's and adult fiction and twice winner of the Whitbread Award, discussed her most beautiful sight with my mother-in-law over afternoon tea.

Jane grew up in Cumberland and the North Riding of Yorkshire, and she recalled one winter, when on a visit to Swale Falls in Richmond, she witnessed the waterfall turn to ice. It was a rare thing, caused by a sudden temperature change, which freezes the water mid flow. Although it was only a fleeting occurrence, the memory of it stayed with Jane and was later captured in her short story ‘Icicle Ride’, featured in her children’s collection The Hollow Land. The book, which now sadly appears to be out of print, arrived in today’s post and the passage below describes Jane’s experience: ‘And there round the corner to the left where the beck fell sheer, stood high as the sky a chandelier of icicles. Hundreds upon hundreds of them down the shale steps of a waterfall. There were long ones and short ones and middling ones and fat ones like an arm and thin ones like a thread. They hung down from up as high as you could see and down to your very wellingtons. And not only water had turned to spears of glass but every living thing about – the grasses, the rushes, the spider webs, the tall great fearless thistles. You could pull the tubes of ice off the long wands of the loose-strife. You could lift them off like hollow needles. You could look right down them like crystal test tubes. You could watch them twist like fairy ear-rings. And as the sun reached them they all turned at once to every colour ever known – rose and orange and blue and green and lilac – and Harry and Bell watched them until the sun slipped down a little and left them icicles again.’

Jane has twice won the Whitbread Award for The Hollow Land (1981) and, for her adult novel, The Queen of the Tambourines (1991). In addition, God on the Rocks was runner up for the Booker Prize and her story for young readers, Bridget and William, was ‘Commended’ for the Carnegie Medal.

To help promote our new title The King Who Wanted More, We're finding out what is the most beautiful thing people have ever seen. It could be a landscape, a painting, a building, or maybe something altogether different...it’s completely up to you. Please email [email protected] if you'd like to take part.

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10. Olympic Bookshop Hop, Day 26 - St Andrews to Edinburgh


70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops

Today, day 26 of the Olympic torch relay, the flame travelled 145 miles from St Andrews to Edinburgh and visits Stirling Castle, the Wallace Monument and Edinburgh Castle on the way.


Early in the morning, the torch was carried along West Beach in St Andrews by a group of children to re-enact the famous scene in Chariots of Fire where the British Olympic team (decked all in white) ran along the sand at Broadstairs in Kent.  The scene for the 1981 Oscar winning film was actually filmed on West Beach and the athletes portrayed in the film were training for the 1924 Olympics (although none of them were carrying an Olympic torch as part of their training regime).

After its cameo on the coast, the torch continued on its route through Dunblane and Cumbernauld before it was transferred to a boat when it reached the Falkirk Wheel - which was opened by the Queen 10 years ago as part her Golden Jubilee celebrations.



It then was carried over the Forth Road bridge on a bike by record holding long-distance cyclist Mark Beaumont.  

Iain Morrison, enterprise manager at The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh described how the torch arrived in the city at about 5pm and rested there overnight. Edinburgh Castle was the focal point for the celebrations, which is straight up the hill from The Fruitmarket Gallery. Iain Morrison, enterprise manager at the Gallery, headed up there after it had closed, hoping to catch sight of the flame:
‘There were lots of rumours among the crowd as to which direction the torch would take and people were running this way and that after it as though on some huge treasure hunt. I was fortunate and I caught up with it outside the Old Bank of Scotland, where the changeover took place.’


The town was ‘jam-packed’ with tourists and locals all jostling to see the torch, said Iain. ‘You couldn’t cross the Royal Mile and had to take a two-mile detour – it was just a solid wall of people. I’ve never seen Edinburgh like that. Even during the Festival, when the city is full, people are walking in different directions to different events. Here everyone was walking in one direction – towards the torch.’

Missing something? If you work in a bookshop on or near the route and we've missed you out from our blog, please contact us wit

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11. Olympic bookshop hop - Days 21 & 22 - Moorfields to Glasgow to Inverness


We're catching up in Scotland where the torch travelled miles and miles over land and lochs and sea. We began by chatting with Caron McPherson, manager of Waterstones in Ayr. She confessed to being freakishly excited about the torch, which passed the shop at 10.10am.


I had no idea what to expect, but there was a brilliant atmosphere. As I travelled into work from Paisley, there was a good crowd all the way along the route and in the town itself. The torch had stopped briefly on its way to visit the Robert Burns Museum, where lots of people had dressed up as Robert Burns’ Tam O’ Shanter [the eponymous hero of his famous poem].’

The famous portrait of Robert Burns by Alexander Nasmyth
Seventeen-year old Kirsty Kane, from Saltcoats, carried the Flame to the museum, handing it on to Olympian Suzanne Otterson, 38, from Ayr, who represented Great Britain in the figure skating at the Albertville Winter Olympics in 1992.

‘It was fabulous,’ said Caron. ‘Before the arrival of the torch, the sponsors had handed out drums and balloons to the children. There was a great family-orientated spirit. Then the young torch bearer ran past – and I mean he really ran. He shot past really quickly.’

Caron had decked out her window with ‘Great British Books’ in readiness for the Jubilee and Olympics celebrations. There were Olympics titles throughout the store and there had been a countdown to the torch on the store’s Facebook page.

Abbey Books in Paisley (close to Lochwinnoch, where the torch passed), commented that, ‘We were holding our annual re-enactment of the 1690 witch trials, a historical event particular to Paisley, and there were lots of jokes being bandied about that if the torch bearer lost his way, he could light the pyre to burn the witches.’

Edmund McGonigle, manager of Voltaire and Rousseau, a second-hand bookshop in Glasgow, couldn't get away from the shop to see the torch but he heard the crowds. ‘My brother, who owns the shop couldn’t drive home that afternoon because of the crowds but another friend who pops in to feed the shop cat [Trevor] said that he managed to film the flame.'

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12. Olympic Bookshop Hop, Day 20 - Newcastle to Stanraer


70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
Day 20 of the torch was the last day of the Olympic Torch Relay on Irish soil. The torch was carried by 67 torchbearers on its 187 mile journey, from the foot of the Slieve Donard Mountain near Newcastle to Moorfields and then by ferry from Larne Harbour to Stanraer where the relay starts its journey around Scotland.


Ian Campbell, manager of Beulah Bookshop in Newcastle, Northern Ireland told us that the torch went past Newcastle at eight minutes to seven in the morning and Ian, who lives 12 miles away, wasn’t there to see it.

‘I didn’t expect people to be spending money at that time in the morning. They’re more likely to be thinking of a cup of coffee than getting their credit cards out.

Ian said he didn’t have a tremendous interest in the torch, but had heard that ‘there was very large crowd there to witness the event.’

Ian teaches part time in a local school and he said that a couple of the pupils went with their families to join the crowds. ‘For kids to get up at 5am to see the torch shows the enthusiasm young people have for it,’ he said. ‘One of the girls got to hold the torch so she was excited to have been there even though she’d been freezing all day.’

Despite the cold and rain, Ian felt that the torch helped to get everyone in the holiday spirit. ‘It brought thoughts of sunny days ahead, and the whole thing was has made more special because there was a sense that it would never happen again in our lifetimes.’

Athough Ian missed the torch at Newcastle, he had been caught up in on Sunday at Carigfergus. ‘I was in one of the cars dawdling along at 5 miles per hour. I didn’t see the torch which was ahead of me.'

An hour later the torch arrived at Downpatrick, and travelled past Eason and Sons in Market Street on its way to Meadowlands.

Lorraine Coates, manager at Eason and Sons, told us how the bookshop had opened at 7am to accommodate those who wanted to buy magazines etc. ‘It was a wet old morning and so people were glad of somewhere to shelter,’ said Lorraine.

The rain didn’t deter the crowds, though, and Lorraine described the turn out as ‘excellent.’


Later in the day, the flame (carried by torchbearer Eorann O'Neill) travelled by boat across Lough Neagh from Antrim Harbour to Ballyronan Harbour and was accompanied by a flotilla of boats.  Having crossed Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles, the torch then continued on land to Moorfields.

The final convey from Moorfields to Larne Harbour marked the end of 5 days of the relay in Northern Ireland and Dublin.

Missing something? If you work in a bookshop on or near the route and we've missed you out from our blog, please contact us with your news and views of the relay (including any photographs) as we'd love to add you to our blog.  

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13. Olympic Bookshop Hop, Day 19 - Dublin to Belfast

70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
Day 19 of the torch relay saw the flame travel cross the Irish border at Newry before being taken around Dublin and returning to Belfast via Newry (again) and Lisburn.

The day started early with Belfast boxer Wayne McCullough (silver medal winner at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics) handing the torch to his fellow boxer and friend Michael Carruth from Dublin (he'd won welterweight gold the same year).

Once in Dublin, the torch was carried through Croke Park by the Kilkenny hurler Henry Shefflin. Other sportsman carrying the torch in Dublin were Ronnie Delany, who won the 1500m gold for Ireland in the 1956 Games in Melbourne, former Ireland international footballer Paul McGrath, jockey Ruby Walsh and former Olympic silver medallist Sonia O'Sullivan.

Bob Johnston, owner of The Gutter Bookshop didn’t expect to see the torch, but caught a glimpse of it on his way to work – an experience which he said ‘made my day’.

‘The Olympic torch arrived at 9am. It was met by our president Michael Higgins and then travelled into the town centre at Phoenix Park before going on to Stephen’s Green, where a big party was being held in its honour. Our little bookshop was on route, but I wasn’t expecting to see it as I thought I’d be beavering away inside.

‘As it happened, I came in late that morning as we’d been involved in a writing festival in Dublin and as I passed Temple Bar, I caught sight of all the crowds and of the flame as it disappeared toward Stephens Green, carried by Jedward, who seem to appear at all such occasions.’

The twin brothers with Olympic flame-effect hair cuts were cheered on by thousands of adoring fans as the torch passed through the city.

The Winding Stair, another Dublin bookshop joined in with the fun and we'll be adding more information from the shop soon.  However, a couple of other independent bookshops we spoke to in Dublin didn't feel the event had the X-factor. They told us that they were completely uninterested in the it, complaining that it disrupted traffic and made staff late for work.

After 5 days travelling around Ireland, the Olympic torch returned to Belfast where David Torrans, owner of No Alibis, Belfast (who had already filled us in on events when the flame first arrived in Northern Ireland), told us that one member of his staff, who has signed up as a volunteer helper at the Games, had definitely entered into the spirit of the Olympics: ‘I asked her to come into the shop at 5pm this evening to help out and she flatly refused. She said that she had to be in town to see the flame being lit at 6pm!’

'She still has a job though' joked David.

Missing something? If you work in a bookshop on or near the route and we've missed you out from our blog, please contact us with your news and views of the relay (including any photographs) as we'd love to add you to our blog.  

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14. Olympic Bookshop Hop, Day 18 - Londonderry to Newry


70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
Day 18 of the Olympic Torch Relay passed through Omagh, visited Enniskillen Castle and travelled into the Marble Arch Caves on the journey from Londonderry to Newry.

Alison McDermott, manager of the Carlisle Bookshop, Omagh,  had considered closing the bookshop on the day the Olympic torch came to the town as it coincided with the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, which she thought might keep people at home. In the end she decided to stay open as normal and the crowds gathered in numbers that were ‘very big by Omagh’s standards’.


‘The torch arrived at 10am, but the crowds had been gathering outside the shop since 9am. There were street entertainers organised by the Council, and the children were being given freebies – balloons and flags etc. Many were wearing themed t-shirts, but I’ve no idea where they came from. I was standing outside the shop and some members of the staff were upstairs where they had a good vantage point. We saw the torch go by carried by a young boy. For the first leg of its travels through the town, it had been carried by a 93-year-old man – we had all age groups covered.’


Alison managed to see the torch twice, as she had been in Portrush on Sunday, where it appeared before crowds of thousands. 


The whole weekend was a combined Olympics and Jubilee celebration, with the beacons being lit on Monday night, but on Tuesday, the Olympics took precedence. ‘In Omagh, while the torch was in town, the focus was on the torch,’ said Alison. 


‘It was a good event and everyone enjoyed all the razzmatazz, but I’m not sure that it benefited the town from a business point of view,’ adds Alison. ‘Once the torch had gone, the showers came and the crowds dispersed.’


Alison has not ruled out seeing the torch again: ‘A Swedish friend of mine had her parents in-law over for the weekend, and they remembered seeing the torch when it passed through their village in 1956.’

From Omagh, the torch went on to visit the Marble Arch Caves which are situated just outside Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. The flame was carried by members of the relay security team into the caves, which are described as a 'fascinating, natural underworld of rivers, waterfalls, winding passages and lofty chambers and form the only UNESCO Geopark in Northern Ireland.

The final torchbearer of the day was 17-year-old Ryan Cinnamond who was greeted by Sebastian Coe in Newry and watched on as Ryan lit the cauldon to mark the end of the stage of the relay and the start of the evening celebrations.

Missing something? If you work in a bookshop on or near the route and we've miss

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15. Olympic Bookshop Hop, Day 17 - Carrick-a-Rede to Londonderry

70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops

Day 17 saw the torch cross over the Carrick-a-Rede ropebridge (careful with that torch!), onto the Giant's Causeway (a Unesco World Heritage Site) which is made up of 40, 000 hexagonal basalt columns which protrude from the sea.


It then continued on its route along the north coast of Northern Ireland before being taken onto an eight-man coxed boat on the River Bann and passing under the Old Bridge in Coleraine before being transferred back to dry land.

Kathy Thompson, manager at Eason and Sons in Coleraine, told us that, ‘The torch didn’t pass in front of our shop – it would have been good if it had. It came to the other side of town, on the other side of the bridge. There were plenty of people in town to see it. The local radio station was out there and there was lots of music and celebration.’

From Coleraine, the torch headed for Londonderry.

Nat Roche, manager of the ShipQuay Bookshop in Londonderry told us that ‘The torch coming was a major event for us. Being in Northern Ireland, we’re slightly divorced from the Olympics, so when the torch arrived here, it made people here more aware of the Games and more a part of the event.


‘There was a big turn out in Londonderry and everyone was in support of it.  Our shop had closed before the torch arrived and we waited around for half an hour in the hope of seeing it, but it had been held up on route.’

Luckily, Nat was able to catch up with the torch in the evening, when he attended the torch celebrations at St Columbus Park. ‘There was a big concert in the park. It was a very good event and the weather held out for us.’ 


Despite being modest about his sporting credentials, Art Byrne, owner of Foyle Bookshop in Londonderry was equally enthusiastic about the event: ‘I wasn’t there. I’m not very athletic and not interested in the Olympics, but a big crowd turned out for it and in general it was a success.

‘The torch event united the community in Londonderry, which is not a very united city. There was a small protest by the dissident republicans, which was blown up out of proportion by the media so that the success of the event took second place. But it was a success, it was a good day and a sunny day and the crowds enjoyed it.’


Missing something? If you work in a bookshop on or near the route and we've missed you out from our blog, please contact us with your news and views of the relay (including any photographs) as we'd love to add you to our blog.  

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16. Olympic Bookshop Hop, Day 16 - Belfast to Portrush


70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops

On Day 16 of the Olympic Torch Relay, the flame started its journey from the birth place of the Titanic in Belfast.  The torch was set to travel 126 miles between Belfast and Portrush visiting Stormont, home of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and Carrickfergus Castle on the way.

David Torrans, No Alibis, Belfast – one of only a few independent bookshop still remaining in Northern Ireland described the early start from Belfast, ‘It rained. It rained an awful lot. And, to be honest, the Olympic spirit was not present in the shop too much. It’s so busy that I haven’t had the opportunity to follow the flame.’ [We will hear more from David on Day 19 when the torch returns to Belfast.]

Rugby Union's Trevor Ringland was amongst the torch bearers in Larne. The former Ireland winger was chosen for the Lions tour of New Zealand in 1983 and played in the first rugby World Cup four years later.

Army medic Kylie Watson from Ballymena, carried the torch in Portrush, she's one of only four women who have won the Military Cross for twice risking her life under heavy fire to treat two soldiers in Afghanistan.

The route followed the dramatic County Antrim coastline before visiting the golf course of Portrush, home of golfers Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell, and the evening celebration on the beach.

Missing something? If you work in a bookshop on or near the route and we've missed you out from our blog, please contact us with your news and views of the relay (including any photographs) as we'd love to add you to our blog.  

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17. Olympic Bookshop Hop, Day 13 - Stoke-on-Trent to Bolton

70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
Nigel Webberley, owner of Webberleys Bookshop, Stoke-on-Trent told us that you needed to be up very early to catch the action on Day 13 of the Olympic torch relay.  Unluckily for Nigel: ‘The torch came past at 6am and had gone by the time we arrived there so we didn’t see anything of it. The places where it was of interest were the local schools in smaller towns and villages along the route. Congleton, in particular was gridlocked. I know this because I have to drive through Congleton. It was full of parents with gangs of children, all enjoying themselves.

‘The event was really for children and Stoke isn’t really accessible to children at 6am.’

The torch continued on its route and reached Runcorn at a more sociable hour, where Liz Howard, owner Curiosity Bookshop, told us that, ‘It was wonderful. Our shop was covered with balloons and Union Jacks. There aren’t many shops on the High Street, and the bank next door (HSBC) wasn’t allowed to put out bunting as it was thought “politically incorrect”, so we stood out.

The Curiosity Bookshop in Runcorn joining in the fun with the worlds' local bank next door
‘It absolutely poured down on the day – and I don’t mean the odd shower – but it didn’t dampen our spirits. No one minded the weather; we just got on with it.

‘I was surprised by the length of the parade – I didn’t realise that there’d be so many vehicles. The children were all very excited. Before it arrived there was two hours’ of entertainment, with clowns on push bikes, and French onion sellers playing ukuleles and singing French songs. There was also drum band from a local high school, wearing blue and silver satin outfits and getting drenched.

Clowning around in front of another local bank in Runcorn - this one with flags. 
‘This kind of thing doesn’t happen very often in Runcorn so I was out there taking photographs. Someone asked me why I was taking pictures before the torch arrived, so I said that I wanted to capture the street with people in it!’

Before the torch arrived, Liz was joined by Mrs Philpott, who had been there at the 1948 Olympics and saw the Olympic flame being lit at the stadium then. ‘We gave her a chair and she sat by the edge of the road with her mac and umbrella and was thrilled to see the torch for a second time in her lifetime.’
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18. Olympic Bookshop Hop, Day 12 - Chester to Stoke-On-Trent

70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
From an overnight rest at Chester Racetrack, the torch started its journey carried by 16 year old badminton player Jennifer Moore. Did you know that the finest shuttlecocks are said to be made from the left wing of a goose? That's right - no joke.

Carrie Morris, co-owner (with her husband Tim) of Booka Bookshop in Oswestry waited eagerly for the torch's arrival, ‘It was very, very exciting – a huge success. There were 10,000 people lining the streets, wearing red, white and blue, waving flags and cheering. It was a great atmosphere.

‘There were lots of school children from all the different primary schools in the area and they were sitting and standing on the pavement, watching and cheering and waving too.

Photo taken by Tim from Booka Bookshop in Oswestry
'Ours is a café-bookshop and afterwards it was full. We had a busy, busy day.'

Carrie’s only disappointment was that the Oswestry leg of the relay didn’t get much TV coverage. ‘The focus was very much on Much Wenlock down the road, because of its historic links with the Olympic Games.’

Even the mascot Wenlock (or is it the other one) is keeping one eye on the road as it passes through Oswestry on its way to Much Wenlock (did I say Wenlock?).

Anna Dreda, owner of Wenlock Books, Much Wenlock said that the torch was greeted by a crowd of 10,000 at Much Wenlock, which had squeezed into the narrow streets.

Anna sent us this photo taken by local artist Beverley Fry (www.beverleyfry.co.uk) showing the waiting crowd
Anna said that the torch relay had a special significance for the town, as Much Wenlock is where the modern Olympics started. Her shop

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19. Olympic Bookshop Hop, Day 11 - Beaumaris to Chester

70 days
8,000 runners
8,000 miles
800 bookshops
There ain't no river wide enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no mountain high enough to keep the torch from you!  Today we saw the torch cross from Anglesey across the Menai Straits (ok it's not really a river), pass through some Welsh valleys and up Mount Snowdon (carried by Sir Chris Bonington) before being taken to the races at Chester.

Clare Glass, manager of Waterstone’s in Llandudno wasn't in the shop, but didn't miss out: ‘It was my day off, but the torch happened to go past my house so I saw it then.

‘In Llandudno, it travelled along the prom and I heard that a lot of people turned up. The town really got behind it and there are still British flags flying.

‘We had a dump bin outside the shop featuring Olympics and Jubilee titles, but on the whole the shop had a quiet day. We were expecting some of the crowds to come into the town, but after the torch had passed, they all went home.’

Donna Morris, store assistant at WHSmith, Rhyl said, ‘The torch was a few streets away from our shop so I didn’t see much and to be honest, I didn’t have much interest in it at first, but then I heard the crowds cheering and the loudspeakers playing Chariots of Fire and a shiver went down my spine, and I really got into it.’


A spokesperson at Bluecoat Bookshop in Chester wasn't won over by the fun of the event and didn't hang around: ‘The torch came in the evening and we’d gone by then. I had no interest in it whatsoever. The roads were closed for the night and that was bad enough.’

So there you go - make all that effort Sir Chris and what for?  Well it worked for Diana Ross.

Missing something? If you work in a bookshop on or near the route and we've missed you out from our blog, please contact us with your news and views of the relay (including any photographs) as we'd love to add you to our blog.  

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20. Olympic Bookshop Hop - Day 10 - Aberystwyth to Bangor


Day 10 took us through some of the prettiest parts of west Wales as the Torch travelled from Aberystwyth to Bangor.

Local schoolgirl Carwen Richards was the first Torchbearer on Day 10 in Aberystwyth.
Paul Morgan manages Coch-Y-Bonddu, a specialist fishing and field sports bookshop in Machnynllet. He was a little underwhelmed.

'We weren’t very involved in the event. The Torch arrived at 10am on what would have been a quiet day, and it went back to being a quiet day soon after the torch had left. The town was packed for ten minutes and there was a great palaver as it went galloping past the shop and then everything returned to normal. It didn’t have much influence on our lives.

Ben Cowper, manager at Browsers Bookshop in Porthmadog, was more impressed. ‘It was really nice to see the town return to how it used to be on a busy summer’s day with hundreds of people out on the streets. There was almost a carnival feel about it.’

Ben’s only criticism was that after the initial fanfare there was a five minute delay before the Torch arrived and the delay dampened the atmosphere a little.

Generally though, the Torch was met with great enthusiasm and when Ben left the shop and travelled home, he saw that there were still people lining the route of the Torch and ‘even when it was being carried in the van, they still came out to wave and cheer it on.’

Stephen Wright, manager of Booksellers in Pwllheli, ‘There was an excellent turnout in Pwllheli. It was the Torch’s third day in Wales and the Torchbearer began on the outskirts of town and then ran down to the Sailing Club. Pwllheli had had great hopes of being included as one of the Olympic venues, but it was not to be. However, we’re still hopeful that some of the teams might come here for training.’

Pwiheli harbour - looks lovely!
'The Torch w

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21. Olympic Torch Relay - Our Bookshop Hop - day one


Whilst Saturday saw the first leg of the Olympic Torch relay in the UK, preparations started long before that...

Yes, we all know that the Olympic Flame was lit in Olympia on May 10 using the sun’s rays, before traveling by relay across Greece to Athens, where it was given to Princess Anne (accompanied by the ever-present Sebastian Coe and Boris Johnson - never one to miss out on a bit of pomp and ceremony).  The flame - transferred to a miner’s lamp - was then flown to  Cornwall and arrived at Land’s End on Saturday for the start of its 8,000-mile journey around the UK. Yes we all caught that on the news...

What I’m talking about are the preparations at places such as Liskeard, which would have the honour of receiving the torch on day one. “From our small independent bookshop on the torch route, we handed out the programme of the town entertainment several days before. One could see preparations taking place, scaffoldings being raised, weeds being removed, the town clerk, organisers, volunteers, all going round the town, smiley, happy, active,”  says Michele Laouenan owner of the Book Shop in Liskeard.

Michele arrived in the town early on the big day, “I passed the town crier and others in their special outfits. The sun was shining and hopes were raised that it would stay dry the whole day. And it did. The stage in the main street - just a few meters from the shop - was ready. Soon, one heard the local band and we rushed outside to see Liskeard’s brass band marching, head up, music rising high like the spirits of the people watching. We applauded the band, followed by local groups which were going to perform at different venues in the town at one point or another: Cornish wrestlers, harriers, local dance and theatre groups - a wonderful range representing the rich community we all belong to. One thousand Cornish cream teas were given out. Right through the day, the sound of music, of singing, of families, of children, a jungle of people happy to take part and belong to the day, the day of the torch.”

Crowds assemble outside the Book Shop in Liskeard (it must be some window display!)

The flame was carried from Land’s End by triple Olympic Gold medal winner Ben Ainslie before being handed to other torch bearers on day one.  He retired to a bus for the rest of the journey.

It wasn’t the only bus on the route. James Howorth, owner of Edge of the World Bookshop in Penzance says: ‘The police wanted to close the road to vehicles, but the local buses insisted on sticking to their schedules, so they all went past first with the bus drivers waving as though they were the stars of the show.’

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22. Off your marks...

At Hogs Back Books we love the Olympics and we love bookshops so we decided to combine the two! To tie in with the launch of our new Olympics book and website, O is for Olympics, (www.oisforolympics.com), over the next few weeks we will be following the route of the Olympic Torch Relay and chatting to the best bookshops along the route - from Land's End to Innerleithen, from Guernsey to Norfolk to Aberystwyth, finishing in the Olympic Park on 27 July - a total of 2,624.6 miles.


We will be chatting to local bookshops in every area the Torch passes through about what happened when the Torch came to town and what they are doing for the Olympics. We start this week in Cornwall - come along!

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23. A quiet life

I've always detested having to speak on the phone, particularly for work and particularly when I don't know the other person. It's no coincidence that I ended up as an editor, in which communication focuses on the written word. My favourite part of working freelance was the fact that my main client was in Australia so I almost never had to speak with them (and they were really quite nice). Editor/writer is listed as the top job for introverts (second is a surgeon, so I'll make that my fallback career) and I'm very happy with my quiet, self-contained daily routine.


But needs must and when you work for a small company like ours, there's no room to be precious. So I've spent all day on the phone, calling independent bookshops around the country to chat about a new exciting project (of which more later this week). Arghh - pitching an idea to strangers over the phone is my idea of very hard work.

But you know what? It was fine - it turns out, as I might have known, independent booksellers are a very nice bunch and very happy to chat to independent publishers. And working my way through the database, I was green with envy after hearing about some of their shops. The lovely people at Mr & Mrs Doak's Bumper Bookshop in Eastborne (how inviting does that sounds? And it has a tea-room!) had me wanting to pack my bags for the seaside pronto. Or Thatcham's Family Bookshop, who are currently offering special deal on hardback children's classics. And next time I'm in East Anglia, I'm definitely making a detour to visit the Norfolk Children's Book Centre, set up in a garden in rural north Norfolk  (there's a nice article here in Books for Keeps on how NCBC is a great example of how children's bookshops can encourage children to become keen readers).

And the exciting part is that the bookshops I spoke with were really enthusiastic about taking part in our new project, more of which I'll reveal at the end of the week. Sometimes it is worth stepping out of that comfort zone...

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24. Bookish celebrations

It's been a very book-centered day today. In Catalunya, where we used to live, it’s the equivalent of Valentine’s Day, known as La Diada De Sant Jordi, as St George is also their patron saint. As it’s UNESCO World Book Day (and Cervantes' and Shakespeare’s birthdays), it's tradational to give a rose and a book to the person you love, and you may also be lucky enough to receive roses and books from your colleagues and friends. The 'passeigs' in the centre of Barcelona are filled with book stalls and couples spend the evening promenading and choosing books to give – there's a really lovely atmosphere.  

 

It is also, of course, World Book Night tonight – there was no one handing out books that I could spot in Canary Wharf today  (note to self, must register for next year), though my mother was given a copy of Pride & Prejudice in Newcastle today. In honour of WBN, here's a quick round-up of what we're reading in this house tonight - I'm reading Mother’s Milk, the fourth of the Patrick Melrose novels by Edward St Aubyn (which I'd really recommend), S is reading Claudine at St. Clare's by Enid Blyton, T will be reading his Sant Jordi present, Seeing further, edited by Bill Bryson, D read Dinosaurs love underpants by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort, which he has read every night for the past two weeks, and E fell asleep before she read anything.


Last week was also London Book Fair - the biggest UK publishing conference which covers all aspects of book publishing from small independent publishers to trade press, B2B, child

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25. Non-fiction all the way...

Today is National Non-Fiction Day, hurrah!

 

To celebrate tonight we read a selection of our favourite non-fiction books. This is easy for D who is happy with any book that features lots of pictures of cars and trains. At the moment his favourite are the I-Spy books, which require not much reading aloud but lots of pointing at photos.



(Excuse the blurry photo, it is impossible to get D to stay still, particularly at bedtime!).

E and S had their noses stuck in our new book, L is for London...


It's our first non-fiction book so a change for us and it's been really interesting to work on - harder to produce but easier to market (we hope!). Check out its website for lots of quirky London-related facts...


Happy non-fiction reading!

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