End of Week Round-up #19
4th March 2022
The last few weeks have pretty much been a bust for me, first off I contracted a bad cold which knocked me out completely and put me in bed for several days.
This has taken longer to recover from than I thought it would and every time I think I’m almost back up and running fatigue sets in.
Though I’m not sure that the illness is all that is to blame for the fatigue as it has been a long, long few years and I think it all caught up with me when I was ill and I had enough.
It has all meant I’ve been off social media for about three weeks, being very careful in the news I consume and the interactions I have and it looks like this may continue for a while.
Though I’m back to reading French philosophers so there is that…
What I’ve been up to this week and other news.
It’s been a week of medical appointments and visits to the shop from various primary classes to hear me put on really bad Australian accents (Bluey).
There hasn’t been much time for anything else as I still tire very easily and am trying to look after myself a bit better.
There is only one new Author Q&A this week due to all the above. Find out more about Anne Coates, a writer of crime thrillers.
Other news.
I don’t think anyone was surprised when Waterstones made a successful bid to take on Blackwell’s bookshops, let’s hope that the academic specialism that they have continues and thrives.
It has also been quite humbling to see the various responses from the publishing and bookselling industries to the atrocity of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If, like me, you’re feeling a bit helpless in all this you can always donate to the scheme that Gracie Cooper (Little Toller Books) and Keving Duffy (Bluemoose Books) have set up called #PackedWithHope on Just Giving to fill 10,000 backpacks with a selection of items that are both comforting and essential, such as head torches, notepads, colouring pencils, toothbrushes, puzzles, playing cards, activity books, bags of marbles, hot water bottles, socks, hats and scarfs, reusable drinking bottles, and many other much-needed things.
Recently added bookshops and publishers.
I’ve not had a chance to add any new bookshops or publishers recently so will be working on this over the next few days.
Submissions and applications.
Bath Short Story Award, up to 2200 words on any subject or theme, closes 11/04/22
époque press, an e-zine on the theme of ‘Withdrawal’, closes 31/03/22
Knight Errant Press, looking for various genres and themes, closes 01/09/222
Truffle Magazine, submissions open for Issue 5, not sure of closing day yet
Young Scot’s Writer of the Year, all genres all media, under 1000 words or five minutes, closes 24/06/22
Upcoming events.
Bloody Scotland, scheduled between 15/09/22 and 18/09/22
Burford Literary Festival, more information to come, SAVE THE DATE: 22nd – 25th September 2022
Cambridge Literary Spring Festival, around Cambridge, between 20/04/22 and 24/04/22
Deepings Literary Festival, various venues between 27/04/22 and 01/05/22
John Grindrod: ICONICON, The Wanstead Tap, 7:30-10:30pm 16/03/22
York Literature Festival, various York between 18/03/22 and 27/03/22
New and upcoming book releases.
The Seven Deadly Sins – various – Fum d’Estampa Press (15/03/22)
The Kaiju Preservation Society – John Scalzi – Tor (17/03/22)
I Am Not Your Eve – Devika Ponnambalam – Bluemoose Books (24/03/22)
The Thief Who Sang Storms – Sophie Anderson – Usborne (31/03/22)
Lief the Lesser and Hell – Robin Bennett – Monster Books
Job links.
Nothing has been added by me recently, will be catching up with this over the next few days
Cogito Books, Hexham
Today we have been blogging about Indie Bookshops for a year and it’s appropriate that the Browse a Bookshop feature is for a bookshop I’ve only visited three times but have loved every time I’ve been in, Cogito Books in Hexham is a short detour from my usual route up to Edinburgh and is always worth a visit.
5 St Mary’s Chare,
Hexham,
Northumberland,
NE46 1NQ
Tel: 01434 602555
Website: https://www.cogitobooks.com
Twitter: @CogitoBooks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CogitoBooks/
How did you come up with the name of your bookshop?
As people step over the threshold, we often get asked about where the name of our bookshop comes from. The name ‘Cogito’ is taken from Rene Descartes’ ‘Cogito ergo sum: I think therefore I am’. His philosophy seems to fit well alongside our idea of creating an Independent Bookshop for Independent Minds; a place where people can linger, browse and discover our unique selection of books.
General background – history of the shop
Claire’s dad, Alan, opened the bookshop in May 2001 in a small upstairs premise in Hexham. A change of location swiftly followed, when the chain Ottakar’s suddenly moved into the town 18 months later. From our new space we have not looked back. Helped by both Claire and also his wife, Julia, Alan turned the shop into a real landmark in the local community – a place where people could be sure of finding a warm welcome and the right book for them. Author events became a regular treat, with literary lunches and crime suppers, and the shop also became the official bookseller for the Hexham Book Festival, a major event each year for the town. Since Alan retired in 2012, Claire runs the shop with help from a great team of booksellers Hilary, Mandy and Alice (and several others over the years!). It continues to be a focal point for the community, a place of discovery and bookish chat for all.
What makes your bookshop special?
We’re very proud of the welcoming ambience that we’ve created at the bookshop, our careful curation of books and the personal connection that we forge with our customers. The bookshop is a very friendly space where both adults and children can (and do!) browse for hours, join in storytelling, book groups and activities. We stock a whole range of contemporary and classic fiction as well as an eclectic range of non-fiction for all ages. Personal attention for each and every customer is very important to us. It’s a great feeling when you find just the right book for someone, and that’s what drives us! We developed the Cogito Reading Treat as an extension of this – a bespoke consultation in which we personally recommend six new books for the lucky recipient that will hopefully become some of their favourites (and yes, tea and biscuits are involved too!).
What’s the best thing about being a bookseller?
There are so many! For us, one of the biggest highlights is talking to customers about books – the bookshop is a place where some wonderful conversations are sparked around books and reading, and recommendations are shared. Being an independent bookshop gives us the freedom to stock a huge variety of titles, and we’re always on the lookout for new and interesting reads that we think our customers will enjoy. It’s certainly inspiring being surrounded by books all day, and we, as well as our customers, are continuously inspired to try new things.
What little-known book do you think is underrated?
The Priory by Dorothy Whipple is a wonderful read. It was recommended to me by my colleague Hilary and between us we have introduced many customers to Dorothy Whipple’s brilliant novels. It’s published by Persephone Books, who reissue neglected writing, mainly by women, from the last century – there are some real gems! Here’s Hilary’s review:
The novel ostensibly tells the story of the Marwoods – an ancient country family fallen on hard times and prey to delicious eccentricity – initially in a similar vein to Nancy Mitford’s ‘The Pursuit of Love’. However, Dorothy Whipple is able to take a much more dispassionate view of the behaviour of this and other social classes. She cleverly interweaves the lives of the family with an interesting array of characters from the ‘outside’ world, revealing the backdrop of social change as the characters motives for their actions are examined. Servants, lovers, self-made men and women all appear as brilliantly complex characters as their relationships with the Marwoods are described in the author’s beautifully clear lucid prose. Dorothy Whipple is particularly good at describing life’s small disappointments, humiliations and frustrations which we all experience and must all overcome using the whatever means are allowed to us. Above all, the gently subversive tone and dryly humorous style make this novel a complete joy to read.
Name three books on your TBR
I have several tottering piles beside my bed but the top three on the nearest pile are, Austen At Home by Lucy Worsley, Lowborn by Kerry Hudson, and Island Song by Madeleine Bunting.
What’s happening next week?
"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid."
No real need to change what I’m going to be doing as my illness stopped these plans in their tracks.
Over the next week I’ll be catching up on emails, DMs, and bookmarks and hopefully reply to everyone who has contacted me.
It should also see the start of me contacting indie bookshops and indie publishers with a view to restarting the #PublisherProfile and #BrowseABookshop features to go along with the Author Q&A feature.
I’ll also be reading a lot of the books that I’ve been gifted and bought recently to get more reviews up on the site.
And, as always, if you have any news or offers you would like included in the newsletter please email me at contact@bigbeardedbookseller.com and I’ll get it on ASAP.
A reminder that a paid subscription to this newsletter is only the cost of a large coffee once a month. This helps with lots of things but right now it would help with domain and hosting costs for the various projects.
Thanks to the current number of paid subscribers I’ve been able to get a monthly subscription to The Bookseller. Cheers!
All information is going to continue to be free so this is just a thank you to me for collating and developing it all.
The links to the various projects can be found at:
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