The Bookseller.com

7th September 2008

Tom Tivnan is the features editor of The Bookseller. He will be blogging about the magazine's in depth coverage.

Rock on indies

27.06.08

When I first started at The Bookseller a year and a half ago, it seemed like I was writing the same story for about eight weeks running. The first line always went something like: "X Bookshop, the long-standing independent in X, has closed, citing increased pressure from the supermarkets and internet retailers."

The Xs, of course, changed week to week but the story was the same throughout the country: indies were in trouble.

Fast forward to today and the market is marginally better. More indies have opened than closed in 2007 (the first time in 2 years) and sales in the sector outpaced the rest of the retail market last year.  A good time, perhaps, to kick start Independent Booksellers Week and celebrate indies.

As publishing consultant (and Bookseller columnist) Damian Horner says, "Independent retailers define local communities. They are a beacon of character in an increasingly soulless high street. The time has come to recognise how they enrich our lives."

And that is the nub, isn't it? Indies rock, because they can be so different from the other high street offers, a place to discover that writer the chains haven't stumbled upon yet and a place to connect with your community. And they are unique.

Researching my feature on how indies I came into a range of views on how the sector should go forward. From a trade journalist's perspective, who too often has to sift through circumspect and anodyne quotes churned out from corporate press offices, it is great to talk to indie booksellers in full flow.

For example, here's Louise Vance from the Sandwich Booshop on discounting: "Other industries are laughing at us. When you have a product in demand, they put a premium on it. If publishers were serious about indies, maybe they should start discounting on backlist."

Contentious, intelligent, opinionated, unique. And pure indie. Rock on.

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