Happy Easter all – I hope you’ve enjoyed the wonderfully long weekend!
I’m very excited to announce a monthly series of features called ‘A Day in the life…’. Every other month I’d like to invite four ‘practitioners’ from a particular sector of the children’s book industry to write a guest post and each article will be posted once a week. It’s a great chance to for budding writers to discover the varied efforts that go into creating, publishing and selling their favourite children’s literature.
First up is bookselling, and I’m very proud to introduce my first four guests:
The wonderfully named Jacqson Diego Story Emporium was founded by Jacqueline Johnson, PhD. Opened in 2012, this not-for-profit bookshop has already won over the young community of Westcliff-On-Sea.
The shop offers a wide range of books for ages 0 – 13, and hosts a Book Club and Story Time to further engage young people in reading. Their in store ‘My Favourite Story Wall’ encourages young readers to share their favoured literary finds and online they offer book recommendations for those interested in discovering a new author or novel.
Also providing a number of workshops and after school/holiday activities (many of them free), Jacqueline has sought to create a bookshop which completely meets the needs of the town’s diverse and multi-cultural community.
Based in Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire, Storytellers, Inc. was set up by mother and daughter team, Carolyn and Katie Clapham.
Since their inception in 2010 Storytellers, Inc. has gone from strength to strength. The shop was nominated for ‘Children Independent Bookseller of the Year’ and Katie won the ‘Sue Butterworth Young Bookseller of the Year Award’ at the Bookseller Industry Awards last year.
SONIA BENSTER FROM THE CHILDREN’S BOOKSHOP:
Having opened it’s doors in 1975, The Children’s Bookshop, has seen the world of children’s fiction change exponentially. Throughout this time, however, Sonia Benster has created a shop which remains a firm and relevant staple of her community.
Catering to hundreds of children, even several generations of the same family, her carefully selected library of books aims to satisfy the appetites of even the most voracious readers. Over the years, the shop has welcomed a series of both new and established authors, including all the Children’s Laureates, as well as high profile names such as Jonathan Stroud, John Boyne, Philip Reeve and Steve Cole.
NATASHA RADFORD FROM THE CHICKEN AND FROG BOOKSHOP:
Set up in 2012 by husband and wife team Jim and Natasha Radford, The Chicken and Frog Bookshop is another shop reminding us that Children’s bookselling is in good health.
Based in the heart of Brentwood, the shop stocks a wide selection of books for babies to teens. Furthermore, they are committed to the development of children’s literacy within the community. The shop offers clubs, workshops and after school tuition. Using Natasha’s background in education, The Chicken and Frog Bookshop also has close ties to the local schools even offering a library system and supporting literature and literacy in the classroom.
The first post will be going up on Wednesday, 3rd April. Be sure to check in!
The Nocturnal Reader 