Now that Indigo Books physical stores are closed until further notice, the company temporarily laid off 5,200 retail employees as of last Friday. (According to their website, they employed a total of about 7,000 people.) All employees had been paid during the initial hiatus, from March 17 until March 28. Spokesperson Kate Gregory said the…
Bookstores
People, Etc.
Laura Mazer has joined Wendy Sherman Associates as a literary agent representing adult nonfiction. Previously, she was executive editor at Seal Press. Bookselling Powell’s Books announced that they have rehired some of the employees they fired earlier in the month due to strong online orders. It was widely misreported that the store has rehired over…
Over Half of Barnes & Noble Stores Now Temporarily Closed
After resisting closing stores as much as possible, in recent days Barnes & Noble has been forced to temporarily shutter a number of their stores nationwide by order of local governments. As of late Wednesday morning, BN confirmed to Publishers Lunch that they now “have over 370 temporary store closures.” With a base of 620…
Bookstore Needs and Relief, and Publisher Layoffs
Ceo of Canada’s Indigo Books Heather Reisman deserves extra attention for her current stance as their stores are closed chainwide, telling the Toronto Star “she is continuing to pay her employees during the shutdown.” Indigo continues to ship online orders, and “when we close 200 stores it has a very significant impact on the company.”…
WH Smith Changes Position and Will Close Many of Their Stores
Following Monday’s closure of Waterstones stores across the UK, competitor WH Smith will close approximately 60 percent of their high street bookstores as well. Initially the company resisted closing any locations, with employees complaining about the risks to the media (“It’s putting the general public and ourselves at risk. We don’t want to be there,…
Strand Bookstore Lays Off “The Majority” of Staff
The Strand Bookstore laid off “the majority of our staff” due to store closures caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. Owner Nancy Bass Wyden wrote in a statement, “In order to preserve The Strand as a business, with no revenue coming in and no clear idea as to when we can reopen our doors, we have…