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 100 people — whereas what ceo and owner Emily Powell wrote on Facebook was that “over 100” people are working at the store again. The union representing many Powell’s workers clarified to the Oregonian “that the bookstore has only recalled 49 union workers, and said […]
Bookstores
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 stores across the country under normal operations, that means BN has closed about 60 percent of their stores so far. That leaves them with something under 250 stores still currently open. (At least a few more BN locations announced on social media during the day […]
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.” She expects stores will have to stay closed longer than initially planned, and is also expecting a need for substantial government assistance: “If it did go on for a couple of months the only response is a massive injection of cash into the system by […]
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, but we feel like we have to”). But after a televised address by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday night, the chain announced it would close many stores, while keeping open locations that provide Post Office services and other key support functions: “At this critical […]
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 had to temporarily lay off the majority of our staff.” As of late 2018 the store employed over 230 people, and PW says the layoffs affected 188 people. The store closed a week before the New York state government mandate that went to effect Sunday […]
Waterstones to Close All UK Branches On Monday
Waterstones announced Sunday that it will close all 280 UK stores at the end of the business day on Monday, after a few workers had complained to the Guardian that few safety precautions were being observed. CEO James Daunt announced the news in an internal email at 4:00 PM Sunday (UK time) — only four afters after vowing that the stores would remain open until the government forced a closure. He made the decision “with great regret” and acknowledged “having heard from many booksellers that they feel obliged to continue to work as long as the shops are open.” Daunt […]