KATE NIXONNOVEL, SHEFFIELDIn this week’s Bookshop Spotlight, we visit Novel, A WELCOMING NEW INDIE LOCATED IN SHEFFIELD'S CROOKES NEIGHBOURHOOD.
I think people are really drawn to independent bookshops because they’re personal. It's not just about selling books; it’s about creating a space where people feel they belong, where they can discover something unexpected, or have a proper conversation about what they’re reading. |
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JR: Let’s start at the beginning. You started with markets and pop-ups. Can you tell us how that journey began and how you eventually found your permanent home on School Road?
KN: Yeah, so my husband and I have been together for 13 years—we got together when we were 17. He did an English Lit degree, and I did Politics. We’re both big readers, and whenever we’re away somewhere, we always check out the indie bookshops. Our weekend plans were usually to walk the dogs and then visit bookshops around Sheffield or in other cities.
I think we always dreamed of owning a bookshop. During the pandemic, we reconnected with that idea. We’re both maths teachers, which surprises people. I think we tick the "jack of all trades" box—I’d happily go back and do a science or art degree tomorrow.
But back in the pandemic, I got really poorly. It was hard to manage teaching, and after some time, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s. It’s well-managed now, but back then, it wasn’t. I had a bit of a crisis—teaching didn’t feel viable anymore. I ended up working three days a week at my friend’s taproom, but I felt a gap in my life. Teaching is so full-on, and I needed something. During the pandemic, we spoke to Joe’s mum (Joe’s my husband) about starting a bookshop. She suggested selling books at car boot sales. At first, we dismissed it, but after I left teaching, I decided to give it a go.
I’d seen a few bookshops in the States with interesting models. One, called Twenty Stories in LA, picked 20 books each month—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays—and only sold those. I loved the idea because starting a bookshop is overwhelming. Where do you begin?
We did our local Walkley Festival, selling books out of the back of our car. It poured with rain that day, and we were constantly covering and uncovering the stock. It was funny but cool, and people started to recognise us. Eventually, small businesses began approaching us—a pub first, then the taproom I worked at. They offered us space to pop up. Later, we got a sublet at the back of a café and traded there for 11 months. But the owner, who had a lot on her plate, decided not to continue into the new year. By chance, a unit came up just down the road. It felt perfect. At the time, I was working part-time—teaching a couple of days a week and running Novel the rest of the time. Balancing both was tricky, so it felt like a make-or-break moment: either go all in or let it go. We opened the shop four months ago this week.
JR: Which is so exciting. I've been watching the last six months happen in real time, it feels. I can’t remember when I started following you guys, but I think you were still at Queen of the Suburbs at that point.
KN: Right.
JR: But this last six months has been such a whirlwind. You teased us a little with your branding, then the shopfront, and then the install—that was really interesting. I’ve now done a couple of bookshop installs, you know, opening new bookshops that way, and it’s always quite stressful, but exciting as well. What was that process like for you, going from a concession through to your own shop? On the surface, it looks like it just happens overnight, but obviously, we all know it doesn’t. How have you settled in? Are you enjoying the larger space and having more freedom now?
KN: Yeah, honestly, I wake up every day and feel like I can’t believe we did this. You’re so right—people regularly email me saying, “Hey, I want to do what you did, but somewhere else.” And I’m like, okay, I don’t want to glamorise it. My Instagram makes it look really fun, especially the setup, but behind the scenes, there were many days where I was project-managing and crying a lot, or staring at spreadsheets, or—I don’t know. I weirdly think that teaching institutionalises you into believing that a 60-hour work week is normal.
KN: Yeah, so my husband and I have been together for 13 years—we got together when we were 17. He did an English Lit degree, and I did Politics. We’re both big readers, and whenever we’re away somewhere, we always check out the indie bookshops. Our weekend plans were usually to walk the dogs and then visit bookshops around Sheffield or in other cities.
I think we always dreamed of owning a bookshop. During the pandemic, we reconnected with that idea. We’re both maths teachers, which surprises people. I think we tick the "jack of all trades" box—I’d happily go back and do a science or art degree tomorrow.
But back in the pandemic, I got really poorly. It was hard to manage teaching, and after some time, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s. It’s well-managed now, but back then, it wasn’t. I had a bit of a crisis—teaching didn’t feel viable anymore. I ended up working three days a week at my friend’s taproom, but I felt a gap in my life. Teaching is so full-on, and I needed something. During the pandemic, we spoke to Joe’s mum (Joe’s my husband) about starting a bookshop. She suggested selling books at car boot sales. At first, we dismissed it, but after I left teaching, I decided to give it a go.
I’d seen a few bookshops in the States with interesting models. One, called Twenty Stories in LA, picked 20 books each month—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays—and only sold those. I loved the idea because starting a bookshop is overwhelming. Where do you begin?
We did our local Walkley Festival, selling books out of the back of our car. It poured with rain that day, and we were constantly covering and uncovering the stock. It was funny but cool, and people started to recognise us. Eventually, small businesses began approaching us—a pub first, then the taproom I worked at. They offered us space to pop up. Later, we got a sublet at the back of a café and traded there for 11 months. But the owner, who had a lot on her plate, decided not to continue into the new year. By chance, a unit came up just down the road. It felt perfect. At the time, I was working part-time—teaching a couple of days a week and running Novel the rest of the time. Balancing both was tricky, so it felt like a make-or-break moment: either go all in or let it go. We opened the shop four months ago this week.
JR: Which is so exciting. I've been watching the last six months happen in real time, it feels. I can’t remember when I started following you guys, but I think you were still at Queen of the Suburbs at that point.
KN: Right.
JR: But this last six months has been such a whirlwind. You teased us a little with your branding, then the shopfront, and then the install—that was really interesting. I’ve now done a couple of bookshop installs, you know, opening new bookshops that way, and it’s always quite stressful, but exciting as well. What was that process like for you, going from a concession through to your own shop? On the surface, it looks like it just happens overnight, but obviously, we all know it doesn’t. How have you settled in? Are you enjoying the larger space and having more freedom now?
KN: Yeah, honestly, I wake up every day and feel like I can’t believe we did this. You’re so right—people regularly email me saying, “Hey, I want to do what you did, but somewhere else.” And I’m like, okay, I don’t want to glamorise it. My Instagram makes it look really fun, especially the setup, but behind the scenes, there were many days where I was project-managing and crying a lot, or staring at spreadsheets, or—I don’t know. I weirdly think that teaching institutionalises you into believing that a 60-hour work week is normal.
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There was a lot of watching YouTube tutorials to teach myself how to do things like remove a radiator. But I was lucky. The building we rent—221 School Road—is three storeys, and I knew it would be way too big for us. The rent was going to be too high to make it viable.
Someone told me that one of our customers, James, an architect, was also interested in the space. So I called Joe and said, “You need to go to this guy’s office and ask if he’d share the space with us.” Joe turned up unannounced, and they came to an agreement. James took the middle floor for his architecture practice, which is great because I never feel like the shop is empty, and I feel safer knowing he’s upstairs. He was amazing at helping us design the fit-out and coordinate joiners. It was so helpful having someone I could bend the ear of when I needed to. JR: That’s fantastic. KN: Yeah, I think we struck gold with him. Joe and I have been conceptualising this for about 12 years, and I’ve done four different business plans. The maths teacher in me wanted to make sure it was viable, as it’s so easy to romanticise owning a bookshop. It’s such a special thing to do, but I planned it out so many times that by the time we were fitting everything, I felt ready. Initially, I thought we’d be open by Easter, but we didn’t open until July. It took longer than expected, but I’m glad because it gave us time to finesse some things. If we’re going to be open for a long time, we didn’t need to rush. It’s less glamorous than it looks, but it’s been incredible. I love the space, and I love being there. |
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JR: Were you still running markets and pop-ups or at Queen of the Suburbs while this was happening, or did you take a pause in between?
KN: I did both. We left Queen’s in December, and I signed for the shop shortly after. I was still working part-time teaching, running markets, and doing book clubs. There was a few months’ overlap where I had reduced rent while we renovated, but I still had a cash flow issue—paying hundreds of pounds on rent while trading sporadically. Luckily, a local event space asked if I wanted to host a large pop-up, which didn’t quite cover rent but helped a lot.
JR: It sounds like you’ve had so much support from the local community. How important has the neighbourhood been in shaping your audience and business?
KN: That’s such a good question. The reason people shop independently is often driven by personal connection. I grew up in Stretford, where the shopping mall has places like Poundland and Costa Coffee—there’s nothing that makes you want to leave the house for a nice outing to support local businesses. I think there’s a real craving for that. We live near the shop, and the local community of independents is thriving. Other business owners have been so supportive and collaborative. During the renovation, local coffee shop owners offered to help however they could.
The local community was amazing when we launched our crowdfunding campaign. I wanted to create T-shirts with an organisation that supports homeless people in Sheffield but needed a large minimum order. The local sharing of our campaign was incredible—we met our goal within 24 hours, which was wild.
JR: Yeah, that's insane, isn't it?
KN: It really was. And the thing I would say about crowdfunding is there's a caveat: if that's how you're trying to fundraise your business, I think it's a terrible way of doing it. By the time you've gone through your rewards and that kind of stuff, and you've paid for all the stock—yeah, and paid the fee—I think we worked out that from the five or so we raised, the actual amount that hit our bank once we'd paid everything was about 1.5. Which is great, but obviously, it’s like a drop in the ocean when you’re thinking about the actual setup costs for these things.
The other thing I would say is, I was really lucky. We took a loan out, but we also did the King’s Trust—well, I think it’s called the King’s Trust now, it used to be the Prince’s Trust—business course. And we got quite a few thousand pounds from various organisations offering business support, which was really cool.
But yeah, I think, because maybe we’re not in the city centre, the actual amount of people who come through are like our serious regulars, which is really nice. The community of people who come to support us—attend book clubs, or just share our content—it’s great. I don’t think we’d be where we are today without not only the local business owners but also the people who live in S6 and S10.
JR: And it all comes down, I guess, to setting those foundations early with your pop-ups—getting your faces out there and being physically present, right? Showing up and demonstrating what you’re all about early on. I mean, the book clubs definitely help, but doing those pop-ups and being somewhere people can find you is so important, right?
KN: I did both. We left Queen’s in December, and I signed for the shop shortly after. I was still working part-time teaching, running markets, and doing book clubs. There was a few months’ overlap where I had reduced rent while we renovated, but I still had a cash flow issue—paying hundreds of pounds on rent while trading sporadically. Luckily, a local event space asked if I wanted to host a large pop-up, which didn’t quite cover rent but helped a lot.
JR: It sounds like you’ve had so much support from the local community. How important has the neighbourhood been in shaping your audience and business?
KN: That’s such a good question. The reason people shop independently is often driven by personal connection. I grew up in Stretford, where the shopping mall has places like Poundland and Costa Coffee—there’s nothing that makes you want to leave the house for a nice outing to support local businesses. I think there’s a real craving for that. We live near the shop, and the local community of independents is thriving. Other business owners have been so supportive and collaborative. During the renovation, local coffee shop owners offered to help however they could.
The local community was amazing when we launched our crowdfunding campaign. I wanted to create T-shirts with an organisation that supports homeless people in Sheffield but needed a large minimum order. The local sharing of our campaign was incredible—we met our goal within 24 hours, which was wild.
JR: Yeah, that's insane, isn't it?
KN: It really was. And the thing I would say about crowdfunding is there's a caveat: if that's how you're trying to fundraise your business, I think it's a terrible way of doing it. By the time you've gone through your rewards and that kind of stuff, and you've paid for all the stock—yeah, and paid the fee—I think we worked out that from the five or so we raised, the actual amount that hit our bank once we'd paid everything was about 1.5. Which is great, but obviously, it’s like a drop in the ocean when you’re thinking about the actual setup costs for these things.
The other thing I would say is, I was really lucky. We took a loan out, but we also did the King’s Trust—well, I think it’s called the King’s Trust now, it used to be the Prince’s Trust—business course. And we got quite a few thousand pounds from various organisations offering business support, which was really cool.
But yeah, I think, because maybe we’re not in the city centre, the actual amount of people who come through are like our serious regulars, which is really nice. The community of people who come to support us—attend book clubs, or just share our content—it’s great. I don’t think we’d be where we are today without not only the local business owners but also the people who live in S6 and S10.
JR: And it all comes down, I guess, to setting those foundations early with your pop-ups—getting your faces out there and being physically present, right? Showing up and demonstrating what you’re all about early on. I mean, the book clubs definitely help, but doing those pop-ups and being somewhere people can find you is so important, right?
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KN: Yeah. I know we live in a very online age, and there are very successful online book traders, but for me, a lot of reading is about coming offline. My desire to support independents is often about getting to know the owners of those businesses. I like seeing the passion behind what they do. They always have niche pieces of information that support whatever it is you buy from them—even when it’s horrible weather out there! People see that they’re really doing what they care about.
JR: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And it’s about consistency as well, right? It’s all fine and well doing one pop-up a month or whatever you can manage, but the more you’re there, the more it helps. Having concessions is just that next step. So, when you’re in Queen’s, that consistency helps build a customer base, and you start getting regulars even before you’ve opened the doors. KN: Yeah, it’s interesting, isn’t it? I think we’re in a cool time where lots of bookshops are opening in the UK. It’s really cool. And I do think the legwork we’ve put in over the past couple of years has massively helped us. Also, taking baby steps has been key. Had we just gone full loan from day one, I think I would have been so overwhelmed. Even now, after almost three years, my processes could be a lot slicker. I’ve requested training for some online ordering systems this week. I still feel like a newbie in this trade because I haven’t come from Waterstones or worked in another independent to see how they operate. So I feel lucky to have taken baby steps. Ordering just 20 books at a time made sense early on. Slowly, we incorporated the business, created systems, made a website. Now that we’re open, I only worry about operations rather than setting up something new, which is cool. JR: And you learn pretty quickly—it’s trial and error. I’ve been doing this for ten and a half years, and I’m still learning every day. Talking to different booksellers is what I love, finding out how they do things because everyone does it differently. |
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There’s no one right way to run a business. It doesn’t matter what kind of business it is, but with books, there’s this preconditioned idea that you just sit behind a till and wait for customers to come in. No business can survive that way anymore. It’s everything else—social media, book clubs, author events—that brings people in. I find it inspiring to see the different ways people do it.
Sometimes, not knowing the “standards” before you start can help—you don’t know what you’re doing wrong, so you make it your own. Don’t you think?
KN: Yeah. I remember when I first joined the BA—this isn’t to slander their systems—but I looked into Batchline and thought, “This makes no financial sense for my business.” I also looked at what it physically looked like and decided to use a different platform.
I’m a bit of an anomaly because I’m a bookshop and a café, and I still run a lot of things mobile, like pop-ups. A big computer system till just doesn’t work for me. I remember wondering, “Am I being ignorant? Is there something I’m not getting here?” But I think trialling different ways of doing things is cool.
I still visit other places—cafés and bookshops—and ask questions about how they do things. I always check they don’t mind before starting the interrogation! It’s fascinating to see those differences.
JR: Yeah, I love that.
KN: My husband loves stationery, so we visited this shop in Unitom recently. They were so chilled and gave me loads of information about their suppliers. What we do is very different, but it was nice. They’ve recently introduced coffee, so I asked how that was going. It’s just a great community to lean on.
I’d love to do work experience in another bookshop for a few days. There are a couple I really admire--West Kirby’s events look sensational. I want to know how they organise those! It’s just fun. I love seeing how people do things differently.
JR: Yeah, well, I mean, the BA does this sort of mentorship programme as well, where they can pair you up with, I call them lifers. The kind of people who've been doing it for, you know, 30, 40 years, and they'll kind of pair you up. And I think that's interesting when you maybe have no idea what you want to do. You just know you want to do books. But actually, I feel like so many of these systems that we inherit as booksellers are quite antiquated, like Batchline, you know? That's just a patchwork of updates from something that needed replacing years ago. So it is interesting to see how people are still sort of holding on to those systems when they might not be the best fit for everybody.
Sometimes, not knowing the “standards” before you start can help—you don’t know what you’re doing wrong, so you make it your own. Don’t you think?
KN: Yeah. I remember when I first joined the BA—this isn’t to slander their systems—but I looked into Batchline and thought, “This makes no financial sense for my business.” I also looked at what it physically looked like and decided to use a different platform.
I’m a bit of an anomaly because I’m a bookshop and a café, and I still run a lot of things mobile, like pop-ups. A big computer system till just doesn’t work for me. I remember wondering, “Am I being ignorant? Is there something I’m not getting here?” But I think trialling different ways of doing things is cool.
I still visit other places—cafés and bookshops—and ask questions about how they do things. I always check they don’t mind before starting the interrogation! It’s fascinating to see those differences.
JR: Yeah, I love that.
KN: My husband loves stationery, so we visited this shop in Unitom recently. They were so chilled and gave me loads of information about their suppliers. What we do is very different, but it was nice. They’ve recently introduced coffee, so I asked how that was going. It’s just a great community to lean on.
I’d love to do work experience in another bookshop for a few days. There are a couple I really admire--West Kirby’s events look sensational. I want to know how they organise those! It’s just fun. I love seeing how people do things differently.
JR: Yeah, well, I mean, the BA does this sort of mentorship programme as well, where they can pair you up with, I call them lifers. The kind of people who've been doing it for, you know, 30, 40 years, and they'll kind of pair you up. And I think that's interesting when you maybe have no idea what you want to do. You just know you want to do books. But actually, I feel like so many of these systems that we inherit as booksellers are quite antiquated, like Batchline, you know? That's just a patchwork of updates from something that needed replacing years ago. So it is interesting to see how people are still sort of holding on to those systems when they might not be the best fit for everybody.
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KN: I just think a lot of the technology in this industry is quite... like, a lot of the software, I'm not loving. That’s what I was saying.
JR: Yeah. Let’s get back to the two of you. How does the dynamic work between you and Joe working together? I mean, is there a day when you’re both in the shop? Does Joe work behind the till at all? Or is it mostly just yourself on the shop floor the whole time? KN: Yeah, I guess, again, maybe this destroys the gorgeous bookshop-owning dream. We couldn’t afford, I don’t think, for us both to be doing this full time. So I’m not at a point where I pay myself enough... I pay myself enough so that, you know, our dogs get fed and our bills get paid. But I just don’t think... Books are funny ones. Obviously, you sell one and then you just have to replace it on the shelf straight away. And again, like, nothing wrong with it, but the profit margins compared to the café side of my business aren’t as lucrative. So I think, you know, we’d be a bit deluded to both throw ourselves into the business. So, Joe is still teaching. He does four days a week at school. He’s dropped a day. And then, for example, like this Sunday, he’s coming in to do a shift. There’ll be random bits and bobs here and there that he’ll help with. But largely, he gets to do the fun stuff. He does a lot of the reading, helps me with a bit of buying, and is usually in on a lot of the weekends just helping out. Or he’ll be working—he’ll be doing his school work upstairs. And then I’m full-time, five days a week. I hire two members of staff. I’ve got Elle and Miriam who work with me. Miriam is an English lit third year. I met her through book clubs. She and her family have shopped with me probably from the first year we ever started. She used to come in and visit me at Queens. She’s really lovely. I met her through book clubs. She’s really sweet. I think all four of us cover quite different bases, which is nice. And then Elle actually used to own Queen Suburbs, so I obviously stumbled on that from her. And yeah, I think just the whole business handling is a lot—it is a lot. When you’ve added any extra things into the mix, like kids or whatever, it just becomes a lot. So she’s in with me one and a half days a week. |
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I knew I needed basically someone who was really, really clued up on the coffee. Like, I’ve been a barista in the past, and I do really enjoy it. I just know that coffee has come a hell of a long way. And while I’m not trying to pitch myself as an uber-speciality café, I still care about the quality. So she came in and really supported me with that, which is amazing.
JR: I mean, just having anybody else to lean on a little bit is so important, especially when you’ve just opened. You know, I’ve heard so many stories where, regardless of people’s backgrounds, if they open a bookshop, they end up living there. And it’s nice to have that extra one or two people to even just take a little bit of the pressure off, right?
KN: Yeah, I mean, just some days, it will be like I’m getting a lot of the cataloguing done for the new year, and it’s just like, “What do you think of this or that?” Or, you know, we’ll sit with sales reps together and talk about which customers we can imagine buying certain things. That’s nice because it’s the part of the job I’d be good at doing alone, but obviously, social media has been massive for us, and I’m not going to stop doing that. I can trust them to run the cafe and shop and take some nice pictures in our stock room for social media.
Just having them frees me up to do the back end of the business, like customer requests and making sure invoices get paid. It’s meant I’ve kind of got my life back a bit at home. If it was just Joe and me—and Joe’s capacity isn’t huge because he’s head of maths at his school, so he’s got a pretty big job—it would be a lot. For him to come home and sit with me while I’m monologuing about wanting to do gifting boxes and all that, it would be too much.
Now, some mornings between nine and ten on a Monday, no one comes in, but it doesn’t matter because I’ve stood and planned something out with Elle and Miriam. They’ve sat and listened to my ideas, and we’ve figured out a way of approaching it. Honestly, they’re just really good at what they do, and I enjoy working with them. I feel really lucky to get to create some jobs.
JR: I mean, just having anybody else to lean on a little bit is so important, especially when you’ve just opened. You know, I’ve heard so many stories where, regardless of people’s backgrounds, if they open a bookshop, they end up living there. And it’s nice to have that extra one or two people to even just take a little bit of the pressure off, right?
KN: Yeah, I mean, just some days, it will be like I’m getting a lot of the cataloguing done for the new year, and it’s just like, “What do you think of this or that?” Or, you know, we’ll sit with sales reps together and talk about which customers we can imagine buying certain things. That’s nice because it’s the part of the job I’d be good at doing alone, but obviously, social media has been massive for us, and I’m not going to stop doing that. I can trust them to run the cafe and shop and take some nice pictures in our stock room for social media.
Just having them frees me up to do the back end of the business, like customer requests and making sure invoices get paid. It’s meant I’ve kind of got my life back a bit at home. If it was just Joe and me—and Joe’s capacity isn’t huge because he’s head of maths at his school, so he’s got a pretty big job—it would be a lot. For him to come home and sit with me while I’m monologuing about wanting to do gifting boxes and all that, it would be too much.
Now, some mornings between nine and ten on a Monday, no one comes in, but it doesn’t matter because I’ve stood and planned something out with Elle and Miriam. They’ve sat and listened to my ideas, and we’ve figured out a way of approaching it. Honestly, they’re just really good at what they do, and I enjoy working with them. I feel really lucky to get to create some jobs.
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JR: Yeah, absolutely. I want to talk about that sort of collaborative act as a team of booksellers, especially when it comes to stock. As the shop owner, you’ve probably got a slightly more holistic view of the business, but how involved is everybody in selecting the stock? And how have you seen the stock change since you opened?
KN: Yeah, that’s a good question. Joe and I, from the get-go, were really trying to push supporting indies. We’re an indie bookseller, so I’d like to support smaller publishers, particularly Northern ones—thinking of Dead Ink, Comma Press. There are a lot of publishing houses I keep a close eye on. In terms of buying, before we opened, we already had a range of about 200 books—the ones we knew we were going to start and continue to stock. Then we did a big Google Form initially that asked customers to recommend books to us and explain why. We started sifting through those—I think we had about 200 recommendations from that. JR: Wow, okay, that’s a nice way to tackle it. KN: It was great. Then we could think, “Does this align with what we already stock? Is it too similar to something else?” That was our basis, and we added things to spreadsheets as and when they caught our eye or friends recommended them. Now we’re open, we get proof copies, and I leave them in the staff room for anyone who wants to take them. Miriam recently took a load of And Other Stories’ new releases. |
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She’s read three of them and said, “I really liked this one and this one but couldn’t quite get behind that one.” For the one she wasn’t sure about, I had a flick through and agreed.
Elle has a daughter, so she helps with a lot of the kids’ books buying. She regularly takes them home and plans to run a big book club in the new year. She’s really good at finding other books from the same publisher or author.
Elle and I talk more about coffee, while Miriam and I talk more about books. That’s why I feel so lucky to have them both for the different arms of the business.
It’s very unsexy to take this romantic idea of a bookshop and admit, "I need to make a living." For me, I just need to hit a baseline income to cover everything. This is more than just a job for me—it’s my passion—but there’s cash flow to manage. Bills go out at the end of the month, and there has to be money in the account. Stocking loads of books that don’t sell well just doesn’t work.
JR: Exactly. It comes down to square footage. I can put a book in a space that’ll sell ten copies in the time it takes to sell one of something else. You can’t always afford to take a gamble. But sometimes, you read something you love—it’s niche, it’s risky—but because you love it and can hand-sell it, you end up selling more copies. It’s a balancing act.
KN: Definitely. I think we’re building a reputation for being the place to go for specific recommendations. People admire that Joe and I have read a lot of what we sell. And between the four of us, we can make recommendations even if one of us hasn’t read something. For example, I’ll say, "Miriam read this, and it’s one of her favourites." It sounds weird, but I’ll make a little pile of new paperbacks each week and encourage customers to browse. Familiarity with stock is key. My favourite book this year is Fun Home, the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel. It’s flying out because I can’t stop talking about it. It’s genius.
Joe, on the other hand, once recommended The Deloriad [Missouri Williams]—a matriarchal, cannibalistic, incestuous book. He loved it, but I had to remind him that people take our recommendations seriously, and he needed to consider the audience.
Elle has a daughter, so she helps with a lot of the kids’ books buying. She regularly takes them home and plans to run a big book club in the new year. She’s really good at finding other books from the same publisher or author.
Elle and I talk more about coffee, while Miriam and I talk more about books. That’s why I feel so lucky to have them both for the different arms of the business.
It’s very unsexy to take this romantic idea of a bookshop and admit, "I need to make a living." For me, I just need to hit a baseline income to cover everything. This is more than just a job for me—it’s my passion—but there’s cash flow to manage. Bills go out at the end of the month, and there has to be money in the account. Stocking loads of books that don’t sell well just doesn’t work.
JR: Exactly. It comes down to square footage. I can put a book in a space that’ll sell ten copies in the time it takes to sell one of something else. You can’t always afford to take a gamble. But sometimes, you read something you love—it’s niche, it’s risky—but because you love it and can hand-sell it, you end up selling more copies. It’s a balancing act.
KN: Definitely. I think we’re building a reputation for being the place to go for specific recommendations. People admire that Joe and I have read a lot of what we sell. And between the four of us, we can make recommendations even if one of us hasn’t read something. For example, I’ll say, "Miriam read this, and it’s one of her favourites." It sounds weird, but I’ll make a little pile of new paperbacks each week and encourage customers to browse. Familiarity with stock is key. My favourite book this year is Fun Home, the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel. It’s flying out because I can’t stop talking about it. It’s genius.
Joe, on the other hand, once recommended The Deloriad [Missouri Williams]—a matriarchal, cannibalistic, incestuous book. He loved it, but I had to remind him that people take our recommendations seriously, and he needed to consider the audience.
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JR: While we’re on the subject, let’s talk about books. I want to know what kind of books you stock. Looking online, it seems like a wide, eclectic mix. What draws you to particular books?
KN: We’re not specialists, but some people think we’re a literature-in-translation specialist. We do stock a lot of translated literature and books that share experiences outside your own. I love memoir—it’s my favourite genre—and we have a huge shelf of it. We’re drawn to non-fiction exploring political issues without being overtly ideological. In fiction, we’re literary-heavy. We stock big publishers like Faber and Penguin but avoid books that end up on supermarket shelves or buy-one-get-one-half-price tables. For example, we decided not to stock the new Richard Osman book. If customers want something mainstream, we’re happy to order it, but we focus on offering something different. JR: That’s a great approach. Customer orders were a huge part of our business because there’s only so much you can stock. People’s tastes are so diverse. KN: Absolutely. We’re near the Department of English, so we order a lot of academic books too. JR: That’s a fantastic customer base to have. So, what books are performing well for you this Christmas? KN: From summer to now, Butter [Asako Yuzuki] has been huge—I can’t keep it in stock. |
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And books like Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin are still popular. That’s still doing really well. I am raving about The Safekeep [Yael van der Wouden]. I thought it was going to win the Booker Prize, and I really enjoyed it, t’s a hardback, but it’s not that expensive, if that makes sense. And it’s not huge, either. And then in non-fiction, again, this is just very personal, but I’ve got a couple of local writers who’ve created these folklores. They’re probably one of our biggest sellers. I think people like them because they’re beautiful, local, and short, and they’re like £8. So they’re doing really, really well. I’m hoping to sell a few more. I think the thing we’ll be pushing over the next month or so is graphic novels. This year has been a huge year for graphic novels for me, which I never thought it would be. I think, just not having the headspace to sit down with a big, meaty novel because I’ve had so much else going on. It’s a really nice way to have the reading experience and feel quite accomplished with it. And it’s not like I’m trying to read 200 books this year—I’m really not. But yeah, graphic novels are doing well.
JR: That’s interesting. And I know you were saying you’ve started receiving a lot of proofs and you’re reading ahead. Are there any books coming up next year that you’re really looking forward to?
KN: Oh, next year...
JR: I know that’s such a tricky question this time of year. You might still be buried in the new stuff right now!
KN: No, I think you’ve tapped into something I’m aiming for in the new year: to plan a bit more ahead. I feel like I’m about a month ahead on my events and everything, but I’d love to be more forward-thinking—like knowing the big hitters for the coming year. Nothing is immediately springing to mind.
It’s more about what I’m excited for. I’ve been talking about this with my sales reps a lot recently. I’m excited for paperback releases like Nostalgia: A History of a Dangerous Emotion [Agnes Arnold-Forster] is so up my street—it’s beautiful in hardback, but I can’t wait for the paperback because I feel like we’ll sell way more. Same with Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI [Madhumita Murgia]. It was on the Women’s Prize non-fiction list. I think it would work really well for a book club. Personally, I love doing non-fiction book clubs as much as fiction ones. With fiction, you can discuss the writing, the author’s intent, all of that, but with non-fiction, you can really dig into the ideas. There’s loads of exciting non-fiction where I’m like, “Please, push these paperback release dates!” Also, I’d say most of my customers tend to prefer paperbacks to hardbacks.
JR: Sure, sure. And I guess a lot of that comes down to price point, doesn’t it?
KN: It’s personal preference as well. I just don’t like hardbacks as items. I don’t often get a hardback and feel excited by it. I’d much rather have a paperback edition. The Safekeep is a bit of an exception because it’s beautifully made, with a nice sleeve and great design. But that’s rare—I just prefer paperbacks.
JR: Kate, thank you so much for your time. I’ve really enjoyed watching your journey over the past six months, and I’m excited to see where the shop goes next year!
JR: That’s interesting. And I know you were saying you’ve started receiving a lot of proofs and you’re reading ahead. Are there any books coming up next year that you’re really looking forward to?
KN: Oh, next year...
JR: I know that’s such a tricky question this time of year. You might still be buried in the new stuff right now!
KN: No, I think you’ve tapped into something I’m aiming for in the new year: to plan a bit more ahead. I feel like I’m about a month ahead on my events and everything, but I’d love to be more forward-thinking—like knowing the big hitters for the coming year. Nothing is immediately springing to mind.
It’s more about what I’m excited for. I’ve been talking about this with my sales reps a lot recently. I’m excited for paperback releases like Nostalgia: A History of a Dangerous Emotion [Agnes Arnold-Forster] is so up my street—it’s beautiful in hardback, but I can’t wait for the paperback because I feel like we’ll sell way more. Same with Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI [Madhumita Murgia]. It was on the Women’s Prize non-fiction list. I think it would work really well for a book club. Personally, I love doing non-fiction book clubs as much as fiction ones. With fiction, you can discuss the writing, the author’s intent, all of that, but with non-fiction, you can really dig into the ideas. There’s loads of exciting non-fiction where I’m like, “Please, push these paperback release dates!” Also, I’d say most of my customers tend to prefer paperbacks to hardbacks.
JR: Sure, sure. And I guess a lot of that comes down to price point, doesn’t it?
KN: It’s personal preference as well. I just don’t like hardbacks as items. I don’t often get a hardback and feel excited by it. I’d much rather have a paperback edition. The Safekeep is a bit of an exception because it’s beautifully made, with a nice sleeve and great design. But that’s rare—I just prefer paperbacks.
JR: Kate, thank you so much for your time. I’ve really enjoyed watching your journey over the past six months, and I’m excited to see where the shop goes next year!
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