The Bookshop Podcast

Send us a textIn this episode, I'm chatting with Jenny McCann, director of Bear Bookshop in Smethwick, U.K., about her career as an English teacher, why she opened a children's bookshop, her favorite children's books to hand-sell, and how to encourage children to read. For Jenny McCann, Bear Bookshop began as a dream… a long-held fantasy of owning a bookshop and surrounding herself with books all day long! Bear Bookshop aims to be a place that develops and encourages a child’s enjoyment of reading, love of learning and sense of wonder, and to help children and parents experience the joy of reading and learning. Jenny encourages children to experience more adventures and less screens. More confidence and less worry. More stories. More curiosity. More play. More resilience. More imagination. And more joy. Bear BookshopSanta’s Christmas Countdown, Kath Jewitt, Sebastian BraunThe Jolly Christmas Postman, Allan Ahlberg, Janet AhlbergLittle People, BIG DREAMS, Maria Isabel VegaraThe Story Orchestra SeriesAnisha, Accidental Detective, Serena Patel, Emma McCannThe Girl of Ink & Stars, Kiran Millwood HargraveThe Heartstopper Series, Alice OsemanDaughter of the Pirate King, Tricia LevensellerPeepo Books, Allan Ahlberg, Janet AhlbergEach Peach Pear Plum, Allan Ahlberg, Janet AhlbergThe Wind in the Willow, Kenneth GrahameIllumisaurus, Lucy Brownridge, CarnovskyIlluminightmare, Lucy Brownridge, CarnovskySorrow and Bliss, Meg MasonSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I'm chatting with Marie Moser, owner of The Edinburgh Bookshop, about children's books, local authors, and illustrators, Edinburgh, and her favorite books to hand-sell to customers. Marie Moser took over The Edinburgh Bookshop in 2012, bringing with her twenty years of experience in retail sales and marketing.  Over the last decade, the bookshop has grown in both size and reputation, developing a particular expertise in Children’s Books.  The Edinburgh Bookshop has won many awards in the last decade, including,  UK Children’s Bookshop of the Year 2014 , and Scottish Independent Bookshop of the Year 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2022. The Edinburgh Bookshop       Vivian French Maggie O’Farrell The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams Sylvia Plath Notes on a Nervous Planet, Matt Haig Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie GarmusAmazing Grace Adams, Fran LittlewoodSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I'm chatting with Emily Moore, Curator at the Library of Congress, about an exciting event happening in January 2023.Emily Moore is the Assistant Curator of the Aramont Library in the Rare Books and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress. She has a double BA in Art History and Cinema from the University of Toronto and an MLIS from the University of Maryland. Moore’s passions are art and archives and examining how production and process intersect with memory and object.Registration: https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/registration-form/?formId=bc4bbae0-c3ad-4488-99aa-4faba67500fe&envId=p-3AhSeeWCMU6Kt1UTuhImugDaytime event listing: https://www.loc.gov/item/event-407442/making-the-modern-book-the-aramont-library/2023-01-19/Evening roundtable listing: https://www.loc.gov/item/event-407444/live-at-the-library-artists-approach-the-book/2023-01-19/ A Time of One's Own: Histories of Feminism in Contemporary Art,  Catherine GrantSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I'm chatting with Terry Craven from Desperate Literature in Madrid about his art, working at Shakespeare & Company in Paris, the Desperate Literature Short Literature prize, and his life in Madrid.Desperate Literature is a joint project between Craig Walzer, Corey Eastwood, Charlotte Delattre, and Terry Craven. Between them, they own Atlantis Books in Santorini, Greece, Book Thug Nation, and Human Relations in Brooklyn, NY, US.Desperate Literature is a new international bookshop in Madrid, Spain. Along with the very best collection of used English books in the city, the shop also carries a large selection of quality books in Spanish, French, and a variety of other languages.Desperate LiteratureTerry Craven on InstagramDesperate Literature Short Fiction PrizeJoan Fleming, booksThe Living Mountain, Nan ShepherdJan Carson on The Bookshop PodcastSara Baume on The Bookshop PodcastDiary of a Film, Niven GovindenSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I'm chatting with Dr. Paula Marantz Cohen about empathy, Shakespeare, teaching, and her book Of Human Kindness: What Shakespeare Teaches Us About Empathy.Paula Marantz Cohen is Distinguished Professor of English at Drexel University where she teaches courses in literature, film, and creative writing. She is the recipient of the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching and is a co-editor of jml: Journal of Modern Literature.Cohen is the author of four nonfiction books and five novels and is the producer of the documentary film, Two Universities and the Future of China. Her play, The Triangle, about John Singer Sargent, Henry James, and Edith Wharton, was a finalist in the Julie Harris Playwriting Competition. Her essays, stories, and reviews have appeared in The Yale Review, The American Scholar, The Southwest Review, the Times Literary Supplement, Raritan, The Hudson Review, and other publications. She writes a weekly online column, “Class Notes,” for The American Scholar and is the host of The Drexel Interview, a  TV show based in Philadelphia that is broadcast on over 350 local stations, including 150 PBS stations, throughout the country.         Cohen holds a B.A. in French and English from Yale College and a Ph.D. in English Literature from Columbia University.Paula Marantz CohenOf Human Kindness: What Shakespeare Teaches Us About Empathy, Paula Marantz CohenMr. B: George Balanchine’s 20th Century, Jennifer HomansPlato’s Republic, PlatoThick: And Other Essays, Tressie McMillan CottomDaniel Deronda, George EliotMiddlemarch, George Eliot  Support the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I'm chatting with Rosamund De Le Hey, the co-owner of Mainstreet Trading Company, about opening a general store, the four things she wanted to make sure her store included to draw in customers, Bookshop.org, and books!Husband and wife team Rosamund and Bill De Le Hey opened Mainstreet Trading Company in 2008. The store is located in St Boswells, Scottish Borders, and has won numerous awards, including Britain’s Best Small Shop, Independent Bookshop of the Year, and Deli of the Year.  Rosamund has spent her life in books, from reading under the covers by flashlight to launching and promoting Harry Potter while children’s marketing director at Bloomsbury. She moved home to Scotland in 2003, becoming partial to a bacon roll on the red-eye train while commuting to London. In 2008, she and her husband, Bill, opened The Mainstreet Trading Company. Rosamund served as President of the Booksellers Association between 2016 and 2018.Bill worked as a freelance photographer in London from 1992 to 2004, working for publications ranging from The Telegraph to Car Magazine. On moving to Scotland, he followed his passion for good food, retraining as a chef at The Edinburgh School of Food and Wine. It proved timely to the launch of Mainstreet, where Bill heads up all things food and drink, and drove the launch of Mainstreet Deli in 2012. Bill is now best described as a cheesemonger/wine merchant who is nuts about natural wines.Mainstreet Trading CompanyInvisible Child, Andrea ElliottEastbound, Maylis De Kerangal (author) Jessica Moore (translator)Mend the Living, Maylis De Kerangal (author) Jessica Moore (translator) The Golden Mole, Katherine RundellBraiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer Mad Honey, Jodi Picoult, and Jennifer Finney Boylan Ben Macintyre James HollandLean Fall Stand, Jon McGregorWhere There’s A Will, Emily Chappell Support the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I'm chatting with author Stephanie Cotsirilos about her novella My Xanthi, Greek heritage, The Writer's Hotel, and books!Stephanie Cotsirilos is an essayist in the anthology of New England writers, Breaking Bread (Beacon Press), and was published finalist in Mississippi Review’s Prize in Fiction. Twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize, her work has appeared in numerous print and online venues, including McSweeney’s, The New Guard, New Millennium Writings, Brilliant Flash Fiction, and various media. In 2021, she was awarded the Patrice Krant fellowship in residence at Storyknife’s inaugural retreat for women writers in Alaska. Stephanie’s novella is titled My Xanthi, published with Los Galesburg Press.Stephanie CotsirilosMy Xanthi, Stephanie CotsirilosStoryknife Writers RetreatThe Writer’s HotelNight of the Living Rez, Morgan TaltyMy Broken Language, Quiara Alegria HudesSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I’m back at the Library of Congress chatting with Stephanie Stillo and special guest Marianna Stell about the Giant Bible of Mainz, scribes, the digitalization of medieval manuscripts, and books! Stephanie Stillo is the Curator of the Lessing J. Rosenwald  Collection and Aramont Library in the Rare Book and Special Collection Division.  Marianna Stell is a Reference Librarian, Rare Books and Special Collections Division, and Medievalist at the Library of Congress.From the Vaults! Library of CongressThe Giant Bible of MainzThe Giant Bible of Mainz (LOC)John O’Donohue To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings, John O’Donahue The Island of Missing Tree, Elif Shafak Diagramming Devotion, Jeffrey F Hamburger The Red Widow, Sarah Horowitz    Support the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I'm chatting with Linda Kass, co-owner of Gramercy Books in Bexley, Ohio, about her career as a journalist and author, the four ingredients needed to create an excellent indie bookshop, and Pelotonia!Gramercy Books is a locally-owned, independently-minded neighborhood bookstore located in the heart of Bexley, Ohio. Their philosophy is simple: they’re about inspiration and discovery, community and adventure. The booksellers at Gramercy Books connect readers and writers with books they love and host special events and ongoing visits by authors, poets, and songwriters that provoke conversation. The name, Gramercy, comes from the French word “grand merci,” which translates to “big thanks” or “many thanks.”Their inviting space includes a new café concept from Kittie’s, featuring Stumptown coffee, breakfast items, savory and sweet snacks, and their iconic cupcakes.Gramercy BooksBooks by Linda KassLinda Kass Author WebsiteBooks by Kazuo IshiguroPelotoniaBooks by Temple Grandin, PhD Books by Maggie SmithBooks by James ClearBooks by Claire KeeganSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links

Send us a textIn this episode, I'm chatting with author and poet David Ebenbach about his new poetry collection What's Left To Us By Evening, publishing, his creative process, and his short story The Guy We didn't Invite to the Orgy.David Ebenbach is a writer. Chronically preoccupied with the human condition. He’s been writing ever since he was a kid, when he kept his whole family awake by banging away on an enormous manual typewriter, and he’s never wanted to stop. David’s now the author of nine books of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, and his work has picked up awards along the way: the Drue Heinz Literature Prize, the Juniper Prize, the Patricia Bibby Award, and more.Born and raised in the great city of Philadelphia, these days David does most of his writing in Washington, DC, where he lives with his family—because he uses a laptop now, he doesn’t keep them awake with his typing—and where he works at Georgetown University, promoting inclusive, student-centered teaching at the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship, and teaching creative writing and literature at the Center for Jewish Civilization and creativity through the Master’s in Learning, Design, and Technology Program.David EbenbachWhat's Left To Us By Evening, David EbenbachDavid Ebenbach's BooksThe Guy We Didn't Invite to the Orgy, (audio) David EbenbachCatalogue of Unabashed Gratitude, Ross GayThe Night Divers, Melanie McCabeSuch Color, Tracy K. SmithFriday Black, Nana Kwame Adjei-BrenyahSupport the showThe Bookshop PodcastMandy Jackson-BeverlySocial Media Links