THIS WEEK
Country Focus: Scotland The Lead Story
WAS SUCH A SUCCESS THAT IT SOUGHT OUT A PERMANENT BOOKSELLING PREMISES
ARGONAUT BOOKS’ POP-UP
Newly launched Scottish indie bookshops on weathering the storm of the pandemic The pandemic did not stop some hardy souls
from pursuing their dream of opening their own bookshop in Scotland; here, some of them share their experiences of launching in a Covid era
Nuray Bulbul @auburnray7
T 06
he pandemic brought financial hard- ship for bookshops across the UK, but those in Scotland had to keep their doors closed for longer than stores in the other home nations. Yet, despite the disruption of Covid and the growth of Amazon’s behemoth presence, there has been a small boom of independent bookshop openings in the coun- try over the course of the past 18 months. Argonaut Books’ manager Adam Barclay will open his first bookshop in March 2022 aſter running a series of pop-up shops in Edinburgh last December. Barclay’s aim was
18th February 2022
always to open a bricks-and-mortar shop further down the line and he moved one step closer to realising his “long-held dream” of opening a communit bookshop when a space in the Scotish capital recently became available. Every bookseller has the task of making their mark on their shop—from the selection of books to layout and pricing strategy—and it has been no different for Barclay and his team. He says the pop-up shop in the space over Christmas “has been fundamental in understanding the books that our customers are going to be really excited
about going forwards”. Argonaut Books will soon setle permanently at Leith Walk in Edinburgh, previously home to Leith Central railway station. To provide its customers with an “accessible, open and welcoming space” the bookshop will be coupled with a small café. Argonaut Books also has a publishing arm, and in order to match the cit’s diverse population, it focuses on publishing books on food and place. “We’re commited to championing books that we believe in and are developing what we feel is a range of titles that will stay fresh and surprising every time you visit,” says Barclay. Beyond the upcoming store opening, Argonaut Books also wants to adapt its space so that it can be utilised for communit events such as book clubs, food and drink nights and Edinburgh Fringe Festival events, alongside its existing book-binding workshops, life drawing sessions and board game nights. Geting to this position wasn’t
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