Being proud

Brighton is a unique place and I am so glad that I get to regularly go there and work in the coolest bookshop in the country. Pride took place yesterday and Waterstone’s had a rather eye-catching window display that I thought I’d share with you:

Missing from the pic are the gorgeous rainbow paper chains that are hanging above the display but I couldn’t fit them in. Anyway, the rain cleared away, the sun shone, the parade, erm, paraded, and all was good. 
You all know that I’m also proud of my short story section and I reckon it’s time for a new piccy:
See how pleasingly orange the top shelf is, look at how scrumptious Ten Stories About Smoking by Stuart Evers is. And yes, that is Lydia Davis finally available in paperback!

4 things

I read my new story – “The Mothers” – at Sparks and it is now available to read here. 

I am chuffed to have a story in the second issue of Fractured West. It’s a delicious publication – cute but with bite.
This is how gorgeous my short story case at Brighton Waterstone’s looks:
And this is what’s in my new “Brief Live’s – Unforgettable Words” case. (I prefer to call it Dead Brilliant but yeah, that’s probably bad taste.)

Psst! Wanna see my short story display case?

Regular readers will know that I occasionally post pics of “my” short story display case. (Of course, when I say “my” I mean books selected by me and displayed for sale at Waterstone’s bookshop in Brighton.)
So, here’s how it looks RIGHT NOW!
On the top we have Just When Stories all profits of which go to WildAid and the David Shepherd Foundation. Next up is Fame by Daniel Kehlmann, and then Stories to get you Through the Night which is the most perfect gift book I can think of. It’s beautifully done and offers quality stories from Katherine Mansfield, Alice Munro, Anton Chekhov, Oscar Wilde, Haruki Murakami, Wilkie Collins, Kate Chopin, Elizabeth Gaskell, The Brothers Grimm, John Cheever, Arthur Conan Doyle, Virginia Woolf, Rudyard Kipling, Helen Simpson, Richard Yates, James Lasdun, Martin Amis, Angela Carter, Somerset Maugham and Julian Barnes.

On the first shelf we have, as we always will as long as I am running this, the wonderful Collected Stories of Janice Galloway. I’m not sure if you’ll be able to read my review card in the picture, suffice to say I truly believe Galloway’s prose to be perfect. Next along is The Collected Stories of Lorrie Moore – another MUST for any short story fan. Then A. L Kennedy What Becomes (seriously people, this top shelf is chock full of awesome talent.) Then there is The Stories of Breece D’J Pancake, which contains the 6 stories published during his life, and 6 unpublished. It’s harsh knowing that’s all there ever will be. These are such vivid stories, rooted deeply in the place of his birth, rural West Virginia.

On the second shelf is Delicate Edible Birds by Lauren Groff,  The Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology 3 (which we had to reorder almost as soon as it came in!), Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout  and If I Loved You I would Tell You This by Robin Black (the title story is wonderful.)

The third shelf begins with Simon Van Booy The Secret Lives of People in Love which I haven’t read yet but am looking forward to, David Vann Legend of a Suicide which is one of those rare, special books that people urge on each other: Have you read? No? You should…
I have just added Virginia Woolf A Haunted House and other stories, it seems such an autumnal book. Then there is the inimitable (tho’ plenty try) Irvine Welsh with Reheated cabbage. 

The bottom shelf begins with The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg, then the splendid Instruction Manual For Swallowing by Adam Marek, the much praised (and still on my list to be read) Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower and finally Wilful Creatures by Aimee Bender.


Pretty darn enticing, huh?

New display case revealed…da da daaah….

I think this display case is a perfect mix of fiction that appeals to Eddie (lovely colleague and fiction buyer) and I. We have both selected books for inclusion (Eddie is very skilled at finding awesome, bonkers, wonderful fiction), and I’m really pleased with it. Show it some love people! (You can play guess who chose what as well if you like!)

A flash fiction display case! How cool?

I had never heard of Tender Buttons, but sheez, what an intriguing looking book. Gonna have to buy a copy for myself. Lydia Davis and Amy Hempel, of course. Barthelme looks magnificent.

An enticing middle section eh? Tania Hershman (aka queen of flash), Sum (which is selling heaps of copies)and Today I Wrote Nothing by Daniil Kharms (and looks like a must read to me.)

The final shelf has Dave Eggers – How we are Hungry, Raymond Queneau’s Exercises in Style and The Black Sheep and Other Fables by Augusto Monterroso.

So, what do you think? Looks good, right?

P.S Since piccy taken we have sold out of Queneau and added Etgar Keret.

Check out "my" short story display case…


I thought it was time for another look at Brighton Waterstone’s short story display case. If this works I think you should be able to click the pic and see it in giant format. Some very good books in there.

From the top we have The Cost of Living by Mavis Gallant, The United States of McSweeney’s(delicious as all McSweeney’s publications are) and of course Raymond Carver’s Beginners.

You’ll not be surprised to see Janice Galloway’s Collected Stories or The Collected Stories of Lorrie Moore and then I have one of my favourites of this year, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout next to Sylvia Plath’s Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams (gosh, I love that cover so much.)

On the next shelf down we have the Bristol Short Story Prize anthology 2009, Gentleman’s Relish by Patrick Gale, Miranda July’s No One Belongs Here More Than You, Nuala Ni Chonchuir’s excellent Nude.

Phew – this link love takes it out of a gal.

Right, next we have a new one (spotted by my lovely colleague Eddie) Super Girl by Ruth Thomas, one regular readers of this blog will know very well – Vanessa Gebbie’s superb Words From a Glass Bubble, A L Kennedy’s What Becomes
and Kelly Link’s Pretty Monsters (pretty cover too!)

Crikey, so many short story books, so many links! Onto the final shelf: Yiyun Li A Thousand Years of Good Prayers is next to Helen Simpsons Hey yeah Right Get a Life (a fab collection to change the mind of anyone who thinks women’s domesticity can’t be the stuff of brilliant literature.) Then there is David Constantine The Shieling, and finally The Childrens’ Hours edited by Zimler and Sekulovic.

Cool stuff huh?

And I have a teaser for you. There is a new display case on the fiction floor of Waterstone’s Brighton. I am running it with Eddie and we have both chosen books for it. I think some of you will really like it! Anyone want to take a guess as to what its theme is?

Disappointed by the Waterstone’s bashing.

The recent Waterstone’s bashing dismays me as a reader, writer & a bookseller. I make no secret of the fact that I work part-time for Waterstones, and I love my job. The opinions I offer here are merely my own thoughts and are in no way an official Waterstone’s “line” or response.

Over the last little while I have read comments online that are simply not true. I read damaging slurs from writers whose books I have placed on our bookshelves, and it saddens me to hear them complain about Waterstone’s as some Big Bad when Waterstone’s is supporting them.

I don’t understand why people are so keen to tear into a bookshop. Personally I see Amazon and the supermarkets as far more dangerous to publishing/authors etc than Waterstone’s. And I remember only too well a time before Waterstone’s was in my (at the time) local High Street. The only choice I had for book buying was to visit my local W H Smiths or take a train to London. I welcomed Waterstone’s to the area with such happiness because I was thrilled at the choices that opened up to me.

So what if Waterstones closes? Would a wealth of independent stores rise from their ashes? Erm, no, If even a huge chain can’t survive, I think not. And why this idealized notion of indie shops? People seem to assume they are chock full of literary treasures, unknowns, odd yet wonderful discoveries that Waterstone’s would not have found. Truthfully I have not seen a single other bookshop in this country with the range that my branch offers.

The “New Voices” campaign that W’s runs highlights its commitment to finding new talent. Many, many books are read by panels of bookseller volunteers. Booksellers! They are not told which to choose, which to vote for. They are invited to debate and review, and from that list a final batch is chosen. Picked by people who are passionate about reading, passionate about literature, so much so that they give up their free time to read, for pleasure, and pick the best. I was proud to take part in that last year.

Waterstones has also offered a bookseller bursary for the last two years. Any member of staff is able to enter a writing competition with a cash prize, a week (paid leave) at an Arvon course of their choice, and a trophy. If that doesn’t show commitment to new writing I’m not sure what does. And yes, I won this year, and am super grateful.

I have read that Waterstone’s only offers the chance to meet writers whose books they are pushing. I know for a fact that is not true. My branch has supported many local author events, usually at the request of the author. (We also give “face out” shelf space to local authors irrespective of who their publisher is.)

I’d also like to clear up the misconception that a book group would have its choice of read made for them. Nope. Our group chooses for itself which title it would like to read next. This month they have decided on “The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath – hardly a new title we need to push.

I don’t think anyone would deny the huge importance of a customer being able to browse and make his or her own purchase decisions. That’s surely why it is vital to have dedicated bookshops on the high street rather than rely on Supermarkets and stationers, or online retailers. The browsing, selection, choosing and interaction with booksellers is part and parcel of what is on offer in W’s. That’s why it seems crucial that people love their local bookshops rather than destroy them.

The bookseller bashing continues too. I have read that once W’s employed smart book loving people but now it’s all changed. Really? In my branch the turn over of staff is low and the wealth of experience and knowledge is phenomenal. These are people who live and breath books, and they don’t do it for high wages!

I had a customer on Saturday ask me who was responsible for our hand written recommendations. I told him that the booksellers are. He asked if we were told what to recommend. Nope. He then asked how we chose which books to recommend. The answer is simple. When one of the booksellers reads a book that they love, and feels the urge to spread the word, they fill in a card. That is why we have such a varied and eclectic selection of books on display. Look beyond the 3 for 2’s on the ground floor and you will see – right next to them – display cases full of variety. It doesn’t matter if they are big name authors, unknown authors, indie publishers, whatever. What matters is that someone in our branch has read them and wanted to share.

I get a real buzz knowing that someone is being introduced to the work of a talented writer because they read a recommendation by me. I take it seriously, would never offer a halfhearted entreaty to buy.

The idea that more literary authors are being pushed aside to make way for popular frothier titles is odd. Which authors do you mean? Seriously, I’ll go and check if we have stopped stocking them.

Of course there is always a customer who blusters in asking for X by Y and who is disgusted to learn that we haven’t stocked said title for 7 years. The logic behind that will be that that title perhaps sat unsold on our shelves for several years, why would we then reorder it? But if it is in print we are happy to order it for you. Where’s the problem? Our stores are not tardis’s, we are limited by space.

What also needs to be understood though is that a proportion of customers come in because they want Katie Price’s book, or a true crime voyeuristic thrill, a misery memoir, a celebrity cook book. It’s disappointing but one has to be realistic. Not all our friends and neighbours are literary lovers. A bookshop has to be a business, has to be able to pay for sites, and stock and wages and so on. It would be madness not to stock the things that people ask for. Celebrity culture surrounds us, it has not been created by bookshops but by the media, the zeitgeist. It is snobbery to suggest that it’s wrong for people to read books that they enjoy. Waterstone’s caters for all tastes – it is a bookshop that sells books!

Why is there this horror that bookselling is a business? It’s the world we live in; even essentials like food are made businesses. Why is writing supposed to stand alone, above, beyond the reach and taint of money? And indie publishers – do they not wish to make a profit?

What do you do for employment? Do you earn money? Do you write and get paid for it ever? Is that ok? If you have a book out would you like to sell it? Would you turn down the opportunity to have your book in W’s?

Every day I go to my facebook page and wade through posts urging me to buy from this Indie publisher or that, buy this author’s latest book, or even buy a bundle offer (rather like a Waterstone’s 3 for 2, eh?) and so on. I have no problem with that whatsoever, and indeed if/when I have a book available for purchase I will happily try to sell it wherever I can. I’d be incredibly proud to have my book in Waterstones though. That would really be something. Truth be told, that’s my dream – to see my novel on sale in a bookshop. Let’s hope there are still some around.

Nobody likes a show off!

I received my prize for winning the Bookseller’s Bursary yesterday. Wow, what a parcel! Champagne, a trophy, £’s, an Arvon gift certificate, a winner’s certificate, an Arvon Moleskine notebook. Superb. I am chuffed to bits. And I wasn’t going to say anything, because y’know, it doesn’t do to show off. Then I thought, oh hang on a minute, I’m quick enough to share things that make me miserable.

So –

It’s funny, I have an uncomfortable feeling of wanting to tell people that I have had some good news, mixing with huge embarrassment. I didn’t tell many that I was on the short list, I wasn’t going to mention it in fact. So when I won I had this conversation with my mum and a few others. “Oh, erm, there was this thing…” mumble, mumble. I was squirming, not sure why. Haven’t heard a word from my dad (who lives with my mum) and when we spoke on the phone he didn’t mention it. Both my brother’s are on facebook but they haven’t mentioned it either. My husband is pleased but hasn’t read a thing I’ve written for years. Anyway, I decided to brave this out and announce publicly that this is quite the nicest thing that has happened to me in ages.

I am thrilled with my prize. Thank you to Waterstone’s for being so incredibly supportive of the many writers it employs, and thank you to the judges from Simon & Schuster, Arvon and United Agents. I’ll shut up now and hope you can forgive the showing off.

Itching and winning!

Waterstone’s ran a writing competition for a Bookseller’s Bursary with a cash prize, a place on an Arvon course, paid leave to attend the course and a trophy . I was shortlisted and invited to a “do” for the announcement of the two winners. Sadly I developed Urticaria and had to spend the morning in A&E instead of going to London as planned. Apparently I have had a massive allergic reaction to something and am now on steroids and antihistamine tablets. I feel very sorry for myself, and am ITCHY beyond belief. I am literally smothered by these gruesome lumps.

I came home from hospital feeling very glum, and then received the news that I had won!

I think it’s fantastic that Waterstone’s is supporting the many budding writers that are drawn to working in its stores. This is a superb prize, and I am chuffed to bits. It’s going to be a real pleasure choosing a course to attend and I’m hoping it’ll help me get my novel whipped into shape.

So, boo to rashes and illness, but a massive yay to Waterstone’s and Arvon.

"My" short story display case!

I thought it’d be cool to show you a recent photo from the short story display case at work. There seems to have been a sudden flurry of very good short story collections being published. Hurray!

Starting from the top we have Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie “The Thing Around Your Neck”, “Midsummer Nights” edited by Jeanette Winterson, and James Lasdun “It’s Beginning to Hurt”(which looks excellent, though I haven’t read it yet.)

First shelf we have Tania Hershman’s “The White Road and other stories”. Tania was recently commended by the Chair of Judges of the Orange Award for New Writers who said “(her) work stood out for its remarkable quality. We look forward to seeing more of (her) writing in the future.”, then a really interesting anthology called “Punk Fiction” which features stories from a diverse range of people who were inspired by punk – amongst them Billy Bragg and Billy Childish, Kate Pullinger and Lane Ashfeldt. Next there is “An Elegy for Easterly” by Petina Gappah. You can read Vanessa Gebbie’s review of the book in this months Pulp Net. Also there is Wells Tower’s much written about/hyped collection “Everything Ravaged, everything Burned”

Second shelf features Eliazabeth Baines “Balancing on the Edge of the World”, Sylvia Plath’s “Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams” which sells well when in a prominent place. Perhaps people think Plath = poetry and The Bell Jar (incidentally, there is a new edition of The Bell Jar from Faber, it’s part of their 80th celebration, and I had to buy it just because it is so gorgeous. All of the Faber 80’s covers are scrummy.) Janice Galloway’s superb “Where You Find It” and “The Book of Other People”

The third shelf has “Let’s Call the Whole thing off: Love quarrels from Anton Chekov to ZZ Packer” – and includes a tiny piece from a writer I adore – Frances Gapper, as well as Ali Smith, Jackie Kay and Dorothy Parker, then deliciously quirky “No One Belongs Here More Than You” by Miranda July, “In Bed With…” full of anonymous sexy stories by well known authors including Ali Smith, Stella Duffy, Fay Weldon and Emma Darwin, and “The Pleasant Light of Day” by Phillip O’Ceallaigh.

The last shelf is rather cool, with “Everyday” by Lee Rourke, “The Loudest Sound and Nothing” by Clare Wigfall, “One World – a Global anthology” which I blogged about here, and Four Letter Word, which if I’m honest is the only thing not picked by me and has been replaced by
Lorrie Moore’s “Collected Stories” (a must) which is now available in paperback.

Phew – I have link fatigue.