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Bookshop bids for cash lifeline
A SOCIALIST bookshop in Bloomsbury hopes to set up a £50,000 fighting fund to stay in business.
Bookmarks, the independent bookshop set up more than 30 years ago, needs the cash to cover spiralling overheads, spruce up the shop, re-design its website and guarantee the business’s long-term future.
Among those supporting the campaign are American political philosopher Noam Chomsky, who gave a transatlantic TV-link speech to bookshop supporters recently, singer Billy Bragg, politician Tony Benn, former UK ambassador Craig Murray, whose exposé of torture in Uzbekistan cost him his job, and writer George Monbiot. Deputy manager Becky Reese said: “Independent bookshops are closing all the time. They suffer as big chains can slash prices and cherrypick titles.
“Shops like ours can offer advice and expertise missing from big bookshops. People can come in and ask advice and our staff know about the niche areas we cover. But it is getting more and more expensive to run, and we need the help of customers and supporters.”
A series of events will raise funds for the Bloomsbury Street shop, including a guided walk around Hampstead Heath in April by Bookmark’s Ian Rappell, who will give a talk on the fight to stop developers encroaching on the Heath.
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