Bookshops are bucking the high street trend. There are lots of reasons why

By Samantha Rayner, Professor of Publishing and Book Cultures, UCL

With shop closures on the UK high street and rising living costs both well documented, it’s a surprise to note that the number of independent bookshops remained largely stable last year. Fifty-one new indies opened, despite some serious challenges outlined by trade body the Booksellers Association. These included “recession, inflation, labour shortages, massive cost increases, tight margins, the cost-of-living crisis and unequal tax burdens such as…

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