Let's Talk Bookselling: The RISE Bookselling podcast series

Jo Coldwell, Manager of Red Lion Books in Colchester, UK, is interviewed by Tora Åsling, Policy Assistant at the European and International Booksellers Federation. Together, they will discuss how independent bookshops can level up the presence on the internet and create effective strategies to promote their online sales.

The fifth episode of Let’s Talk Bookselling is hosted by Daniel Martín Brennan, Policy Advisor at EIBF, who will explore the dynamics and intricacies of the book market in Guatemala, in a conversation with Philippe Hunziker, General Manager of Sophos Bookstore, located in Guatemala City.

On the fourth episode of Let’s Talk Bookselling, host Julie Belgrado speaks with Trish Hennessy, owner of the bookshop Halfway up the Stairs in Greystones, Ireland.   Halfway up the Stairs is one of the few bookshops in the country dedicated exclusively to children’s literature, and it plays an important role in promoting Irish literature, boasting a large selection of titles from Irish publishers and authors.

The third episode of Let’s Talk Bookselling will take our host Julie Belgrado in a conversation with Laura Karlsson, Director of the Finnish Booksellers Association (Kirjakauppaliitto), who will help us navigate the book market in Finland through her knowledgeable viewpoint. Kirjakauppaliitto represents about 90 % of Finnish Booksellers in brick-and-mortar, webshops and streaming services.

In this episode, our host Julie Belgrado will discuss all things bookshop events with Oana Dobosi and Raluca Selejan, co-owners of La Dua Bufnite bookshop in Timisoara (Romania).  La Dua Bufnite (which translates to the two owls) is an award-winning independent bookshop, known for its creative and resourceful initiatives to get people to read.  Let’s listen to Oana and Raluca!

In the first episode of Let’s Talk Bookselling, we sit down with Maria Hamrefors, chairwoman of Svenska Bokhandlareföreningen (“Swedish Booksellers’ Association”), who helps us understand the remarkable development of the Swedish audiobook sector. Sweden has been at the forefront of audiobook market, with many streaming services launched there initially. It seems fitting that we start the exploration of audiobook market there.