Bookshop of the Month - Pritchard's Bookshop

  

Bookshop of the Month (February)

Pritchards Bookshop

Interviewee: Amy Wright (owner)


Can you tell us more about Pritchards Bookshop?

Pritchards has been in Crosby village since 1975, and I bought it in 2021 once original owner Steve Pritchard retired. We have recently moved to a bigger premises and are going from strength to strength. I have been able to build on this local institution and bring new customers in on top of our very loyal existing customer base.

What, for you, is so special about children's books? 

I love children’s books and have fond memories of my favourites as a child: Roald Dahl, Goosebumps, Babysitter’s Club, Point Horror. And my own children, who are 6 and 8, love books. Myself and my husband read to them both every night before bed since they were born, so now they read to themselves before bed which brings me such joy, knowing we helped instill that love of reading. There’s nothing I love more in the shop than when a child comes in super excited to choose a new book, or when I can make a recommendation based on ones myself and/or my children have loved. It’s so important to encourage children to read, and to let them read what they want (within reason!), it really does feed their imagination, promotes relaxation and helps them grow.

What does a typical work day look like for you, and what is the most rewarding part of your job? 

I always like to make sure the shop is looking its best when I arrive, so a spot of tidying, rejigging a display etc, I’ll serve on the till, perhaps create content for social media, answer emails, sales processing where I’ll check what’s sold that day and either leave or reorder, and on some days I have rep meetings, which is one of my favourite things to do, seeing all the new upcoming books and catching up with the rep.

I would say the most rewarding part of my day is helping customers, hearing about books they’ve loved that we suggested, seeing the same kids come back week in week out for the next book in their favourite series, or seeing when something new I’ve tried in the shop is doing well.

What would you like to see from creative industries in the North?

I’d love to see more events; I get invites to a lot of publishing parties and showcases but they’re all in London. A couple of the big publishers have taken this on board but it would be great to see more. It would be great as well for publishers to put more of a focus on promoting northern authors and illustrators and their books.

Who are your favourite children's authors and illustrators from the North/ Scotland?   

We love illustrators Gill Smith and Rachael Dean who are both fairly local to us, and illustrator/author Genevieve Aspinall, all who have done wonderful windows for us. Our absolute favourite Northern author and friend of the shop is Frank Cottrell-Boyce. He is an amazing author and all round wonderful guy, we love him and his books, particularly his newest The Wonder Brothers which is set in Blackpool.

Pritchards Bookshop's Book of the Month:

Natalie Denny's Keisha Jones is a Force of Nature

Published by Little Tiger, February 2024

My book of the month is Keisha Jones is a Force of Nature. This is the second in the series from author Natalie Denny. Natalie is from Liverpool and she’s the EDI consultant for the Anthony Walker Foundation and director of Skywriters, an award-winning social enterprise based in Liverpool. Their mission is “to make creative writing accessible and enjoyable for everyone and bring about social justice change.”
 
In this book, Keisha and the Bee Squad discover that trees in their local park are to be cut down to make space for a car park and so they do whatever they can to save them. Perfect for kids age 6+, we loved it!



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