Booksellers struggle with lack of new stock amid Covid-19 crisis | Booksellers - The Guardian

Shops forced to shut by coronavirus had been surviving with online sales, but difficulties ordering titles present fresh threat by Alison Flood, Guardian's books reporter and the former news editor of the Bookseller.

Staff of the Portobello Bookshop in Edinburgh holding books for hand delivery in March.
Photo: Jack Clark

Amazon has denied reports that it is no longer accepting new deliveries of books to its warehouses while prioritising essential goods amid the coronavirus outbreak, as major cutbacks at the UK’s two main book wholesalers have begun to prevent bookshops up and down the country from acquiring new stock.

Amid reports in publications such as the Times that the online retail giant was turning away book deliveries to focus on household essentials and medical supplies, Amazon told the Guardian on Friday that it is still accepting new stock from publishers.

However, with several major publishers moving some scheduled releases to later in the year, confusion reigns among readers about which books will be available during the lockdown. Increased demand for postal services has led to delays in delivery, with Waterstones – which closed all its stores on 23 March – announcing that online orders would face “slight delays”.

On Monday and Tuesday respectively, wholesalers Gardners and Bertrams announced they were temporarily suspending all orders, making it more difficult for bookshops, particularly independents, to get fresh stock until restrictions lift...

“There is no better moment than now to have a bookseller in your life and sign up for a subscription,” urged Nicky Dunne at Mayfair bookseller Heywood Hill. “Two mottoes, too: ‘carpe librum’ and ‘chins up’.”
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Source: The Guardian