Friday 10 October 2014

Books Are My Bag Launch 2014

Last night, the 2014 Books Are My Bag campaign kicked off with a fantastic launch event at the new flagship Foyles Store, Charing Cross Road. Boasting a stock of over 800,000 books, the iconic building was the perfect location to host this celebration of books and bookshops.

Dame Gail Rebuck, Chair of the Penguin Random House UK board, welcomed the guests, proclaiming the evolution of BAMB from its earnest beginnings as a  ‘campaign’ last year, to a serious and significant ‘movement’, thanks to the support of booksellers, publishers, authors and readers.
Deborah Moggach, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel author, charmed the crowd with her anecdotal experiences as an author, as she reminded guests of the magic of a bookshop and its important place in a community.

Finally, Tim Walker, president of the Booksellers Association, closed the speeches with a heartfelt thank you to those who have supported the campaign, listing the numerous events going on across the country in support of BAMB this weekend. These include: a stand- up for Bookshops comedy event featuring event featuring Jenny Éclair, Sara Pascoe and Robin Ince at Foyles and 100’s of “meet the author” in-store events at chain and independent bookshops across the country.

Adding to the excitement, on Saturday 11 October, high street bookshops will be throwing Big Bookshop Parties to support the campaign and limited edition tote bags designed by award-winning British artist, Tracey Emin, will also be on sale. The iconic Books Are My Bag orange tote will also be on sale and leading children’s illustrators across the country have teamed up to help publicise this year’s campaign by re-drawing some of the UK’s best-loved children’s characters with the tote.
Pictures courtesy of Books Are My Bag

The launch also saw the release of The Bookshop Book, Jen Campbell’s sequel to Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops, which features 50 UK bookshops. She will be attempting an ambitious world-record breaking most-bookshops-in-a-day tour of London on October 11.

My colleague and I are very grateful to the Books Are My Bag team for our invitation to Thursday’s launch and for putting on such a delightful celebration of what should remain at the heart of our publishing industry – books and bookshops.

For more information on events, visit www.booksaremybag.com

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