Lyndsey GormleyHave you ever walked out of Waterstone’s empty handed, defeated by the vast quantity (but not always quality) of bestsellers in this season Richard and Judy’s Book Club? Well one West Yorkshire Book Shop may have the solution.
Ross and Gillian, owners of the Hebden Bridge Bookshop, took a radical step this Jubilee Weekend by filling their entire store head to toe with copies of Benjamin Myers’ latest novel Pig Iron- 600 copies to be precise.
This shameless publicity stunt, said to be inspired by Myers’ publishing company Bluemoose, has offered the independent bookshops an edge over regular chain stores, proving themselves to be radical free thinkers by becoming the world’s very first One Book Bookshop.
Hebden Bridge, home to a wealth of artistic talent, has a long standing literary history, housing many great authors over the year and is also famously known as the resting place of American poet Sylvia Plath.
‘[We have] a keen eye for something a bit different, we will also bring you more of those little gems you wouldn’t normally come across in the media or in the chain stores.’- Hebden Bridge Bookshop
It didn’t take long for the exploit to grab attention of the public, and within ten minutes of the first late night opening regulars and tourists alike as flocked to see for themselves what all the fuss was about; even actor Tony Booth was attracted to the guerrilla marketing tactics. By midnight Pig Iron began to outsell Hilary Mantel’s latest work Bring Up The Bodies with an astonishing ratio of 3:1.
This astonishing success proves once again the strength of the independent market and the positive affect it can have on its local community and to the causes it serves.
Here’s hoping that Hebden Bridge’s One Book Bookshop isn’t just a one off.
