Thank you one and all for a fabulous five years!

On September 8th 2018 we opened our doors at 39 North View in Westbury Park, Bristol. Our youngest daughter was 7 months old and we’d never worked in a book store before. Frankly, we were flying by the seat of our pants. But the omens were good, with letters through the door welcoming us to the neighbourhood, and the warmth of welcome blew our tiny minds.

18 months later, Covid hit and with doors locked we had to deliver books by car and bike while homeschooling a 2 year old and a 7 year old. Just before the nervous breakdowns took place, we opened for click & collect and, with thanks to our brilliant team and the support of all of you, what could have been a disaster turned into our busiest year yet.

Fast forward to this time last year and we were frantically putting the finishing touches to our new store at 47 Henleaze Road and preparing to open in Portishead. In two weeks we went from one 333 square foot store with 3 members of staff to two 1000 sq ft stores with a 10 strong team.

Along the way we’ve been very fortunate to host authors we’d previously only dreamed of meeting. From our first ever event with @petelordaardman to our most recent with Jesse Armstrong (geniuses both), there are too many names to mention but each has been a joy to spend time with.

None of this would have been possible without the support of all of you. We’re incredibly lucky to have a wonderful community around us, of customers, writers, venues, local businesses, publishers and agents. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

The biggest thank you of all has to go to our wonderful team and those who've worked in our shops along the way: Joe, @liv_clements_12, @lizziereads96, @abbietaylor15, @amytilstonfeest, @amuchneededbreak, @clarence48, @elliott.bwilliams, @flossiesbooknook, @maefarrow, and @annahoghtonauthor. There is no way on this sprayed-edge earth we would have done it without you.

And, finally, to end this little history lesson and effort in self-congratulation, here’s a fitting quote from the very first book we sold, The Catcher In The Eye:

“I’m quite illiterate, but I read a lot.”

Helpfully, wonderfully, so do all you.