BLOG POST: Essex Year of Reading & Toto the Cat
Essex County Council launched their Year of Reading and asked Red Lion Books to supply books to St Thomas More's Primary School, ahead of Dermot O'Leary (former X Factor host) visiting the school. "Yes", we said. Set up by the Essex Education Taskforce, the Year of Reading is a £1million project aimed
BLOG POST: What brings you here?
Is it Lemn Sissay saying 'Hourglass will stay with me for a long time?' Did he tempt you? Or perhaps it's Hollie McNish? 'A book for anyone who ever has been or ever will be heartbroken. So that's everyone'. Maybe it is Max Porter saying, 'This book glows in the heart of the
BLOG POST: Say it with books
There's something rather lovely leaving the shop when it's still light. I'll probably say the same thing when it starts to get dark, come November, when there's the first signs of the orange street-light glow. But for now, Spring is on its way and love is very much in the air.
BLOG POST: A Terrible Kindness
FACT: Warm, generous, wise authors can take you to terrible places; talented authors ensure you return home. A TERRIBLE KINDNESS proves it. Pre-publication, our wonderful Indie Alliance rep, Rosy, brought a proof copy to Red Lion Books saying, "This. You need to read this and you need to take my word
BLOG POST: The Insatiable Queen B
Red Lion Books met Daisy Buchanan at the EA Festival last year https://www.eafestival.com/ and instantly hit it off - finding a mutual love of bookshops, Margate and Jilly Cooper. Let me clarify, this wasn't F.Scott Fitzgerald's Daisy incarnate. No, this was the very much alive Daisy: award winning writer, columnist, broadcaster, and
BLOG POST: First Impressions
It's cold. I mean really cold. Three, sometimes, four layers cold. It was one of the things that was brought to my attention when I had my interview for the post of bookseller way back in June last year. "It gets warm in the summer and pretty cold in the winter." "I
BLOG POST: Completing the jigsaw puzzle
Somebody today, asked what a typical day at the book shop looked like and we realised there is no typical day. We start off with grand plans to 'tidy up', which generally means, 'make more mess'. We always hoover and water the plants and then we usually have a grand plan. The
BLOG POST: Nicholas Jubber returns to Red Lion Books
Never underestimate the gratitude that an author has for their readership (and the booksellers) who champion their work. On a cold January evening, Nicholas (Nick) Jubber travelled all the way from Dorset to speak with Red Lion Books - here in Essex - about his new book; THE FAIRY TELLERS (Published