Paper Defiance

  • Episode 9: The Hellenic Book Service

    In which I talk to Monica about the 56-year-old Hellenic Book Service.

    Fifty six years!

    See next post for a slightly edited transcript.

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  • Episode 8: The Neverending Bookshop (pictures)

    Images from Annie at The Neverending Bookshop. Facebook, Twitter.

    Annie with her mum and sister:

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  • Episode 8 transcript: The Neverending Bookshop

    Alex

    Welcome to Paper Defiance, a fortnightly podcast all about indie bookshops and their owners. My name is Alex, and I am recording this on Wadawaurang land, in Ballarat Australia. It’s exciting to have you join me. 

    Today’s interview is with Annie, the owner of the Neverending Bookshop, and those of you who know me may be impressed that I’ve waited this long to interview someone whose main focus is science fiction and fantasy. But here we are at last. Annie has been just had her seventh anniversary running the Neverending Bookshop, and we have a wonderful discussion about why it’s called that, and about rebranding to being a feminist activist genre bookstore and the fact that some people feel like they’re allowed to comment on that, as well as a whole range of other things about running a book store. I should note that unfortunately for you people in the Seattle area, the amazing silent reading night with hot chocolate bar that Annie is hosting for the winter solstice is already sold out, so you have missed your chance. Which does mean that we all just have to organise our own. And for those of us in the southern hemisphere that wouldn’t usually be what we’re interested in for December but since where I am, as I record this, it hasn’t cracked 10 C in a good few days and we had hail yesterday – well, who knows what mid December will be like. Could be snow, could be a heat wave. Annie also mentions the US mid-term elections, which shows you when we recorded, and of course that’s now all over with for better or worse. 

    Before we get to Annie, I should also remind you that on the website, paper defiance .com, you’ll find not only audio but also transcripts of every interview, and pictures of each of the shops featured. So if you know someone who might be interested in these bookshops but who for whatever reason can’t do a podcast, you can still access what we’ve been talking about at paper defiance .com. 

    And now, over to Annie. 

    Annie  

    Hi, everyone, my name is Annie Carl. I’m the owner and operator of The Neverending Bookshop in Edmonds, Washington, United States. I don’t know if this is international or what. But I’ll designate I’m in the United States.

    Alex

    It’s such a cool name for a bookshop. How did that come about?

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  • Episode 8: The Neverending Bookshop

    In which Annie Carl of The Neverending Bookshop and I geek out a bit over Nicola Griffith, The Neverending Story, and various other aspects of science fiction and fantasy… and we discuss her bookshop, too.

    See next post for a (slightly edited) transcript, and the post after that for some pictures!

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  • Episode 7: The Bookshop at Queenscliff (pictures)

    All pictures c/ The Bookshop at Queenscliff: Facebook, Insta.

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  • Episode 7 transcript: The Bookshop at Queenscliff

    Alex

    Welcome to Paper Defiance, a fortnightly podcast all about indie bookshops and their owners. My name is Alex, and I am recording this on Wadawaurang land, in Ballarat Australia. It’s exciting to have you join me. 

    Today we’re staying in regional Victoria, but heading for the coast. Queenscliff is a splendid little town on the Bellarine Peninsula, and I love it very much. Matt is the third owner of the Bookshop at Queenscliff, and Ii’m pretty sure I’ve bought books under each of the owners. Matt’s passion for the shop itself and for buying from indie bookstores is infectious. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did – and as always, hang around after the interview for a vignette from someone talking about their favourite bookshop. 

    Matt  

    My name is Matt Davis. I am the co owner of The Bookshop at Queenscliff, in Queenscliff, Victoria. How’s that – is that enough?

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  • Episode 7: The Bookshop at Queenscliff

    In which I talk to Matt from The Bookshop at Queenscliff about buying a bookshop on Gumtree (well, not quite, but almost) and how they can be cultural centres for their towns.

    See the next post for a (slightly edited) transcript of the interview.

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  • Episode 6: Aesop’s Attic (pictures)

    With thanks to Clare and her son for these:

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  • Episode 6 transcript: Aesop’s Attic

    Alex

    Welcome to Paper Defiance, a fortnightly podcast all about indie bookshops and their owners. My name is Alex, and I am recording this on Wadawaurang land, in Ballarat Australia. It’s exciting to have you join me. 

    For this regularly scheduled episode we’re back in regional Victoria, Australia, in a delightful little town called Kyneton. I’m talking to Clare from Aesop’s Attic, and we have a wonderfully wide-ranging discussion – mostly about her shop and what’s in it, but also about the importance of reading, and the role of a bookshop like hers in a town like Kyneton. 

    In case you missed it, the last episode was actually a departure from the norm because it was an interview author and bookshop-lover Garth Nix, who although he has imagined owning a bookshop hasn’t actually made that fantasy real. I think it’s a really fun conversation, so why not go check it out? And don’t forget that at the end of the interview, you’ll hear a vignette from someone talking about their favourite bookshop.

    Clare
    Hi Alex. My name is Clare McKenna, and I’ve been a bookseller for 20 years. But a book lover, I’d say pretty well all my life. But I did struggle to learn to read. I had a lot of childhood illness, missed a lot of school, and really didn’t become a confident book reader until midway through high school. So that made education difficult. I completed year 12 and undertook English Literature and English Expression. And it was a phenomenal year. I swapped schools and went from a convent school to what became La Trobe Uni, Bendigo. And that year was just phenomenal. And I think it cemented my love of reading. And I had such wonderful lecturers. It just gave me that inspiration to continue to read. And it’s gone on from then.

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  • Episode 6: Aesop’s Attic

    In which I talk to Clare at Aesop’s Attic. See next post for a slightly edited transcript, and the one after that for some photos!

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