Part of the Indie Bookstore movement, The Indie Bookstore Festival aims to capture the love of readers and authors alike for their favourite bookstore as well as be motivated on solutions on how independent bookstores thrive in times to come.
‘So often, a visit to a bookshop has cheered me, and reminded me that there are good things in the world.” said Vincent Van Gogh. Bookstores are the cornerstone of our cultural heritage. Our local bookstore is a place rich with memories where we went with parents, explored with our children, maybe met our first love. It’s a place rich with our past and that of our communities. When the pandemic accelerated the shift to online, one segment to take this hit the most were the independent bookstores. Born out of an individual or a family’s passion for books, these were not necessarily outfits which were ready for this level of change. Many iconic indie bookstores have shut down over the last couple of years. Taking away memories and a part of our past.
“A world without bookstores is not a world we want to move towards. It’s with this thought and conviction that The Indie Bookstore Festival will open to its season 1. Part of the Indie Bookstore movement, the festival aims to capture the love of readers and authors alike for their favourite bookstore as well as be motivated on solutions on how independent bookstores thrive in times to come.” says Preeti Chaturvedi, Curator of the Festival. The Indie Bookstore Festival is a property of The Sunflower Seeds, a literary and brand consulting outfit.
Sonali Bendre, Actor and Founder of Sonali’s Book Club has come on board as the Chief Mentor of the festival. Talking about the collaboration she says, “I’m thrilled to be collaborating with The Indie Bookstore Festival as I love the experience of browsing books in an actual bookstore – it’s almost magical when you stumble upon a book that could potentially change your life. Indie bookstores are run by people who are passionate about books and reading and I wanted to support them in whatever way I could.”
The first season of the festival will have some iconic names from arts, literature and cinema like Vishal Bharadwaj, Imtiaz Ali, Hussain Zaidi, Bilal Siddiqui, Durjoy Datta, Andy Griffith, Vikram Sampath, Kevin Missal, Rahul Rawail, Radhakrishnan Pillai and Novoneel Chakraborty- to name a few.
Trushant, the Executive Director of Title Waves Bookstore in Bandra visualises a future for indie bookstores which is full of creative disruption, “Independent bookstores of the future will be theme- based formats which will specialise ingenres like fantasy and sci-fi, and even their decor will be theme base to give a better experience to the reader. I foresee some bookstores having a POD machine where they can print their book instantly while others will have AI solutions to help readers find their books according to their choice of subjects or storyline. But people will still have love for physical bookstore as this will be a hangout place for other readers with similar interest. They will become more like community centers.”
Aman, Founder of the Storyteller Bookstore, says, “Since the onset of the Pandemic, bookshops across India have been reinventing themselves. What’s common amongst each one of us, is the ability to digitise. A significant investment of time, money, and resources in terms of people are required to ensure a round the clock inventory online. Most of us have had to relearn things overnight. Integrating payment gateways, running Zoom sessions, looking for shipping options, all this while running a physical, retail space. Apart from this, bookshops have to constantly put themselves out there on the internet. It’s an interesting time to be selling books in the history of the world. After all, it is an old -world profession. There are a variety of ways bookshops have tried to reinvent themselves. Some have opened libraries, others cafes. Some have tried book box subscriptions, while others work with authors to actively promote their titles. Regular online sessions have helped boost sales too, but have to be well planned in advance. Eventually, the general public’s support will always go a long way in assisting a bookshop’s plans.”
Talking about the relevance of independent bookstores, Eika Chaturvedi Banerjee, Founder and CEO of Eikam says, “I do believe that independent bookstores need to necessarily evolve to being more than just retail real estate for books. With technology and e-commerce becoming commoditised, human engagement is at a premium.”
Intellectual engagement with a concept/ a book/ an author is easily digitise-able, and so the bookstore needs to become that cocoon where emotions and the mind come alive. Where senses are stimulated and people can engage with their communities and their tribes, with the oddities and eccentricities, with the smell of the paper, and the touch of a pen… the bookstore needs to evolve to become the fulfilment of our human existence – at the level of the body/ the mind & its emotions/ the intellect. The bookstore needs to become the place where we truly come alive, in all our spirit.”