"So, I work as an editor at Penguin Classics. I've been in publishing for quite a long time. And before I worked in publishing, I worked as a bookseller.... And as a result, I experienced firsthand the way that independent bookshops really become community hubs.
"I have very fond memories of the many customers we used to have, who knew that this place was a safe place for them. They knew they could come here, they could talk to people, they could browse the books that they'd accepted as part of this community. And I don't think I would be anywhere near as good an editor, and by extension writer, if I hadn't worked in bookshops for many, many years. I'm very glad I did."
--Kaliane Bradley, whose novel The Ministry of Time (Avid Reader Press) is the #1 May Indie Next List pick, in a q&a with Bookselling This Week