Behind the Bookshelves

The Dawn Treader Book Shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, needs help after being forced to close due to Covid-19. It has launched a GoFundMe appeal to raise funds. Africa Schaumann, the shop's manager, explains how the Dawn Treader serves the local community and what they are doing to stay afloat.

Conan the Barbarian was created by pulp writer Robert E Howard and we are joined by Arlene Stephenson from the Robert E Howard Museum in Cross Plains, Texas. We discuss Howard's pulp fiction writing career, the enduring popularity of Conan, the author's tragic death at just 30, and how this small museum attracts Howard fans from around world.

We’re talking about law with bookseller Greg Talbot from the Lawbook Exchange. Founded in 1983, the Lawbook Exchange specializes in all aspects of law and the history of law. We learn how the business began and its international scope. Greg reveals the historical importance of law books from the Magna Carta to Napoleon and the Federalist in the US. Did you know there’s also legal poetry?

We are joined by bookseller Brian Cassidy who, in 2019, launched a bookselling firm called Type Punch Matrix, along with Rebecca Romney. Brian describes his journey from poet to bookseller, and reveals why he teaches at bookseller education events. Our conversation ranges from modern duplicating technologies to Sex Pistols flyers.

We are joined by Sandra Hindman, the owner of Les Enluminures, a business dedicated to selling manuscripts and miniatures from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Sandra describes her transition from the academic world. She talks about her galleries in New York, Paris and Chicago, and her customers around the world. She explains why Books of Hours were so important in the Middle Ages and what it is like to handle a book once owned by a French king.

We speak to Emily St John Mandel about her latest novel, The Glass Hotel. You may remember her worldwide bestseller, Station 11, from 2014. Emily tells us about her fascination with the shipping industry, her journey from ballet to New York, and how a financial scandal inspired The Glass Hotel.

We speak to book collector John Blaney about famous authors who wrote for adults but yet also wrote children’s books. Examples include James Baldwin, Truman Capote, William Faulkner and Graham Greene. An exhibition at the Grolier Club in New York showcases some of John's modern first editions where he has selected 40 children’s books from his collection and paired each one with a famous novel from that particular author’s work for adults.

We are joined by David Pacheco, who is a creative director at Disney. David collects books and journals about origami. We learn about the history and traditions of origami, the cultural significance of origami in Japan, and the most prized item in David’s extensive collection.

In this episode, we look at Margot Lee Shetterly's book Hidden Figures following the death of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, and we also ask if Hilary Mantel can win a third Booker Prize with her latest Tudor-era novel about Thomas Cromwell. Plus we remember adventure author Clive Cussler.

In this short episode, AbeBooks looks at some of the things making headlines in the book world this week, including the loss of author Charles Portis, the effect of Outlander on Scottish tourism, an unusual tribute to Iain Banks, and the most expensive item to sell on AbeBooks last week.