Bookbarn International launches UK’s first book resale rights scheme

 

Bookbarn International (BBI), based near Bristol, is set to shake up the UK’s second-hand book trade by paying royalties to the authors of the used books it sells.

The second-hand and rare book retailer has teamed up with the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) to launch The Book Author Resale Right – a pilot programme that will compensate authors whose books are resold by BBl.

The agreement comes as BBI announces it has raised nearly half its £75,000 target to fund future expansion by selling 6% of its business.

It is inviting the public to buy shares through leading equity crowdfunder, Crowdcube.

BBI sells hundreds of thousands of second-hand books a year and ALCS makes payments to over 60,000 authors annually from a wide variety of sources.

William Pryor, BBI Managing Director comments: “Until now authors in the UK have not benefited from the sale of their second-hand works unlike others in the creative industries.”

William is a great great grandson of Charles Darwin who took over the business with a colleague in early 2013.

He comments further: “I thought it was outrageous that the creators of the products my business deals in don’t receive a penny when their books are resold.

“So I’m delighted that our collaboration with ALCS will see authors of the used books we sell receive a percentage of the net profit we make.

“We hope that others who make money from second-hand books will follow our lead.”