Nicole Vanderbilt on how Bookshop.org is taking on Amazon through recommendations, not algorithms

About this episode

Nicole Vanderbilt discusses how Bookshop.org is positioning itself as an ethical alternative to Amazon through recommendations and support for independent bookstores.

In this episode Rachel and Simon speak to Nicole Vanderbilt, managing director of Bookshop.org in the UK. She joined Bookshop - an online bookseller set up to financially support independent bookshops - at its launch in November 2020; since then it has raised almost £5 million for over 600 local retailers. As well as selling physical books, Bookshop.org sells e-books and plans to launch audiobooks in 2026. It also offers a trade-in scheme, called Bookloop, for secondhand books. We spoke to Nicole about Bookshop's status as the "ethical alternative to Amazon", how her background in finance and tech has shaped her approach to publishing, and about the challenges of getting people to read. In addition to the standard audio format, the podcast is now available in video. You can check us out on YouTube under Always Take Notes. We’ve made another update for those ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠who support the podcast on the crowdfunding site Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We’ve added 40 pages of new material to the package of successful article pitches that goes to anyone who supports the show with $5 per month or more, including new pitches to the New York Times, the Washington Post and the BBC. The whole compendium now…

People in this episode

Hosts: Rachel, Simon

Guest: Nicole Vanderbilt

Topics covered

• Bookshop.org
• independent bookshops
• ethical alternatives to Amazon
• publishing
• reading challenges

Keywords

• e-books
• audiobooks
• Bookloop
• crowdfunding
• Patreon

Sponsors

Scrivener

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Bookloop, Bookshop.org, Scrivener

Books & works: Always Take Notes, Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers

Places: UK

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