Summer is the perfect time to slow down, get inspired, and maybe even start dreaming about your next professional adventure.
As part of EIBF’s EU co-funded project, RISE Bookselling, which brings together booksellers from across Europe to strengthen the sector through collaboration, training, and knowledge exchange, EIBF runs a dedicated bookseller exchange programme. This initiative gives booksellers around the world the opportunity to visit a foreign colleague and experience bookselling in different countries and contexts, fostering mutual learning and inspiration. Applications for the new round of exchanges are open until 20 August 2025!
George Sorin Pop, from Romania’s largest bookshop chain Cărturești, travelled to Slovakia to visit Knihy Brezno, a small independent bookshop in the town of Brezno. He was welcomed by the shop’s owner, Zuzana Giertlová, and spent a few days immersed in her day-to-day work.
Get inspired by George’s story – a great summer read for anyone curious about the benefits of the RISE exchange programme – and apply before 20 August to the new round of bookseller exchanges via the RISE Bookselling website.
Why did you apply for the RISE Booksellers Exchange programme?
I applied to learn about the local flavors of the host town and country, to observe similarities between the cultures, their respective bookmarkets and societal trends. Another reason why I applied was to get to know people that share the same struggles and joys of working as a bookseller. To see what we can improve in our bookshop and to get new ideas that we can also use in our own work. I think it is important to build small communities and connections with people from the same domain.
Is the bookshop you visited comparable to the one you work in? What are the similarities and differences?
The bookshop I have visited is a small independent bookshop, owned by Zuzana, my host during the exchange. It is a bookshop that sells anything you need, from plain paper to art books. The main similarity is the size of the shop and the cozy feel of the place. The main difference between the two bookstores is that Cărturești is the biggest bookshop chain in Romania so things are more center oriented, while Zuzana in her bookshop does almost everything herself, from book orders to shelf putting up shelves.
What are some specific things you learned during your exchange?
In both countries the same book trends can be observed; the troubles with the clients are the same; young people are reading less and less, while a minority of clients are buying most of the books. Združenie vydavateľstiev a kníhkupectiev Slovenska (Slovak Publishers and Booksellers Association, ZVKS) supports independent bookshops with book offers and discounts, and that is a great opportunity if you are an independent bookshop owner. They also publish catalogues with new books that are free for their membership and really helpful for their membership to get informed about the latest publications. Meanwhile in Romania we don’t have a national booksellers association. One thing I learned is that Slovak authors rarely get translated, that there is a strong preference for hardcover editions over paperback and most of their books are published as hardcover editions.
What are the 3 key takeaways from your stay at the host bookshop that you are bringing back home?
- A national booksellers association like ZVKS can help and support businesses in times of need. The association in Slovakia help small bookshops by offering them discounts and cheaper books. They also organize meetups between book industry professionals.
- It is important to build a community around the bookshop, people come in regularly and hang around the bookstore, casually chatting. Zuzana’s friends help with whatever they can when the bookshop is open, and neighbors and friends come in for a chat during the day.
- DIY (do it yourself) is sometimes better than prefabricated products; it offers originality, which is a thing that a lot of people don’t emphasize enough (for example the originally designed bookmarks or commercial signs).
Do you think these takeaways can be relevant to other bookshops in your country?
Of course, it’s something every bookshop should consider. Building a local community is, in my opinion, one of the best things a small bookshop can do, for example by organizing events and workshops and bringing people together, while DIY depends on how handy the owner and the staff are. The national association is the first step towards creating a community for booksellers in any given country.
Will you be using some of the things you learned abroad in your own bookshop? If so, how? Do you have at least one concrete example?
I’m already trying to implement a DIY attitude in the bookstore I work in. Being an amateur craftsman, I try to improve the place where I spend most of my time. I am trying to make the place more friendly and functional and use all of the space to ease our lives and to promote the bookstore and the books with graphic content made by me or my colleagues.
How did it feel to connect with fellow booksellers and share their daily activities in a book market that is not the one you’re used to?
It felt good, it always feels great meeting people working in the same “guild” and talk about the perks or the challenges of working in the cultural field. It was nice to come up with ideas or just casually complain about the same issues. We shared ideas of how we can improve our businesses, we “stole” ideas from each other and came up with new ones. Interestingly enough, everyday routine is almost always the same in both places (opening hours differ though), ordering books, placing them on the shelves - the alphabetical order and domain arrangements are universal for all bookshops, cleaning the dust etc.
Would you recommend this experience to other booksellers? Why/why not?
Definitely! I have colleagues who have already applied for the exchange, some other colleagues who went to the RISE Bookselling conference in Portugal and colleagues who’ll probably participate in another RISE related event. It is a great opportunity to travel to a different country, personally interact with other colleague booksellers, and learn about the book culture in their home countries.
Later on, the exchange came full circle and Zuzana visited George in Romania during her holiday, making it a truly reciprocal experience.
The bookseller exchange programme offers opportunities for cross-border learning and connection. If you are inspired by the programme, take the chance to be next to plan your own exchange journey – send us your application via the RISE Bookselling platform before 20 August!