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Maria Vassilopoulos

@mariavbooks.bsky.social
1.6K followers 1K following 269 posts

Publishing Sales Manager/Book Trade Historian and Archivist. PhD in Book Trade History. Ex- bookseller. Book History Bite Newsletter info ⬇️ linktr.ee/Bookhistorybite?utm_sourc…

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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
I found a list of lit-up bookshops in 1837. Read the latest Book History Bite newsletter here: bookhistorybite.substack.com/p/illuminati...
bookhistorybite.substack.com
Illuminating the London Bookshops of 1837
Hi all,
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
In May's edition of Book History Bite, meet James Lackington- a bookseller who decided to go against the grain and sell books very, very cheaply. He ended up with a rather giant bookshop in London, too! open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
Meet James Lackington and his 'Great Idea' for a Bookshop
Hi all,
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Better late than never is this month's Book History Bite newsletter! Read below: open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
Chinese Decorative Paper
A few weeks ago, a bookseller contacted me and asked if I would like to buy one of their finds for my book trade archive.
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Bookselling out of barrows caught my attention for this month's Book History Bite newsletter- please click to read and subscribe for free! open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
Book-Barrow Sellers
Hi all,
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University of Wales Press @uniwalespress.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
We are so excited to be attending the @alpsp.bsky.social University Press Redux Conference in Liverpool! Join @mariavbooks.bsky.social, UWP's Global Sales Manager, for an insightful session on global sales trends in Space 9. shorturl.at/uEo6C @livunipress.bsky.social #UPRedux2026
University Press REDUX 2026 17-18 March 2026 The Spine in Liverpool

I'm Attending #UPREDUX2026
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
It's nearly time for the London Book Fair, a staple of my work life since I started in publishing in 2011. As a move from Olympia is on the horizon next year, I thought I would write about all the places the fair has been held since it began in 1971! open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
SPEX, LIBF, LBF...
If you are working in publishing (and potentially bookselling) at the moment, or you have ever done so, then you will know the acronym LBF very well.
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
Happy New Year! I have a new series devoted to my ever-expanding book-trade archive! The first newsletter is about the Book Reps Association and some handbooks I found: open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
The Handbooks of the B.R.P.A
Notes from my archive series
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
Merry Christmas everyone 🎄 May your day be bookish and bright 📚
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Sam Missingham @samatlounge.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Real question is, if HC paid a member of staff off, why didn’t they drop him then? Ie continue to put other young female staff in danger FOR YEARS? www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/9197cdb...
telegraph.co.uk
Exclusive: David Walliams dropped by publisher over inappropriate behaviour towards women
Telegraph investigation into best-selling children’s author uncovers claims that he ‘harassed’ junior female employees at Harper Collins
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
My last Book History Bite post of the year is a trip back to working on the tills at a high street book chain in 1993! Meet bookseller Prue below: open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
Prue, and her 1990s Christmas Bookshop Shift
Hi all,
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University of Wales Press @uniwalespress.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
' ... a foundational contribution to regional gothic studies.' A brilliant review of 'Cornish Gothic' by @joanpassey.bsky.social in @victstudies.bsky.social! muse.jhu.edu/pub/3/articl... Discover more about this 'compelling' book here: www.uwp.co.uk/book/cornish...
Book cover which features a black and white photo of a sinking ship with the sails just above the surface, the ship itself already below the waves.
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
Plug - take a look at my newsletter, Book History Bite - subscribe if you like, etc. Next edition will be out this month, so make sure your inbox is ready :) bookhistorybite.substack.com
bookhistorybite.substack.com
Book History Bite | Book History Bite by Maria V. | Substack
My name is Maria Vassilopoulos. I work in the book trade and hold a PhD in its cultural history. This newsletter is my way of sharing my work, new archive finds, and reviews of all things bookish. Cli...
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University of Wales Press @uniwalespress.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
We are all set up at @buchmesse.de! We are thrilled to be celebrating our fantastic #books and showcasing #Wales to the world! Come find us on IPG stand B70/73 in Hall 6.0, where you can also browse books from our trade imprint, Calon 📚 You can also browse our books on Wales Stand B38. #FBM25
Wales stand at FrankfurtShelves full of booksShelves full of booksWales Stand
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Calon @calonbooks.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
Come browse Calon books at Frankfurt! You can find a range of our latest #books and pick up a catalogue to discover our upcoming spring titles too 📚
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Alex Johnson @shedworking.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Good to see my recent book 'My Year of Reading Welshly' having a decent showing at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
It’s Frankfurt Book Fair set up day! Look at all the lovely books from @uniwalespress.bsky.social and @calonbooks.bsky.social 📚 🤩
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Oh yes yes yes 📚 www.theguardian.com/games/2025/a...
theguardian.com
Tiny Bookshop review – a truly cosy escape made with readers in mind
Real titles from Shakespeare to John Green line the shelves of your seaside shop in a rhythmic, mellow management simulator worth relaxing into
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 27/09/2025
I imagined a bookshop in wartime London- you can read the latest Bookshop Through Time post right here: open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
The Wartime Bookshop
Welcome back to my series called A Bookshop Through Time.
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
A mini-history about a certain Mr Cloud and his omnibus library on Book History Bite, subscribe and have a read! open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
Mr Cloud's Free Omnibus Libraries
Hi all,
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Paul Cheney @halfmanhalfbook.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Thank you to Sarah for arranging for a copy of her book to be sent to me @calonbooks.bsky.social @mariavbooks.bsky.social
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Read Alex’s book if you want to know about Welsh literature (you’ll be suprised at how much you already know), plus who doesn’t love discovering new books? 📚 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Proper Welsh lessons will shortly commence! It’s taken a while to get on the list- a mix of waiting lists and being scared. I’ve picked up words and phrases at work and can construct basic sentences but I need to keep pushing myself each day to learn something new. Wish me luck! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
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Paul Cheney @halfmanhalfbook.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
My thoughts on Seascape by Matthew Yeomans and published by @calonbooks.bsky.social. Thank you to @mariavbooks.bsky.social for sending me a copy to read halfmanhalfbook.co.uk/review/seasc...
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
A bit more Hatchard's History, anyone? Want to read about how, on the eve of World War II, it was bought by a fraudster? Take a look at my latest edition of Book History Bite and remember to subscribe to more newsletters: open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
Hatchards and Clarence Charles Hatry
Clarence Charles Hatry
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
A little September Book History Bite update- sign up on the newsletter if you want to receive it to your emails and join my subscribers- you'd be most welcome! 📚 open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
Nearly Frankfurt, Deadlines and Great Work
Hi all,
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
ALWAYS ❤️ 📚 #IPGAC also so pleased to see @shedworking.bsky.social up on a slide about good bookshop promotions- that video was worth it- shop tour next?
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
Michael O’ Mara celebrate 40 years in indie publishing. I’ve never met Leslie O’Mara but she sent me a really nice Biscuit when I helped her find a new sales and marketing assistant when I worked at The Bookseller and i never forgot it! 🍪 📖 #IPGAC
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
A little September Book History Bite update- sign up on the newsletter if you want to receive it to your emails and join my subscribers- you'd be most welcome! 📚 open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
Nearly Frankfurt, Deadlines and Great Work
Hi all,
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Nic the Bookseller @nic-v.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Welsh literature is great! There’s a evening event with three Welsh poets next week at the Small City Bookshop in East Bristol www.thesmallcitybookshop.co.uk/event-detail...
thesmallcitybookshop.co.uk
Poetry Evening: Showcasing Welsh Talent | Small City Bookshop
Join us for an evening featuring poets from the prestigious Hay Festival Writers at Work programme: Taz Rahman, Rhian Elizabeth and Joshua Jones.
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
If you follow me and are a bookseller, what more proof do you need that Welsh publishing is on point? If I were you all I would be getting my orders in so my customers can read this fantastic book. (Ingram, S/R, usual discounts apply).
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
A bit more Hatchard's History, anyone? Want to read about how, on the eve of World War II, it was bought by a fraudster? Take a look at my latest edition of Book History Bite and remember to subscribe to more newsletters: open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
Hatchards and Clarence Charles Hatry
Clarence Charles Hatry
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
Thanks to all those who have read ‘A Bookshop Through Time.’ I plan to publish more of it next week. bookhistorybite.substack.com/p/a-london-b...
bookhistorybite.substack.com
A London Bookshop Imagined- 1910-1940
I originally wrote this set of posts in lockdown as a project to chart the ways in which an independent bookshop might have changed over the 20th century.
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
I have found a place to keep my series of blogs that I originally published in lockdown, 'A Bookshop Through Time.' Please read the disclaimer first: bookhistorybite.substack.com/p/a-london-b...
bookhistorybite.substack.com
A London Bookshop Imagined- 1910-1940
I originally wrote this set of posts in lockdown as a project to chart the ways in which an independent bookshop might have changed over the 20th century.
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
Part 2 of my Hatchard's story is now up. Take a look here, and please subscribe if you haven't already, to Book History Bite! open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
Hatchards, Chains and Waterstones
Hi all,
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
Lovely morning for a much- needed run.
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
I loved Funnybones so much as a child- still have my copy :( www.thebookseller.com/obituaries/f...
thebookseller.com
Funnybones author Allan Ahlberg dies aged 87
The author of the classic children’s picturebook Funnybones (Puffin, 1980) as well as 150 "timeless" children’s books, Allan Ahlberg, has died at the age of 87.
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
Yum 😋🍓
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
I really enjoyed writing this: Hatchard's- more than just one Bookshop. Read more here: open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
Hatchard's- more than just one Bookshop
Hi all,
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Sam Tabet @drsamtabet.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
Got the first copy of my book in the mail today from @uniwalespress.bsky.social! My teen self is screaming! Thank you Harry Benshoff and Heather Petrocelli @queerforfear.com for these wonderful endorsements! and thank you @jeniferprince.bsky.social for the fabulous cover art! #firstbook #queerhorror
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Dr Tim Rideout @drtimrideout.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
So pleased (and honoured) to be part of this impressive line up for the autumn ❤️ @uniwalespress.bsky.social #Gothic #precarity #neoliberalism #GothicPrecarity
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Something in here for academics studying Gothic and Horror, Architecture, Celtic Studies and much more. To note, the new monographs will be followed by paperbacks on a seasonal basis. Also a large list of Wales history and politics and other aspects of Wales Studies, and our journals list. 👇
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
So pleased to see two titles from trade imprint of University of Wales Press, Calon, available in Waterstone’s pre-publication campaign. This will help us bring the stories of Wales to anyone who wants to read them in the UK and beyond. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 📚 www.waterstones.com/campaign/jul...
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
Quick Welsh lesson at a London Paddington 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
Cannot believe this made it to Radio 4 www.thebookseller.com/news/news/ar...
thebookseller.com
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
How amazing to see Year of Reading Welshly by @shedworking.bsky.social selected as a top book for 2025 by @blackwells.bsky.social ! blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/col...
blackwells.co.uk
The Books of 2025 Blackwell's
Trading since 1879, Blackwell of Oxford is the largest academic and specialist bookseller in the UK. Fast dispatch, carefully packaged, worldwide delivery.
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
Not sure if this is a sign to keep up my book trade history- my partner is signing in a choir concert (rock choir) in a bit, and I just walked into the graveyard of the church it is in. I looked down and look what greeted me, a @nationalbooktokens.bsky.social bookplate!
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Calon @calonbooks.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
#Oasis are back and playing in #Cardiff! But did you know that Oasis have an even bigger connection to #Wales? Pick up a copy of 'Rock Legends at Rockfield' to discover more about the iconic Oasis songs recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthsire! www.uwp.co.uk/book/rock-le...
Cover of Rock Legends at Rockfield which has a bright pink background and features a cassette tape with names of rock bands and artists spooling out of it.
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Calon @calonbooks.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
One week to go! 'My Year of Reading Welshly' by Alex Johnson is publishing on 18th July 📚 Do you need some #Welsh inspiration for your #TBR? How about some Welsh suggestions for your book club? Featuring discussion questions about each book and space to chart your own Reading Welshly progress 📚
Book cover which features the seasons within a wheel and a stack of books growing higher and higher. Text reads: 18 July‘What should I read next?’ Alex Johnson invites you to join him on his year of reading Welshly on a warm and witty journey through 52 books from Wales and about Wales.

From novels to poetry to non-fiction, Alex explores a rich and eclectic spread of books. Covering famous favourites such as Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood and Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin’s Ivor the Engine, through to contemporary hits such as Manon Steffan Ros’s The Blue Book of Nebo and Tiffany Murray’s My Family and Other Rock Stars, Alex’s ‘Reading Welshly’ list spans decades and genres.

Complete with discussion questions about each book and space to chart your own Reading Welshly progress, this is the ideal companion for readers and book groups to discover Wales through its rich and varied literature.
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Calon @calonbooks.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Yfory yng Ngŵyl Arall, Caernarfon! Tomorrow in Gŵyl Arall, Caernarfon! 👇 📚Sgwrs yn y Gymraeg gyda chyfieithu ar y pryd ar gael. Discussion in Welsh with simultaneous translation facilities available. 🎟️Tocynnau/Tickets: gwylarall.com/calendr/2025... Dewch yn llu! All welcome! @folklorewales.com
gwylarall.com
Ghosts – Delyth Badder a Llŷr Titus
12 Gorffennaf. Llety Arall
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Maria Vassilopoulos @mariavbooks.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
I’ve started thinking about the oldness of bookshops and now I can’t stop 📚 open.substack.com/pub/bookhist...
open.substack.com
Ye Olde Booksellers
On Tuesday, I felt really embarrassed because I, a writer of a PhD and self-proclaimed book trade historian, made a silly claim in the latest Book History Bite newsletter that Hatchard’s was not the o...
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