As you may have heard, since France’s first lockdown in March, sales at Shakespeare and Company have been down 80%. Like other independent bookshops, we made an extra effort to encourage website orders—and our readers around the world responded with extraordinary generosity and love. So much so, in fact, that we are temporarily unable to accept new orders, so to allow our small team a moment to catch up. We expect to have the online store up again by December 1, in time for the gift-giving season!
While these sales provided us great relief for the month of October, we recognize it’s unrealistic to expect such an exceptional level of activity to continue for the unforeseeable number of months when people remain unable to travel. We had to find a parallel, more sustainable, way forward for the bookshop.
Today we are inviting those with the interest and means to do so to join Friends of Shakespeare and Company 2021, a one-year membership program created to support the bookshop, financially and spiritually, through the coming year.
Membership starts at 45€ (a one-time payment for all of 2021). Along with our eternal gratitude, we’ll deliver—four times a year, straight to your inbox—a bit of the bookshop, made exclusively for members. To give a taste: this might include a reading from a celebrated author, a short story read by a book-loving actor, and new work from a leading poet. You can find out more on our website.
The idea came to us from our ever-bright beacon, Sylvia Beach, the founder of the first Shakespeare and Company. During the Great Depression, to secure the future of her shop, Beach established “Friends of Shakespeare and Company.” In exchange for an annual fee, participants were invited to members-only readings with T. S. Eliot, André Gide, Paul Valéry, and even Ernest Hemingway, who made an exception to his rule against public events. As we can’t bring all our members to Paris and to the bookshop, we’re committed to bringing the bookshop to you.
As a bonus, the inimitable Dave Eggers and the brilliant Neil Gaiman have come forward with a mind-blowing gesture of support. If you join Friends of Shakespeare and Company at the 500€ level by November 15, you’ll be mailed a portrait sketch of yourself (or loved one) by Dave or a hand-drawn doodle by Neil!
We are excited to embark on this new chapter for the bookshop.
