From the journal
Inside our autumn shelves: how we choose what to stock
Maya Hart · August 18, 2026
Forty-two proof copies, eighteen shelf spots, and the friendly arguments that decided between them.
Every September our buying table disappears under proof copies. This year we read forty-two of them to choose the eighteen titles on our autumn shelf — and we argued about every single one.
What makes the cut? A first chapter that earns its second, a voice we haven't heard before, and at least one bookseller who will press it into a stranger's hands unprompted. Range matters too: a shelf of twelve literary novels and nothing else is a lecture, not a bookshop.
The result is a mix we're proud of — two debuts, a translated gem, a memoir with a waiting list, and a picture book our Saturday staff fought over. Come and browse it before the rain sets in.
