Authors flood to bookshop opening

A number of authors and poets supported the re-opening of a flood-hit bookshop yesterday (July 5th).

New Bookshop in Cockermouth, Cumbria, was severely damaged by last year's floods and for months the shop's owner, Catherine Hetherington, has been selling books in temporary locations.

Her family had run the shop for 40 years and to mark the grand re-opening, people from the literature world lent their support.

Speaking to the Guardian, Ms Hetherington said: 'Hunter Davies came down because he lives locally, crime writer Ann Cleeves and poet Jacob Polley were there, and we had local thriller writer Matt Hilton too.'

Cumbrian poet Polley also read a poem, 'A Book of Water' to the shoppers.

Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy allowed a handwritten poem written at the time of the flooding to be auctioned for the bookshop, while authors from publisher Pan Macmillan donated signed copies to the shop.

Geoff Duffield, sales director at the publisher, commented: 'Independent bookshops are the lifeblood of our business and as publishers we utterly depend upon the passion and commitment of booksellers.'