British Bookshops on the Brink of Financial Crisis
In an open letter to the prime minister, The Bookseller and The Stage called on the government to urgently reform trade tariffs and save vital cultural institutions in Britain.
Sefir Arjan International Service (Sefir Arjan) - Elaha Shams: While the government is preparing for the fall budget, bookstores and theaters are facing increasing financial pressures. Bookshops and theaters are not included in the plan, despite government plans to cut business tax for nightclubs by 20% from April 2027. Owners and activists have warned that if this trend continues, Britain's high streets will lose many of their cultural hubs forever.
Many independent bookshops are complaining about the sudden jump in trade duty bills after last year's revaluations. Anthony Oxley, the 75-year-old owner of Laurence Oxley bookshop in Hampshire, has announced a 16 per cent rise in his fees this year, calling the current system "grossly unfair". Business taxes, he said, drain cash from small businesses before a profit is made, killing the ability to grow or even maintain a property. He has warned that if there is no change, he will have no choice but to shut down.
The situation is similar for theaters. Claire Walker, joint CEO of UK Theater and SOLT, describes theaters as "anchor institutions" that, in addition to their cultural role, contribute to the local economy and tourism. He says: "There is no principled reason to exclude theaters from government support programs. "These entities cannot easily relocate or reduce their operating costs like other businesses without hurting their audience."
In Liverpool, Chris Wright of Pritchards bookseller emphasizes that business duty is now calculated on an "archaic" military basis and property value, not on profitability or actual income. He says: "We try to get children interested in reading, which is an investment for the future generation, but with the increase in fixed costs, we have to close our cultural programs." He considers this approach of the government to ignore the importance of education before the night entertainment industry.
Even online bookstores are disheartened by the state of the physical market. Jack Campey, owner of Fourth Wall Bookshop, believes that the high rate of duty in the UK has made opening brick-and-mortar bookshops a devastating risk.
The Booksellers Association (BA), together with 234 independent booksellers and well-known authors such as Philip Pullman and Elif Shafak, have called for the inclusion of bookstores in the tax reduction plans. The association estimates that by 2030, the average bookseller will need to sell 1,100 more books a year just to cover their own toll costs. BA chief executive Merrill Halls warns that continuing this policy will mean fewer local writers, fewer arts events and ultimately cultural impoverishment on the high street.
In response, the UK Treasury has underlined its commitment to supporting cultural venues, citing a £1.5bn investment in the Art Everywhere Fund. However, the bookstore community believes that temporary support will not be a substitute for reforming the unfair fee structure.
The history of the first car with a license plate in the country goes back to 1305, when the first cars arrived in Iran. At that time, a set of regulations including 32 clauses for the numbering of cars was compiled, although these rules were finalized three years after the entry of cars, i.e. in 1308. According to these regulations, cars had to install five separate license plates.
"The Bookseller" and "The Stage" publications have sent an open letter to the Prime Minister, calling for immediate government action to reform trade barriers and save vital cultural centers in the UK.
The director of Nimage Publishing says: the conditions have changed in such a way that some publishers prefer not to include the price on the book; Because if a certain price is written on the book, they may have to change it shortly after.
"Aqtdar Speid" ceremony is held with the aim of honoring the memory of three martyred nurses of the 12-day war, martyred Mahnaz Nemati, martyred Homan Ghiathund and martyred Mahdiar Puriyamin, at the same time as the blessed birthday of Hazrat Zainab (PBUH) and Nurse's Day.
Hormozgan - Literary researchers in Hormozgan examined the unbreakable links between Persian poetry and Hormozgan culture at the Hafez anniversary meeting and emphasized that Hafez is the guardian of the Persian language and vocabulary.
The unveiling of three books of the Tehran-Mubarak International Puppet Theater Festival was held in the presence of Atabek Naderi, Director General of Performing Arts.
Fars - The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance pointed out that Hafez opened a new book and chapter in the Persian language and said: Hafez made Persian poetry different.
Fars - The mayor of Shiraz, referring to the operation of Fereshtagan Minab library in district 11 of this city, said: This cultural complex was built with the aim of developing cultural infrastructure and expanding citizens' access to library facilities, on a land with an area of about 2,000 square meters and with an infrastructure of more than 1,500 square meters on four floors.
On the occasion of Hafez's memorial day, the grave of this poet in Shiraz was showered today on the 20th of Mehr.
Fars - Seyyed Abbas Salehi, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, visited Shiraz calligrapher Alireza Karimpour during his trip to Shiraz.
The latest issue of the Green Cellulose Industry Quarterly was published with a look at the state of the cellulose and paper industry during the war.
Razavi Khorasan- The commemoration ceremony of the first anniversary of the death of Mahmoud Rouhani, a prominent and distinguished physician and Quranic scholar, will be held in Mashhad along with the unveiling of his latest scientific work.
Dr. Abulqasem Radfar, a professor of Persian language and literature and a senior member of the scientific faculty of the Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, passed away.
The first meeting of "Screenplay Era" was held last Sunday, October 19, with the presence of Mahmoud Arbabi, Farhad Tawhidi and Saeed Qutbizadeh, by Screenplay Bank in cooperation with Cinema House.
The great conference of law and literature, with the focus on examining legal and social concepts in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, Golestan Saadi and other Persian classics, seeks to open a new window to Iran's literary heritage and link it with legal knowledge.
Fars - The first smart library of Fars province named "Fershtgan Minab" public library was opened today in Shiraz with the presence of the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
Yazd - Hossein Masrat, a Yazdi writer and historian, introduced the most exquisite manuscript of Diwan Hafez in Iran, referring to the existence of a treasure of manuscripts in the Ministerial Library of Yazd.
Seyyed Abbas Salehi, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, issued a message to express his condolences on the death of Ayatollah Haj Seyed Alireza Heydari.
Zanjan - Maryam Tavakoli, the author of Zanjani, referring to the importance of holding the Zanjan book exhibition, said: This event can be the basis for increasing cultural vitality, expanding people's relationship with books, and introducing the literary and cultural capacities of the province.
The long story "In preparation for the unlived life" is a narrative of the interconnected lives of hope, dream, time and desire, each of which is intertwined with love, family and the past. Instead of a clear answer, the novel presents the gap between the lived life and the desired life; Love is the promise of liberation, but its social face is not clear, the relationship is never completely two-person, and the "third person" such as the family and the past is always present. "Hasn't lived" is not the past; It is a future whose relational and temporal conditions for its realization have not yet been provided.
Kermanshah - Kermanshah has been the subject of many researches and writings over the years, and part of the history, culture, society and identity of this land has been recorded in books and written sources. However, what has been collected and researched so far is not the end of the way to know Kermanshah. Among the sources collected for researchers, there are still parts of the history and identity of this province that need to be studied, recorded and documented; A problem that highlights the need to pay attention again to the assets and gaps of the sources of Kermanshah history.
Fatemeh Sadat Mirrezi said: When a historian starts the history of Islam from creation, brings it to his own time through the history of prophets and previous nations, and then places it on the horizon of the end of time, he is actually not just reporting the past; Rather, it also interprets its present time in a larger historical whole.
With the presence of professors of Persian language and literature, the unveiling meeting and signing ceremony of "One went, one came, and other new works by Sadegh Hedayat" will be held.
Mehrangiz Akhavi: Sometimes a good story, without directly talking about friendship, courage, acceptance of differences or responsibility, puts these concepts in the child's life. In my opinion, a story that prompts a child's mind to move after the end can have a deeper and more lasting impact than dozens of educational sentences.
Khorasan Razavi - The 19th of October 1405 is the 87th anniversary of the birth of the poet, researcher and scholar of Iranian literature and citizen of Neyshabur, "Mohammedreza Shafiei Kodkani". The following picture shows the graduation certificate of this enduring figure of Iranian literature from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, which was issued in June 1344, with a score of 19 in the field of Persian language and literature. A document from the scholarly days of a man whose name still shines in the sphere of poetry and literary research in Iran and the world.
Amiri Tehrani said: The ancient works and historical documents cited by the speakers are a reflection of the spirit of Iranian culture and thought, which has been manifested in the civilizational background of this land, including the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea. A culture and thought that has continued since ancient Iran and has guaranteed the continuity of the Iranian world.
What is the story? A false and colorful story that historians have added to history in order to attract a general audience, or the story behind a hidden and unofficial curtain of historical events that has been removed from historical books by censorship or censorship?
The National Committee of the Nobel Laureate Prize in Iran published the call for the first round of the 2026 International Nobel Laureate Prize in the fields of literature and visual arts.
Farhad Hemmati wrote: In addition to advancing the Nazi goals in the university, Heidegger also controlled the professors and students and even spied on the professors and gave secret reports. Like the case of Edward Baumgarten, who followed John Dewey's pragmatism in philosophy, which caused him to be expelled from the university.
The director of the Farhangistan bookstore says: In recent years, the sale of textbooks in bookstores has been removed, and families no longer come to bookstores, and their presence in bookstores has practically been canceled.
Gilan- The book "Writer's Journey" was introduced in the presence of the book's translator and screenwriting enthusiasts, hosted by Ardibehesht bookstore in Rasht.
Khuzestan- The book "Mozban Khan Sukund", a historical account of the participation of the Sukund family in some political movements at the end of the Qajar period until the years of the Pahlavi period, has been published by Gholam Ali Izadi, a writer from Khuzestan.
Amir Sokrati believes that Ardeshir Mohassas is one of the most praised artists who is not appreciated enough.