Gabby Morby - bookseller

Speaker 1 00:02

This is a Vision Australia Radio podcast.

Speaker 2 00:18

And on Vision Australia Radio, welcome to our conversations on the work and experiences of emerging writers. I'm Kate Cooper and our guest today is Gabby Morby, owner and operator of one more page bookshop in Kadina on the Yorke Peninsula. One of the aims of this programme is to include reflections from people and organisations involved in supporting, encouraging and promoting writers of writing. Included in our plan is a series profiling booksellers in our state, so we're delighted to be able to come to Kadena and speak with Gabby today about her work in and perspectives on the art of bookselling.
Gabby, welcome to the programme.

Speaker 3 01:04

Thank you so much for having me. Kadina is the, I like to say, it's the gateway into the rest of Yorke Peninsula. We have a lot of the traffic come through here and it is the CBD of the area. We have a lot of business operate through here. We have a lot of the schools go out through here as well. And to me, it is, it's where the, where the business thrives as well. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of business elsewhere as well in the towns around. I am from Moontah originally and living there now. And this is always, even living there, I always coming up here to do shopping and to go through the stores here. So it, it feels very nostalgic in a way to be here now, my own business.

Speaker 2 02:11

And following on from that question, would you tell us about what the word "community" means to you?

Speaker 3 02:19

Community to me means support in any facet of the word. So the community here having opened a business, the businesses around me have been incredibly supportive and the people as well that have become regular customers too. And in the reading and book community too, it's just the sharing of passions and love and interest and just the ability to always connect with someone else on something that you love is what community is to me.

Speaker 2 02:49

That's wonderful. And what about your own background, Gabby? What inspired you to set up and run your own bookshop?

Speaker 3 02:58

Running a bookshop has been a dream since I was a little girl. It really only took on a solid form a couple of years ago. It was always something a little bit airy, but it was said, one day, wouldn't it be great to have a bookshop? And it was a conversation I was having, and I said the exact same thing to my fiance, and he hit me with some very powerful words, and he said, who aren't you to own a bookshop? And that changed my frame of thinking to, oh, I can do that. And that started the ball rolling and the gears churning and started taking steps towards actually chasing my dream. 

Before this, it was a very different work style. I was in hospitality in several different hospitality areas before this. So doing a lot of weight staff or bar work. And it's very interesting. A lot of it can translate across when you look at it the right way. You know, in serving people and customer service, but definitely stepped into a comfort zone in a sense, which has been wonderful.

Speaker 2 04:06

And we should do a shout out to Sam who's here in one page bookshop looking out to the book shoppers we're talking. How did you go about establishing your own business? There must have been so many things to think about and so much preparatory work to do.

Speaker 3 04:24

There was a lot, there definitely, as soon as you thought you had it all, you would take one step into more research and find those 10 other things that you had to think of. So there was a lot of prep work, a lot of research, reaching out to other bookshops, even other businesses. My fiance, Sam, has his own business here called Microsystems. And he was a brilliant help to me as well in offering advice and connections. And my parents were a big support as well. And they've had their own business for a long time. So I've had a lot of support and a lot of encouragement on all sides. And then started, did a few online courses and got a bit more understanding under my belt and it just, it started, you know, taking it steps from there. Yeah.

Speaker 2 05:12

It's a great location here. You're in the middle of town. It's really easy to find. How did you get the location?

Speaker 3 05:21

It was opportunity. There was a business in here in our space before and we're looking at a few other ones that probably were about the same size or smaller. Still some good locations with them as well, but it was all about finding the best balance on financials and in placement and in the end, as we're tossing up some ideas, this space became available and we jumped on the opportunity and haven't looked back.

Speaker 2 05:47

That's fantastic and the name one more page has a wonderful feel to it what's the story behind choosing this name

Speaker 3 05:56

It's something I've said since I could read. It wouldn't matter if I was 10 minutes late somewhere and hadn't started getting ready or if I was meant to be asleep two hours ago, I would just say, one more page.

Speaker 3 06:09

I'll just read one more page, which anybody who reads knows that it's never just one. So it was the perfect name for the shop. It came quite naturally.

Speaker 2 06:20

It's a terrific name. It really is. It really appeals, catches the eye. And it's a lovely welcoming space here. Thank you. What could visitors expect when they come into your bookshop? Tell us about what they'd describe for us.

Speaker 3 06:34

So when you walk in it's a lovely open floor plan. You have the walls aligned with bookshelves and full of books and then we have tables spaced out around the floor that provide more genres with books covers up such as new releases or we also have a pre -love section and then as you go around the room it leads into the gift wear area such as we stock T2 puzzles games we have lots of bookish gift wear such as bookseats, little beanbag type cushions that will hold the book open comfortably for you you know bookmarks notebooks that whole thing so when you come in you can have the lay of the land from from the first glance and then you can you know really kind of pick your eye for detail as you search through the store.

Speaker 2 07:19

And if you need a rest, you can sit in one of the two lovely comfortable armchairs that are facing the window looking out.

Speaker 3 07:27

Absolutely can, they do catch everyone's eyes and they are wonderfully, wonderfully lovely to sit in. I have to convince myself not to sit in them all day.

Speaker 2 07:38

And you've also expanded to include an online book ordering service. Would you tell us how that worked?

Speaker 3 07:44

That one works by a software that runs through the rest of my system and it was a part of it. So it works like any other online store and you go on and it will show all the stock I have in store as well. So it's like virtually browsing what's on the shelves and then it works through a clicking click so people can just come in, you know, at the end of the workday or a school pickup or I also offer delivery so people, you know, are in more remote areas as well further down the York Peninsula and I can also deliver to them too.

Speaker 2 08:18

That's fantastic. And again, going back to what you were saying before about community, that's a brilliant community service as well.

Speaker 3 08:26

I just want there to be accessibility and availability for a passion that everybody loves and a hobby that everyone loves, but can be very hard to get access to being remote with, even via an online delivery service that's not based here. For sure.

Speaker 2 08:41

So how do you source the books that you have in your store? What homework do you need to do?

Speaker 3 08:49

A lot. There's a lot. So I work with reps who work for all the publishing houses and they will, you know, contact monthly with them and they'll tell me what they think they, you know, that we're expecting something really good here or we're getting good reviews and they can tell me our sales are moving. They give me their expertise and knowledge. But having been open almost a year and a half now coming up is very exciting. I have worked out the tastes of the area too. So that has become a bit of my own personal knowledge. So, you know, the reps won't always recommend a few things that are hidden amongst the list. So I'll add that one into the card as well. And that's really exciting to find new books that people will enjoy.

Speaker 2 09:31

So you have regular customers who come in.

Speaker 3 09:33

Absolutely. Yes, I do have the regulars and they always tell me off for having too many good books in store. What traits are doing good? But they'll come in and they'll have a chat and talk about the books that they've had or ask some of the new ones that are in. So it's been wonderful to build the relationships with those people too.

Speaker 2 09:52

Which again is part of the community dimension. Absolutely. On your One More Page website, you include your reading recommendations. So with regard to reading and recommending books, as well as managing, running the ordering books, approximately how many do you manage to read in a month, give or take?

Speaker 3 10:16

I manage to read on average about four books a month. That's definitely increased since opening the shop as well. It's one of those things that at the very start, when I opened, it was so busy that it was just consumed with the opening. And I realised there was a little bit of a disconnect with selling something that I loved, but then I wasn't being able to kind of enjoy that in the whole be outside of it too. So I just had to read more, yes, but as soon as I started doing that, it just grew on its own and encouraged itself.

Speaker 2 10:46

So do you have favourite writers or do you like a really wide range? I

Speaker 3 10:51

I like a really wide range. I'm not afraid to try a new author. I am learning to step out of the comfort zone of the genres that I quite like, which is fantasy and science fiction. Of those though, Laini Taylor and Jay Kristoff are probably my two auto buyers. If I see that they've released something, I come onto it straight away. But they both have beautiful storytelling ability and wonderful craft and creation of both their stories and their characters and their relationships and the plot. So...

Speaker 2 11:23

Yeah, so as well as you recommending books to your customers, do you follow customer recommendations?

Speaker 3 11:31

I love that you've asked that, I absolutely do, because I know that not everybody likes fantasy and science fiction. So, because I order all the books, I somehow manage to keep a track of them in my mind and am able to, you know, going off recommendations or what I remember reading from them when I order them. It's also the most wonderful thing to have, you know, there's regular customers or the one-off customers that say, this looks fantastic as well. And I definitely take that into account and we'll share that with other people too. So that's been wonderful. Because that expands my knowledge too of what's out there, if I haven't read it so. There's a few customers in particular that are waiting for me to read the books they recommended. They're on the list.

Speaker 2 12:12

[?] being so busy running your own bookshop. As you say, you've got to find the time as well to be able to do that. When do you get to read?

Speaker 3 12:22

In the morning, I'll get a bit of time in the morning if I get up early enough when my cats wake me up to be fed, or usually at night, there's a little bit of the midnight hour that comes out and if I'm lucky and the jobs are all done in the shop, I might do a little bit of reading here as well.

Speaker 2 12:43

Fantastic. Tell me, Gabby, what opportunities do you have to be involved in meet-the-author experiences, either locally or in other places? I'm...

Speaker 3 12:53

I had some really wonderful opportunities with Meet the Author events. Some of them happening through local libraries and they've asked me to come in and attend and books help them as well. I've also had a local author, Trish Stringer. She's from the area and she was my librarian at school where I used to go as well. So it's been a bit of a full circle moment with her as well. Now I'm also selling her books, which has been so wonderful and she's been incredibly supportive too. But having events here, but also having events outside of it being in libraries and in schools and we have a local event every two years down at the field days between here and Port Wakefield. So you've been able to go out there just recently for her latest release. So it's been incredible and I look forward to creating and engaging in more opportunities in the future too.

Speaker 2 13:44

That's wonderful, and it's interesting in other conversations I've had as part of the Profile of a Booksellers series. Other booksellers have mentioned the relationship they have with the local libraries.

On Vision Australia Radio, you're listening to our conversation program, Emerging Writers. Our guest today is Gabby Morby, owner and operator of one more page bookshop in Kadina on the York Peninsula. Gabby, you mentioned on your website that you're able to source a huge range of titles from Australia and overseas. We spoke before about your relationship with Rep. What about sourcing titles from overseas? How do you get a feel for what might be of interest to your customers?

Speaker 3 14:33

Reps again will also always offer their input on them by trying to keep up to date on social media as well and seeing what not only is being publicised, but also that there is a lot of popularity around certain titles and authors. So some of it is from, you know, already published authors, so I know to keep an eye out for them and customers' request and other times it's just seeing those little gems that will pop out and keeping an eye out for them.

Speaker 2 15:00

This next question has come through in the way you've been responding, but I will ask it anyway. What are some of the day-to-day rewards of your work?

Speaker 3 15:10

There's so many. I could probably talk to you for another hour about all the rewards of the job. Connecting with those regular customers that we mentioned earlier, that is one of the most rewarding things. And getting into a conversation where we're both just as excited about a book that maybe only one of us has read or we both have read and it just generates such a lovely feeling. And I know that when there's also other people in the shop while and having those conversations, you know, they kind of lean in a little bit and they listen a little more and then I'll have another conversation with them afterwards. And that's been really incredible connecting on that level. Just knowing about books has been really wonderful and all the new ones that come out. It's definitely a bit of a battle of will. I'm making sure that I'm not just ordering for myself.

And I'm ordering, you know, for the shop as well and the books make it out to the shelf. But it's incredibly rewarding and very soul fulfilling because it just, it feeds that passion. It feeds that love of my own that I have for books and reading and writing and storytelling. So that the biggest reward is being in a space that generates so much positive energy, whether there's a customer in or not. It's been just wonderful.

Speaker 2 16:31

There is a really positive energy. It's great. And you mentioned writing. You're a writer as well.

Speaker 3 16:37

I do write in my spare time. I've been writing in school for a very long time and I couldn't quite tell you where that all struck and started. It's always been then and been a part of me. Love to one day maybe have a book on the shelf as well. For the moment this keeps me very off.

Speaker 2 17:00

Well, when you do, please let us know and we'll come back and talk with you about that.

Speaker 3 17:04

Oh, absolutely, that would be a lovely, lovely goal to have in there.

Speaker 2 17:07

Be brilliant. And following on from my question about the rewards, what are some of the day-to-day challenges involved in managing a book house?

Speaker 3 17:16

I think any business owner could attest to not having enough time and to be in a bookshelf in itself is to keep up with everything, you know, the amount of books that get released every month that I go through with the reps, sometimes you don't even see them all. I think that's probably one of these things is keeping up with all the books coming out and all the ones that'll be of interest as well in the area and then also knowing what's what I've got on the shelf and what's moving and what's not and I think that would be the biggest thing of just that challenge in itself, just making sure I'm up to date on all my orders.

Speaker 2 17:57

So you started a year and a half ago. That was after the main waves of COVID that we had. So what has been the impact of COVID on the book trade in your perspective?

Speaker 3 18:12

From my perspective, I think it's had a positive impact. If we, you know, we can say anything positive has come out from COVID. I think at the time it allowed people who hadn't been reading or hadn't, I guess, found the time to read that when everything was shut down and minimal activity was happening, you know, they started reading again. And for, you know, people who weren't as interested in books or there was a lot of gravitation towards, I guess, watching movies and TV shows and getting, and doom -scrolling and getting caught on the phone and on social media.

And I've noticed a lot of customers now that come in will say to me, I used to read a lot back then, I haven't read in a long time, and I just want to get off my phone and read again. Or even, not even the first bit, they just want to get off their phone and read. And so it's almost the delayed effect from COVID that people are now sick of being on their phone and they're looking for a bit more of an outlet and it's become, reading the community has become so big on social media that I think it's grabbing people's attention now. So I think my opinion would be that it has had a positive effect.

Speaker 2 19:19

That is so interesting. And other booksellers I've spoken with have said, yes, that that is the one positive thing to come out of COVID times is a greater interest in reading. But your perspective on people switching from scrolling, I haven't heard that turn the back, doing scrolling. It's a good turn. But switching from that being glued to the phone to the physical delight of reading a book, there's nothing better than turning the page, that one more page that I read. 

Speaker 3

Absolutely.

Speaker 2 19:53

Since I can remember, since a small child, I've always loved that feeling too of holding a book. Absolutely. And yes, if you're away, you could read online, but nothing beats a book. Nothing.

Speaker 3 20:04

There's another very interesting trend that I've noticed is that a lot of new mothers are coming in or friends of new mothers are coming in and they're all saying buy a book for the first birthday or for the birth of the baby rather than buying toys. So I'm getting a lot of these influx of people wanting to read now, but also people wanting to encourage little ones to read and get away from screens too. So that's been really exciting. 

Speaker 2 20:33

Oh, that's brilliant. That's really good news, that's encouraging. And I was going to ask you about changes that you've noticed in customers' reading interests. So that's one. Yeah...

Speaker 3 20:42

Absolutely. I think there's definitely been, at least here, there's been a great interest in fiction. I guess it's that bit of the escapism we all like when there's a lot happening in the world, and there can be a lot of stresses in life now at the moment. So I've noticed a lot of fiction sells very well, non-fiction does sell great too. A lot of cooking around here being rural, I think there's a lot of spare time here. We feel it one way or another with gardening, cooking, reading. And just there's been a lot, there's a lot of movement with personal development books too has been quite interesting that that has its ebb and flow, but that's been pretty consistent so far this year.

Speaker 2 21:22

That is interesting, so you reckon bookshops will always be an essential part of our community and cultural life in South Australian?

Speaker 3 21:31

I can say 100% absolutely. I hear it very frequently from customers which makes my heart feel very warm and very full that they're so bad to have a bookshop on Yorke Peninsula again and that it's a great time, a physical store that they could come to. So it's, I know I'm doing something good here but every now and then that little bit of when someone expresses it really does make my day too. That's lovely.

Speaker 2 21:57

So what features or special events do you have on the horizon that you can share with us?

Speaker 3 22:03

I'm very excited that book clubs are in the planning. I've definitely have customers who are on the edge of their seat waiting for me to announce them. So I've got book clubs coming in. I also want to do a customer recommendation system too, because one of the things I love in bookshops is seeing little tabs on the shelf. And it's like, oh, usually it's from staff members. And you'll see so-and-so reads, reads such and such. And what they thought, and being community-based and so strongly a part of it, that it'd be, I think it'd be really a lovely part to have customers have their reviews in store as well.

And it's a talking point, you never know, they might be in store when someone looks at it and they can always start a conversation that way. So those are the two big ones for the moment that I'm excited for. And plenty more on the horizon, but I'd like to take my steps.

Speaker 2 22:55

Well, having customer recommendations could start a trend. I know. Great idea. Thank you. And so the book club will meet here.

Speaker 3 23:06

Yes, yes, absolutely, planning on doing after hours event. That way, you know, if people, not everyone can make into the shop, whether that's, you know, family or work or school. So having an after hours event allows them to come and socialize with people too, but also they get that little extra time in the shop that, you know, I can advertise to them and they can just get a bit extra.

Speaker 2 23:31

Brilliant. Now we started our conversation talking about Kadina, so for newbies who are not familiar with this town or with Yorke Peninsula, when are good times to visit and why?

Speaker 3 23:43

It's always a good time to visit, and it is. It's a beautiful area and, you know, in the summer, summer will always be peak time. We get a lot of tourist movement through here because as you go through Cadena and you'll into the York Nature, you get lovely coasts and lovely beaches. And that is always a win in summer. But then through winter as well, I think it can get overlooked because you have some lovely national parks further down you go. And there's beautiful camping grounds and areas that just become so lush through winter too. So I don't ever think there's necessarily a bad time, personally. But I think whatever the preference is, if you want a little bit busier or a little bit quieter to visit.

Speaker 2 24:24

The York Peninsula coast is lovely, it is really gorgeous, I mean it certainly is. So would you tell our listeners exactly where one more page bookshop is located and also your web address and how our listeners can join your mailing list?

Speaker 3 24:42

Absolutely, so I'm located at 17 Hallett Street in Kadina, SA. The website is ompbooks.com.au - and OMP is the abbreviation of One More Page. At the moment, actually, I love that you've brought this up, but don't have a mailing list as of yet. When signing up to the website, it does allow the details to be taken so that I can activate that later on and that is something in the works.

Speaker 2 25:09

That's fantastic. Gabby, it's been lovely speaking with you here at One More Page Bookshop, so all the very best for your business. Our guest on Emerging Writers today was Gabby Morby, owner and operator of One More Page Bookshop in Kadina on the Yorke Peninsula.

This program can be heard at the same time each week, here on Vision Australia Radio, VA Radio on Digital, online at varadio.org and also on Vision Australia Radio Podcasts, where you can catch up on earlier episodes.

Speaker 1 25:56

Thanks for listening to this Vision Australia Radio podcast. Don't forget to subscribe on your preferred podcast platform. Visit varadio.org for more.

Speaker 2 26:07

Vision Australia Radio - Blindness, Low Vision, opportunity.