An Insight Into..:2519
Henry Layte from The Book Hive
28/09/18
The award-winning bookshop has been with us for nearly a decade now, with admirers from Stephen Fry to Margaret Atwood, they've become an iconic store in the city. We decided to go down and speak to Henry from The Book Hive and publication house Propolis to hear all about the shop, its history, and most importantly, why it is so successful.
First of all, I’ve read that you have a background in drama, and of course in publishing, but what was your journey towards founding The Book Hive?
I was working in theatre still, in London, and I went to work in the bookshop in the National Theatre, just as a job in between acting and writing, but then I fell in love with it. That was just selling plays, really, but I loved the experience of selling books. I did however know that I wanted to move back to Norfolk, which is where I grew up, and when I moved back here I wondered about whether there were proper independent bookshops open in Norwich, and there weren’t, and that was what made me decide that I was going to do it.
That must have seemed unusual, for such a cultural city to not have had its own independent bookshop?
Yes, it was very strange. There have been independent bookshops in Norwich, when I grew up there were 3, and there were great secondhand bookshops too. I remember thinking that if you were going to do it, you had to do it well, right in the centre of town, and in a decent building. Then, when I was working in Amaretto Deli, this building came up, and I had used to look at it and think, if I was going to do it, that would be the place.
What do you think the importance of independent businesses, and particularly bookshops, are to the community?
It’s kind of the other way around, in a way. It’s the importance of the community to the shop. The shop wouldn’t be able to exist without the support of the community, who choose to come to The Book Hive, which is a very different experience to visiting a non-independent bookshop. Right from day one we have really tried to get involved in the community, with events and making sure that the shop doesn’t feel like something separate, it is intrinsically part of what happens in the cultural life of Norwich, and has been from the beginning.
Would you say that Norwich in particular is an especially nurturing place for independent businesses such as your own?
Yes. There’s not much more to add really, it’s brilliant. If you couldn’t make a shop like this work in Norwich, you’re doing something wrong.
Do you think your involvement in the community is necessary, or more of a perk of being independent?
It’s absolutely necessary. It’s partially one of the perks because that’s what makes running The Book Hive fun and rewarding, but it’s also vital because you need to keep that relationship and make everyone who comes in here feel like they are part of the community of the shop, and that the shop is part of their community.
Do you think being an independent bookshop fosters a certain ideology, perhaps of freedom of thought?
I don’t think it fosters it, but I think it’s at home here, that kind of thought. I think people who are attracted to that way of thinking are the kind of people who would come to an independent bookshop in general. The collection of everything that is in here is not driven by the market, but by personal choice, and therefore it reflects a lot of the city. It’s not about selling bestsellers, and so that kind of ideology does exist in a place like this.
Do you think that’s reflected in your publishing imprint Propolis’ books? Your website alludes to the ‘under-represented’ and ‘subversive’.
Yes, I do. Right from the beginning when I started with Galley Beggar Press, which I co-founded, that was driven by the fact that I think, in the bigger world of publishing, too much emphasis is put on simply ‘how can we make money?’. Brilliant quality books, and amazing writers, are being ignored, because they don’t look like big money makers. It’s not necessarily that we’re championing writers like that because we’re trying to be subversive, it’s just that I think these people should have their voices heard, and clearly so does everyone else, because their books sell.
How much work goes into curating the books at The Book Hive?
A lot, but it doesn’t feel like work. From my point of view, I get to choose every book that I would ever want to read or buy, but it isn’t for me, it’s for the shop. It’s great fun, but it is constant, because it has to keep turning over, and remaining current.
Clearly a lot of work and love goes into choosing the books here, how would you say that the way in which they are arranged impacts the experience of visiting the shop?
The idea was that it would be a bit like going to someone’s house, where there were lots of things that you liked, but you can actually take them home. We also wanted to make it more accessible, which is why we have the books, as much as possible, facing outwards. It feels less like a warehouse full of things, and more like a giant display case, in a way. The idea is that it makes it easier, and people react to that. I also believe that great book design is very important to producing and selling books, and if people go to the effort of doing it, there’s not much point in just putting them on the shelf so that you can’t see the covers.
Both The Book Hive and Propolis have names that allude to bees, is there a reason for that?
The reason that the shop is called The Book Hive is because I found it hard to choose a name when I was opening the shop, and asked a friend to come up with some suggestions. He wrote down a few, one of which was The Book Hive, just because the building itself has the shape of a hive, and I liked the connotations. Propolis is then related to that, but I also like the idea of what it means, it means ‘for the city’, and ‘for the people’, it’s the stuff that bees make to seal up the gaps in the hive, so it’s very much doing something for the good of the community, which is the kind of thing I wanted Propolis to do.
Your donation of books to local primary schools earlier this year featured ‘The Lost Words’ (Robert Macfarlane, Jackie Morris) do you feel a responsibility to choose children’s books which foster a similar care for the environment, or wonder at the world around us?
Within the whole collection, yes, but that’s definitely because there are now many fantastic books on that topic, and I do think it’s important.
Do you take any special care when choosing children’s books?
No. I have two small children, I like children’s books, and I choose what I like.
Do you have a favourite part of the shop?
The chair that I’m sitting in now. There have been moments when it has been very difficult, and very stressful, and there have also been moments where it has been very successful and great fun. When I first opened the shop I worked in here 7 days a week, and then we had our first child a few months later, and it was mind-blowingly tiring. I would quite often just come and sit here, when there was a quiet moment in the shop, and look around and think ‘it’s alright, people like it still’. Occasionally I would fall asleep in the chair and a customer would come and wake me up, but I do just like sitting here, and I like this part of the room. It’s kind of calm.
What’s in the future for both The Book Hive and Propolis?
Coming up at the end of October we’re publishing our next book, The Ballad of Syd and Morgan (Haydn Middleton), and it’s a mind-blowingly beautiful book about an imaginary meeting between Syd Barrett and E. M. Forster that explores life and art - it’s wonderful. As for the shop, there are lots of good events coming up in the next few weeks, and now we’re already beginning to talk about how we’re going to celebrate 10 years, which we’re going to do with some other business who will have all been open for 10 years next year.
Finally, what are you reading right now?
A Room with a View by E. M. Forster, I’m re-reading it because of the author being in Propolis’ new book, and I’m loving it. I’m also just about to start reading Melmoth, Sarah Perry’s new book, because I’m interviewing her next week on stage, and then after that I’ll be reading the proof copy I’ve got of Max Porter’s new book, so I’m very excited about all of those.
Thank you very much for your time!
Not at all, thanks for coming!
Images courtesy of The Book Hive