Debbie Young Raises a Glass to a Cotswold Pub's Free Library Initiative

Debbie Young is refreshed by Scottish mountain air

 After a fortnight's holiday near Glencoe in a minimalist cottage and abundant fresh mountain air, I returned to my own cluttered cottage ten days ago determined to ditch surplus possessions. Even (whisper it) a few of my large collection of books...

Fate sent me a helping hand in the form of a request from the landlady of Dinneywick's pub in Kingswood, the next-but-one village from where I live in the Cotswolds. She asked me whether I could donate any secondhand books for the pub's new free library scheme.

I've had a Little Free Library on my front garden wall for a couple of years, and there are more like this popping up all over the country.

My own Little Free Library

A Bookish Pedigree for a Pub

Aggie's interest in doing something similar came as no surprise. When she and her partner Guiseppe ran The Fox in Hawkesbury Upton, they gained a reputation as an innovative, energetic couple full of ideas for keeping a country pub afloat. One of these ideas was to support the first ever Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival when I founded it four years ago. They generously provided the venue, and for the next two Festivals were a key player in its success. As a tribute to their support, the cover of the first Festival's anthology sported a drawing of The Fox by Festival author and illustrator Sophie E Tallis.

The Fox graced the cover of the inaugural HU Lit Fest Anthology

Earlier this year they moved to the delightfully quaint Dinneywicks pub in Kingswood, near Wotton-under-Edge.

Dinneywicks customers will be able to borrow books for free from the Dinney's Little Library whenever they drop into the pub.

"I'll have a pint of paperbacks, please."

This is a valuable social service to a small rural community without its own public library. Customers are welcome to access it at any time during opening hours. Aggie is hoping that it will encourage people to come in for a coffee and chat during the day, as well as during the busier evening hours.

All of the books are donated, and I was glad to be able to deliver two large bags yesterday to help fill their shelves. Most of the books are in as-new condition.

Aggie proudly presents the new Little Dinneys Library

The eagle-eyed reader familiar with my Sophie Sayers Village Mystery novels may spot a brand new set of them on the second shelf down at the right hand side. I was happy to throw those in for free for three reasons:

• I was delighted to have the opportunity to return the favour that Aggie and Guiseppe did me when they were so supportive of the Hawkesbury Upton Lit Fest.
• I know that Dinneys will be actively luring eager readers to the pub to enjoy their new facility, so this is a useful opportunity for me to reach a new audience. 
• When you're writing a series of novels, free sampling is a handy marketing technique, assuming that if a person receives a free book in the series and enjoys it, it's quite likely they'll go on to buy the rest of them.

When Free Books Act As Ambassadors for Authors

It's a similar situation to finding a book in a charity shop or jumble sale. When a reader picks up a book for £1 or even pence there, the author may not profit from that sale, but he does gain valuable exposure and a connection with a potential new fan. That fan may go on to snap up full-price copies from conventional bookshops after that.

I confess I only made this connection a few years back when I was interviewing Hereward Corbett, the proprietor of The Yellow-Lighted Bookshops in Nailsworth and Tetbury. I asked him whether he minded so many charity shops selling books in those towns, assuming he'd view them as competition undercutting his prices.

Debbie Young with Hereward Corbett (photo by Chris Cuppage)

Not at all, he told me, because readers would often take a punt on an unknown author, and once hooked came to his shops to order brand new copies of their other books at full price.

A country pub with books on the menu

I wish Aggie and Guiseppe every success with their new venture, and I hope their example will encourage other pubs to follow suit.

Of course, Dinneywick's isn't just about books: it's a delightful pub, which they've just refurbished to a very high standard, with a cosy, attractive interior, pleasant walled garden and terrific food. So if you're passing that way, do call in to see them - with or without a book to donate!

• For more information about Dinneywicks, visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Dinneywicks/
• For more information about the Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries, visit my website's Sophie section here: https://authordebbieyoung.com/books/fiction/sophie-sayers-village-mysteries/
• For more information about the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival, visit www.hulitfest.com