The bookshop queue that lasted nine hours
A debut novelist, one small independent shop and a line that went around the corner twice.
The shop ordered sixty copies, which the owner now describes as the funniest decision of her professional life.
They sold out before the signing officially began. A courier run to a neighbouring city bought them another two hours.
Word of mouth, the old-fashioned kind
There was no advertising campaign. The book spread through reading groups, staff picks and one very persuasive handwritten shelf card.
The author signed until well past closing, then sat on the front step and signed for the people who had not made it inside.
The second printing is already sold through. The shop has ordered four hundred.
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