British Book Lovers Can Have It Large on World Book Day

Large Print Bookshop launches on March 6, 2008

March 03, 2008 - Press Dispensary - UK based ‘aged entrepreneur’ Guy Garfit is launching the specialist online bookshop, Large Print Bookshop ( http://www.largeprintbookshop.co.uk ), to coincide with World Book Day on March 6. The company is also supporting a national literacy campaign, in conjunction with the Sun, to promote ‘Quick Reads’ - short stories written by high profile public figures and celebrities, designed to encourage beginners to read.

Other activities to promote Quick Reads 2008 include an Apprentice-style TV series in early March on BBC2, featuring celebrities and an appearance by the Prime Minister with Quick Reads learners on a learning bus.

The Large Print Bookshop is dedicated to serving the needs of people who have difficulty reading conventional print, such as the visually impaired and dyslexic, the elderly and those who would simply prefer to listen to audio tapes or read a larger typeface.

It is the first and only UK based internet bookshop to offer a comprehensive list of titles in English, solely in large print and audio book formats. The extensive range of titles -many imported from America where large print books (including those by British authors) are more widely available - includes a choice of abridged and unabridged fiction and non-fiction, classics and bestsellers right through to the latest releases recommended by Richard and Judy.

The website is easy to navigate, with a range of presentation modes offering varying combinations of text size, colour and background for those with poorer vision, easy content access for non-mouse users and screen readers, and full compliance with international accessibility standards. It has a Book of the Month, recommended reads and best sellers on its home page, the option of browsing of best seller lists and new titles, and the facility to search specific types of publication - or the full catalogue - by author, title, subject, publisher or ISBN.

Managing director Guy Garfit says: “I created a market place through necessity. The concept for Large Print Bookshop was born when I tried to find a large print book for an elderly relative and discovered that not only was the range of titles tiny but the major book sellers and even Amazon didn’t provide what our readers and listeners need. The Large Print Bookshop offers accessibility and choice for book lovers of all ages and abilities”.

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Large Print Bookshop has been in development for over three years; the site went live as a trial in October 2007 and launches on March 6, 2008.

Guy Garfit has worked in publishing, bookselling and digital print all his working life, and had the idea for the Large Print Bookshop shortly before he turned 60. In 2005, Guy won a competition, organised by Saga Magazine to find ‘aged entrepreneurs’ setting up a new business in later middle age, with the proposal for www.largeprintbookshop.co.uk .


The Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) estimates there are two million people, of all ages, unable to read conventional print because of visual impairment, and an additional one million who have some form of reading disability. These figures do not include the large number of adults in the UK who have a low reading age and who would find large print an aid to comprehension. Large print books are also an excellent resource for anyone learning to read.

For further information, please contact:
Guy Garfit, managing director, Large Print Bookshop
Tel: 01763 252687
Email:
Site: www.largeprintbookshop.co.uk