Ullapool Bookshop is a big hit on Twitter after thousands of followers sign up in just a few days – including big name authors like Ian Rankin and Jenni Fagan
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When Katharine Douglas, manager of Ullapool Bookshop, sent out an appeal for a few more followers on Twitter, her aims were modest.
All she was thinking of was attracting four more followers to bring the family owned business up to the 600 mark by the weekend.
Instead, following her appeal on Thursday, by the weekend the small bookshop in Wester Ross had surpassed that aim tenfold, with more than 6000 booklovers and authors from across the world signing up to follow Katharine's Twitter page – and still more coming.
By the start of this week, the shop that just a few days before had less than 600 followers now had more than 7000, providing a more than welcome boost as Katharine prepares to open on Monday for the first time this year as Scotland's Covid lockdown restrictions ease.
"It went a bit mad," she laughed.
"People took it on board, which is the understatement of the decade, but it's absolutely fantastic.
"I was completely blown away. I haven't taken in all the comments, there were so many of them, although one person did say he hoped I was going to follow everybody back, and I thought – Oh no! I'm going to be there for a while.
"It'll be interesting to see what happens now in terms of followers and if it translates into sales eventually or people coming in, but it is lovely that people have been wanting to follow the bookshop."
Author friends of the bookshop, and others yet to visit, helped spread the word, with Inspector Rebus creator Ian Rankin pointing out the shop is conveniently located across the road from a bar and fish and chip shop, adding: "Ticks my boxes!"
Fellow crime writer Liam McIlvanney tweeted his support all the way from New Zealand with a photograph of himself outside the shop and the comment: "Fabulous shop. Look forward to returning some day."
Award-winning novelist Jenni Fagan told her own followers, "Please follow Ullapool Bookshop. They are great!", while historian David C. Weinczok, author of The History Behind Game of Thrones, was delighted to be follower number 1088, adding: "You deserve many more. Can't wait to return.""
The shop, which is owned by William and Katrina Thomson, has kept booklovers supplied with reading material over lockdown through online and postal sales, but Katharine says there is no substitute to having visitors come through the door.
She has been busy getting ready for Monday's re-opening with all the necessary safety measures still in place.
"It will be great to have people coming in and to restock the shop with more than just customer orders and our customers have been so supportive, even while we have been closed to them," Katharine added.
"We have had a number of people ordering books who would have been up here on holiday in the last year, but haven't been able to come and have said they would like to support an independent shop."
Covid has also deprived Ullapool Bookshop and the village as a whole of one of the most important fixtures on its calendar, Ullapool Book Festival, but in the absence of the usual gathering in the village, the festival will be hosting a series of weekly events online from Wednesday, May 26.
"It will be interesting to see how that works," Katharine said.
"We have always enjoyed working with the book festival and it will be interesting to see how the books do. At least we will be open this year, unlike last year which was right in the middle of lockdown. We'll be here and we will certainly have the books, so it should be good."
