Ambitious second-hand and rare book retailer Bookbarn International (BBI), based near Bath, is shaking up the industry by becoming the first to pay royalties to authors whose books it sells.
The firm, based at Hallatrow, has teamed up with the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) to launch The Book Author Resale Right – a pilot programme that will compensate authors whose books are resold by BBl. 
Under the agreement, authors will receive 3% of the net revenues BBI makes on every book of theirs it sells minus the cost of postage and packing, fees for internet platforms such as Amazon and BBI’s handling charges.
The agreement comes as BBI announces it has raised nearly half its £75,000 target to fund future expansion by selling 6% of its business. It is inviting the public to buy shares through leading equity crowdfunder, Crowdcube.
BBI sells hundreds of thousands of second-hand books a year and ALCS makes payments to over 60,000 authors annually from a wide variety of sources.
Entrepreneur, writer and publisher William Pryor, pictured, who took over BBI with a colleague in early 2013 and is now managing director, said the move was the right thing to do.
“Until now authors in the UK have not benefited from the sale of their second-hand works unlike others in the creative industries,” said Mr Pryor, a great great grandson of Charles Darwin.
“I thought it was outrageous that the creators of the products my business deals in don't receive a penny when their books are resold.
“Book writing is the only profession for which there are no residuals: painters, sculptors, video and film-makers, print-makers, musicians and composers all earn something from the continued use of or resale of their work.
“I am an author and small publisher as well as owner of a global second-hand book business, so I wanted to bring my Bookbarn hat into synchrony with my authorial and publishing hats.
“We hope that others who make money from second-hand books will follow our lead.”
