Officially, Derek Walsh’s career on Preston Market started in 1978. That was the year he opened Derek’s Books, following proudly in the footsteps of his father Fred, whom he had helped with the running of The Book Exchange for years. But, in reality, it started way earlier.
“There’s a lot of pride in what we’ve created,” says Derek. “But it’s not always been plain sailing. One of the biggest downfalls which hit my dad was TV coming on hire purchase, because everybody could suddenly get ahold of a telly. That was a big kick in the teeth for him, while for me it was the supermarket’s net price book agreement.
“We used to do a lot of new books, but we just couldn’t compete at all - they were virtually selling books at wholesale price, so that caused a bit of a blip. Then we had the Kindle and lockdown. I thought it’d be the end of us - who’d want to buy a second-hand book during Covid?’ But we sanitised everything and, on the first day back, it was pandemonium.
“There’s been a boom in reading again,” Derek continues. “I’ve been stunned at how busy it’s been, but a lot of people got into reading in lockdown. As long as I’m still making a few bob, I’ll keep going. I turn 63 in a couple of months, so it’s also about whether the spirit falters on those mornings when you wake up at half-three and it’s howling outside!”
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