Books are my business: Hubb16 bookshop manager Bronwynne Malone

How did you get into bookselling?

I went back to college and did a masters in human rights and criminal justice during lockdown.

I was finishing my dissertation when I saw a new bookshop was opening in the town and they were looking for staff. 

I applied because I’ve always loved books — I could always be found in the library or a bookshop. It was an amazing opportunity and I was delighted when I got the job, I love it.

Can you tell me more about the shop?

We stock a wide selection of new titles, including books of local interest. We do our best to support people from the town and locality. We also stock some homeware. We try and cater for everyone.

There were secondhand bookshops in the town but the previous bookshop which stocked new titles had closed, so when we opened after the lockdown, it was really welcomed by the community.

People were tired of looking at screens and had missed being able to browse in a bookshop.

 It is also great to see children getting into reading, we have a good selection of books for the younger age groups, from cloth baby books up to young adult.

How is business?

It has been brilliant, we have had so much local support, which just keeps growing. 

We have some tourist footfall as well, we get a lot of Americans here to see the Dunbrody [Famine Ship] and also because of the Kennedy link.

The Kennedy Summer School is held here every year and we get a lot of speakers at that, so we work with them to stock books and organise signings. 

When they were filming Small Things Like These [the adaptation of the book by Claire Keegan which is set in New Ross] here a while back, there was a great buzz around the town. 

A lot of the crew members came in. We are looking forward to when the movie comes out.

What do you like most about what you do?

Talking with the customers when they come in. Everyone has their own story, and you’re talking to them, getting to know about their life. 

They might be looking for a book for a certain situation in their life — being involved in those little or big moments is really special.

What do you like least?

Finding space on the shelves. I love doing the orders and getting new titles in but the toughest bit is making room for them.

What’s popular in the shop?

Sally Rooney’s new book did OK, it wasn’t flying off the shelves like I heard it was up in Dublin. 

Local books sell well — Small Things Like These is still selling really well, people are buying it and sending it to friends and family abroad, to have that link back to the town. 

Donal Ryan’s books are also popular. In the kids section, Milly McCarthy and the Christmas Calamity [by Cork author Leona Forde] is doing really well.

Three desert island books

My first pick would be Asking For It by Louise O’Neill. She is brilliant, I love the way she addresses real issues in Irish society in a way that gets you thinking.

The next one would be The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak, which is about hope and resilience when things look so bleak. That is another one that can be applied to so many situations that are still happening today.

The third one would be House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. It is a horror novel and no matter how many times you read it, you can see it from a different perspective. There are so many different theories about it, it is a really interesting read. It was originally published in 2000 but came back out in hardback this month.

• Hubb16 is on the longlist for the An Post Bookshop of the Year; for more see www.irishbookawards.ie