From a life of face-palming to one of actual palm trees.
Fed up of the wet, dark and gloomy evenings and the constant new lockdown rules coming into force? Well, why not be paid to escape to paradise? Sounds too good to be true, right?
Well, it’s true! A luxury desert island resort in the Maldives has teamed up with Ultimate Library to look for a live-in bookseller to start next month. The eco resort of Soneva Fushi, on Kunfunadhoo Island in the Maldives, has played host to three “barefoot booksellers” since 2018 and is now in search of a new employee. The lucky candidate will be surrounded by books, sea and sand within a five-star resort, plus they can go snorkelling in the clear blue ocean in their free time. Where do we sign up?
With the Maldives reopening to international visitors, Soneva Fushi is now in need of a bookseller to run a small shop on the private island for six months, starting from the end of October until after Easter. The Maldives is said to now be pretty much Covid-free and the resort has strict and rigorous testing procedures in place, so it’s definitely a safe place to be.
When the position of “barefoot bookseller” was previously advertised, the company received thousands of applications from people desperate to escape the grind of daily life. And if you’ve got the skills then you can too! The job application calls for “excellent written and verbal English skills; a lively tone of voice to write entertaining blogs and newsletters that capture the exhilarating life of a desert island bookseller, and the skills to host workshops and events”. The ‘barefoot bookseller’ duties also include the day to day running of the bookshop, managing stock, running the Barefoot Bookseller’s social media accounts and liaising with Ultimate Library and Soneva marketing teams on potential events and collaborations. Whoever is selected will undergo job training remotely before flying to the Maldives.
Barefoot Bookseller in 2019, Aimée Johnson, said: “Being the Barefoot Bookseller was an absolute dream. I got to meet amazing people, work with incredible books and live on a stunning luxury island. Very much the dream job!”
Writing on the Barefoot Bookseller blog, recent bookseller Chrissy Ryan, said her time in the Maldives had been “a whirlwind of adventure where I have developed new passions, discovered new skills and built new friendships”.
“I’ve moved 6,000 miles across the planet, left my friends and family behind me and found a whole new community on a small island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. I’ve tested my boundaries and rediscovered my sense of self,” she wrote.
So, if you fancy having sand between your toes rather than trudging through puddles, and have a love for literature, why not apply? Applications close on 30 September, and you can apply here.