Independent Bookshop Week

Independent Bookshops are wondrous places to visit and we hope that over the course of next week that you find your way into one or more to celebrate with them.

Independent Bookshop Week, launched in 2006, is a celebration of independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland. It aims to highlight the vital role independent bookshops play in their communities, and to encourage consumers to shop for their summer reads with their local independent. The campaign takes place annually and is organised by the Booksellers Association, sponsored by Hachette UK, with more than 700 independent bookshops registered to participate.

From bookshop events to special offers, exclusive poems to twinning between indie publishers and bookshops, a BookTok Tour to a nation-wide Big Book Club, the week will have something in store for everyone, including young readers. Here are some of the highlights from this year’s Independent Bookshop Week.

The official ambassadors for this year’s Independent Bookshop Week are renowned broadcaster and author of Murder at the Monastery, Rev Richard Coles; celebrated journalist and author of Everything is Everything, Clive Myrie; and award-winning novelist and author of In the Shadow of the Wolf Queen, Kiran Millwood Hargrave. They will be taking part in bookshop events across the country, including Rev Richard Coles’ event at Beccles Bookshop on Saturday 15 June at 7:00pm, Steyning Bookshop on Monday 17 June at 7:30pm, Pages of Hackney on Thursday 20 June at 8:00pm and Mostly Books on Saturday 22 June at 7:00pm. Clive Myrie’s event will take place at ebb & flo bookshop on Saturday 15 June at 7:30pm and Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s event is at Mostly Books on Thursday 20 June.

Are there any more events taking place? You bet! Independent bookshops around the country have been busy organising a huge number of events for readers big and small, with a few highlights for the little ones including:

· Truman Books in Leeds is hosting Leeds Lit Fest 2024 which will take place from Saturday 15 June – Sunday 23 June. Events include children’s activities, live music talk with Alice Mcllroy, in conversation even with Stuart Maconie, Ajau Close and many more. More info here.

· Serenity Booksellers in Stockport is celebrating The Gruffalo coming to the bookshop to celebrate his 25th birthday on Wednesday 19 June between 11:30am and 4:00pm. More info here.

· Kenilworth Books in Kenilworth will be joined by children’s authors, literary novelists, and non-fiction writers throughout the last day of Independent Bookshop Week, Saturday 22 June between 10:30am – 3:30pm. More info here.

· Mostly Books in Oxfordshire is holding a school event with Kiran Millwood Hargrave on Thursday 20 June. They’ll also be hosting an evening with Rev Richard Coles in conversation with Joanna Cannon about his new book, Murder at the Monastery on Saturday 22 June at 7:00pm. More info here.

· The Orcadian Bookshop in Orkney is hosting story time with Sallianne Smales, author of The Smoozles of Orkneyjar series on Saturday 15 June at 10:30am. More info here. They’re hosting another story time with David Flanagan, author of Uncle Pete and The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep series on Saturday 22 June at 10:30am. More info here.

· The Book Corner in Halifax to have children’s author Phil Earle for a day of guest bookselling and signings on Saturday 22 June.

If you need any book recommendations for your summer reading, independent booksellers have got you covered! Each Independent Bookshop Week, a panel of indie booksellers curates the shortlist of the Indie Book Awards, the best summer reads in four categories – Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s Fiction and Picture Book. For young readers, the shortlist includes the creator of the million-copy bestselling Heartstopper books Alice Oseman with Heartstopper Volume 5, west-end performer Robert Tregoning for The Dress in the Window, the tale of unthinkable bravery Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan and Grandad’s Pride, sharing the power of community and the importance of LGBTQIA+ history by Harry Woodgate. You can find the full shortlist for the Indie Book Awards here. Find more information about Independent Bookshop Week here and an indie bookshop near you here. Follow the latest developments via social media: #IndieBookshopWeek @BooksAreMyBag.