Tag: Independent Bookshop Week

Full line-up for Independent Bookshop Week 2022

·     New indies opening just in time for IBW

·     Kate Mosse, Annie Garthwaite, Shon Faye, William Sieghart, A. M. Dassu, Sarah Winman, Jayson Reynolds, Joanna Cannon, Melvyn Bragg and more to join bookshop celebrations

·     50th anniversary festivities, the first IBW BookTok tour, cooking demonstrations, translation discussions, eco bag-making sessions, Bookshop.org events and much more

·     New indie twinning between Topping & Fitzcarraldo, Bookhaus & Charco Press, Books on the Hill & VERVE Books, Gloucester Road Books & Little Toller among others

18 – 25 June 2022

The Booksellers Association (BA) is delighted to announce additional events and bookshop openings ahead of this year’s Independent Bookshop Week, the annual celebration of independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland taking place between 18-25 June 2022 and with Hachette as the headline sponsor.

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L-R: A. M. Dassu; the inaugural IBW BookTok Tour; Kate Mosse; Sheryl Shurville from Chorleywood Bookshop

A cohort of new independent bookshops will be ready to welcome new customers across the UK, opening just in time for Independent Bookshop Week or moving into new premises ahead of the week.

New indies include:

·     The Book Hive will be opening their doors during IBW in Aylsham, North Norfolk

·     Imagined Things in Harrogate have just opened their new premises on Saturday 4 June

·     Night Owl are a newly opened indie in East Linton, Scotland

·     Bert’s Books have recently opened their doors in Swindon

·     The Cleeve Bookshop Limited has opened last April in Cheltenham

·     Book Bodega have recently opened in Ramsgate, Kent

·     The Manga Crate is a specialist bookshop that opened this spring in Telford, Shropshire

Independent booksellers up and down the country have been busy organising a huge range of activities to celebrate Independent Bookshop Week, from 50th anniversary celebrations to poetry showcases and cooking demonstrations, and from events in atmospheric local churches to Jane Austen-themed parties and eco-bag making sessions.

The line-up for IBW 2022 includes:

BOOKSHOP EVENTS

·     Chorleywood Bookshop will be celebrating their 50th anniversary as well as IBW with a packed week of events, including: an evening with Rev Richard Coles to discuss his new book Murder Before Evensong on Monday 20 June; an evening with best-selling writer and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, talking about his captivating memoir, Back in the Day on Wednesday 22 June; best-selling crime writer, actor and comedian Mark Billingham will be bookseller for a day on Friday 24 June, and much more. More info here.

·     Authors and bookshop lovers Liz Fenwick and Brigid Coady will be setting up in their annual bookshop crawl with the Romantic Novelists Association, visiting indie bookshops including: The Ivybridge Bookshop, St Ives Books, Edge of the World Books, Padstow Bookseller, Falmouth Bookshop, The Book Shop Liskeard, Shrew Books and Hurley Books, as well as the newly opened Bert’s Books in Swindon (on their way back!).

·     Niche Comic Books (Huntingdon) will host an open mic poetry night with poet, musician and storyteller Fay Roberts on Thursday 23 June, and an acoustic night with talented singer-songwriter Christian Smith on Friday 24 June, both at The Commemoration Hall in Huntingdon. More info here and here.

·     Harris & Harris Books (Suffolk) will be hosting a talk with Annie Garthwaite, author of the outstanding debut novel Cecily, to discuss her book, do a reading and sign copies in the atmospheric Clare Church on Wednesday 22 June. More info here.

·     One Tree Books (Petersfield) will be visited by best-selling author Kate Mosse, one of the contributors of Marple: Twelve New Stories, a new collection of short stories featuring the Queen of Crime’s legendary detective Jane Marple, penned by twelve acclaimed authors, on Wednesday 22 June. More info here.

·     Confer-Karnac Bookshop (London) will be celebrating IBW and the first year in their new Spitalfields home with all-day celebrations on Saturday 25 June. Expect a book launch with author Anne Power, 15% off on all books all day, a talk on ‘How to Get Published’ with Christina Wipf Perry (Publishing Director) and Catharine Arnold (Author and Editor of The New Psychotherapist), an afternoon of tea and cake, and much more! More info here.

·     October Books (Southampton) will be holding two free events for IBW: on Thursday 23 June, join translators Megan Berkobien and María Cristina Hall in conversation via Zoom to discuss Montserrat Roig’s first novel, Goodbye, Ramona, a powerhouse story told through the point of view of three generations of women from the same family. On Saturday 25 June, there will be an in-person event with consultant clinical psychologist and author Isabel Clarke, to learn how to transform anger from a problem into a valuable resource, based on her illuminating self-help book How to Deal With Anger. More info here and here.

·     The Ivybridge Bookshop is planning a session of children’s storytelling with author Clare Helen Welsh onSaturday 18 June, based on her book Slime? It’s Not Mine! On Tuesday 21 June, they will hold a Travel Writing Evening with authors Caroline Born, Mary Considine, Biku Ghosh, Andy Grigg and Eric Marks, and on Wednesday 22 June there will be a Romantic Fiction Morning with Liz Fenwick, Veronica Henry, Esme King and Rosie Walsh, including the paperback launch of The Impulse Purchase by Veronica Henry and The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh. On Thursday 23 June, there will be a Poetry Evening with Margaret Arnold, Laurence McPartlin, Gill McEvoy and Annie Jenkin. More info here.

·     Booka Bookshop (Oswestry) are organising a virtual school event on Wednesday 22 June with Naomi and James Jones for the book One More Try (OUP), with a school class going into the bookshop itself to join in the virtual event with Naomi and James from there.

·     Nomad Books (London) are holding three events to mark IBW: a special workshop for children with Jess Rose, author of Fantastic Frankie on Saturday 18 June; an evening with Clare Pooley on Wednesday 22 June to discuss her book The People on Platform 5; and a special tasting on Saturday 25 June with Aparna Prinja and Shital Shah, based on their book Plant Milk Power. More info here.

·     Kibworth Books will be holding a Jane Austen celebration with local writer Gemma Barder, author of the Easy Classics series (Sweet Cherry), on Saturday 25 June, and a signing session in the bookshop with A.M. Dassu to mark the publication of Fight Back on Thursday 23 June. More info here.

·     Book Haus (Bristol) are hosting a great deal of celebrations for IBW: on Monday 20 June they will be hosting an event with Shon Faye to celebrate the paperback launch of The Transgender Issue (Penguin). On Wednesday 22 June they’ll hold a launch for A Woman’s Game (Faber) by Suzanne Wrack, with the event chaired by the head of Bristol City women’s supporters club, D.M. Withers. On Saturday 25 June they will be hosting a launch for Sink the Pink (Quarto) by Glyn Fussell; Sink the Pink is the biggest LGBTQ+ collective in the UK, and this event will be run as part of Bristol Pride. More info here.

·     Gloucester Road Books (Bristol) will be doing an event with Sandor Katz, who will be joining them at the nearby B&A Church Hall on Friday 24 June to talk about his books about fermentation, including Fermentation Journeys (Chelsea Green) and give a demonstration! More info here.

·     BOOK Leighton Buzzard will hold a pre-IBW event with author, comedian and podcast host Andrew Hunter Murray, to discuss his new book The Sanctuary on Thursday 17 June; on Friday 24 June, there will be an evening conversation with Ruth Hogan about her new book, Madame Burova; author and comedian Olaf Falafel will be running a story time, drawing session and will be illustrating a window of the bookshop based on his new book, Blobfish on Saturday 25 June. More info here.

·     The Bookshop on the Green (Bournville, Birmingham) will hold a pre-IBW storytelling session for under 5s on Friday 17 June inspired by Julia Donaldson’s Tales from Acorn Wood; Steve Smallman will be coming to the bookshop with his latest Maggie Sparks books on Saturday 18 June; Thursday 23 June will see an Open Mic Night with poet Chloe Hanks. In addition to author events, the bookshop will be giving out High Five £5 vouchers when spending more than £10 and there will be 10% off all purchases all week, plus a Lucky Dip to win a special prize. More info here.

·     Bert’s Books (Swindon) will have author signings throughout IBW, including: on Sunday 19 June Joanna Cannon, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep and Three Things About Elsie, will be doing a signing and working as a guest bookseller; on Monday 20 June, Sarah Winman, who is shortlisted in the Indie Book Awards for Still Life, will be visiting the shop; on Tuesday 21 June they will be visited by Sunday Times bestselling author CL Taylor; on Wednesday 22 June, BBC presenter and author Sarah Cox will be doing a signing of her new novel Thrown; on Friday 24 June they will be welcoming Nadine Matheson, author of The Binding Room; on Saturday 25 June children’s illustrator Steve Antony will be doing a set of activity for kids.

·     BookBar (London) will be holding the launch party of Winnie M Lie, author of Complicit on Tuesday 21 June. More info here.

·     The Bridge Bookshop (Port Erin, Isle of Man) will be organising an event with Fiona Gell, author of Spring Tides as part of their IBW activity.

·     Hunting Raven (Frome) will be holding an author event with Winnie M Li in conversation with Libby Page, author of The Island Home, on Thursday 23 June, to discuss female ambition and male privilege in the workplace, breaking the silence and building community. More info here.

·     The Book Nook (Stewarton) are running a variety of events for adults and children throughout Independent Bookshop Week. The line-up includes: Lindsay Littleson will be doing a children’s story writing workshop and book signing on Saturday 18 June; on Sunday 19 June, Jacquelyn Armour will be signing and talk about her book Follow Your Joy; on Monday 20, you can find out more about local history from authors Dane Love and Frank Beattie; on Tuesday 21 June, Lorraine Johnston, author of The Story Behind the Stories will be sharing inspiring story of how a challenging diagnosis led to her becoming a children’s author; crime writers Douglas Skelton and Morgan Cry will be doing a talk and book signing  on Wednesday 22 June; on Thursday 23 June there will be an event with authors Michael Malone and Kenny Boyle; and on Saturday 25 June there will be a workshop with children’s illustrator Petra Baillie and an author talk and signing with Sharon Bairden. More info here.

·     Phlox Books (London) will be having writer and journalist Lucy Mangan, author of Are We Having Fun Yet? working as a guest bookseller on Wednesday 22 June.

·     Mr B’s Emporium (Bath) will be doing an author event with Natasha Pulley, who will be discussing her new novel The Half Life of Valery K on Tuesday 21 June and an event with Lucy Mangan on Saturday 25 June. More info here.

·     Shelf Life Books and Zines (Cardiff) invites customers to make their own book bag made out of recycled bouncy castle fabric with Shelf Life and Twin Made on Thursday 23 June. All materials will be provided, no sewing experience needed. More info here.

·     Five Leaves (Nottingham) will be holding a charming event with Zoe Howe, author of Witchful Thinking: The Wise Woman’s Handbook for Creating A Charmed Life on Wednesday 22 June. More info here.

·     Cookbookbake (Hove)are inviting customers to embark on a culinary journey along the ancient spice routes with Eleanor Ford, author of The Nutmeg Trail, on Saturday 18 June, and will be hosting a discussion and cooking demonstration of authentic Indian cooking with Torie True, inspired by her cookbook Chilli & Mint. More info here and here, and on their Instagram page @cookbookbake1.

·     Max Minerva’s (Bristol) are holding an event with author Emma Stonex, who is shortlisted in the Indie Book Awards for The Lamplighters, her uncategorisable mystery/thriller about love and loss, on Monday 20 June. They will also be joined by food writer and founder of Bristol charity 91 Ways Kalpna Woolf, author of Eat, Share, Love, and Miranda El Khazen of Lebanese food importers Shorkk, to discuss the role of food in the community on Tuesday 21 June. More info here and here.

·     Westbourne Bookshop (Bournemouth) will be celebrating IBW and handing out goodie bags all week. Andreina Cordani will be kicking IBW off with a special blog, and Joanna Quinn will be popping in to sign her new book The Whalebone Theatre, which was inspired by the local area. To end it we will be celebrating the Bookshop’s birthday (there will be cake)!

·     The Steyning Bookshop (West Sussex) will be holding ‘An Evening with Two Sussex Crime Writers: Graham Bartlett & Lesley Thomson’ on Friday 24 June. Graham Bartlett, ex policeman and now advisor to crime writers, will introduce his debut novel Bad for Good, while popular crime novelist Lesley Thomson will introduce her new book The Companion. More info here.

·     Sevenoaks Bookshop (Kent) will be open for an after-hours browse on Friday 24 June with special offers, music and delicious local wines, beer and soft drinks from their newly licensed bar. There will also be a free glass of Pimms for everyone who can make it! William Sieghart, author of The Poetry Pharmacy, will be running a poetry consultancy in the café. Torie True, author of the cookbook Chilli & Mint, will be signing copies of her book and serving some of her delicious recipes including her Sri Lankan Coconut Dahl. And Sophia Kingshill, author of Mermaids, will be signing copies of her gorgeous book in the shop. More info here.

·       ebb & flo bookshop (Chorley) is holding a book signing with The Happy News creator Emily Coxhead, to celebrate the launch of her new children’s picture book, Find Your Happy on Saturday 18 June. More info here.

·       Much Ado Books (Alfriston, East Sussex) will be joined by historian and Oxford professor Emma Smith, author of Portable Magic: A History of Books and their Readers, to discuss her wide-ranging tour of human history viewed through the lens of the book and its development on Saturday 25 June. More info here.

·       Dark Peak Books & Gifts (Glossop), formerly known as Bay Tree Books & Gifts, will be unveiling their rebranded bookshop on the first day of IBW, Saturday 18 June, celebrating with fizz and cake. They will be offering tote bags full of goodies to customers when they spend over £30 during IBW.

·       Edge of the World Bookshop (Penzance) are holding a great deal of celebrations for IBW: on Saturday 18 June artists and illustrators Emily Powell and Sarah Moore will be creating a special bookshop window, ahead of an event where they’ll talk about the power of art for your mental wellbeing; on Thursday 23 June, Joanna Nadin will be visiting local a primary school and entertaining children with stories about the very worst class in the world; also on Thursday 23 June Sharon Wright, author of Mother of the Bronte’s will share the secrets behind Penzance’s connection to the most famous literary family of all; on Friday 24 June, Jane Johnson will be launching her new book The White Hare in the Solomon Browne Hall, Mousehole. More info here.

·       Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books (Newcastle upon Tyne) will be welcoming local author Saviour Pirotta for a wonderful session for over 7s to hear his stories and take part in activities on Saturday 25 June. In addition, they’ll have a guest window decorated by a local illustrator, a special signed book display, and an extra special family bingo night! More info here.

·       Bookshop by the Blackdowns (Wellington, Somerset) will welcome ‘Queen of Historical Fiction’, Emma Carroll on Saturday 18 June, where she will be doing a book signing, promoting her new book Escape to the River Sea, a sequel to Eva Ibbotson’s Journey to the River Sea. More info here.

·       Books Alive (Hove) will be doing an event on Saturday 18 June with local writer Jocelyn-Anne Harvey, author of Not Knowing but Still Going, a buoyant hope for uncertain times, where she will talk about how she came to write this unusual book on how it might have felt for the women who would have been on Noah’s Ark. More info here.

·       Collected Books (Durham) will hold an event on Monday 20 June at St Chad’s College bringing together Avril Joy and Anna Barker, two County Durham-based writers to read from their recently published short story collections and discuss their experience of writing across the range of forms, from novel to story to poem. More info here.

·       Blue Bear Bookshop (Farnham) will hold a book launch event with Becky Jerams and Ellie Wyatt, for their book The Songs You’ve Never Heard, a contemporary celebrity YA ‘booksical’ – a YA novel accompanied by an album of songs featured in the story – on Thursday 23 June. On Friday 24 June, there will be an evening with Ed Patrick discussing his comedy career and latest book – Catch Your Breath.More info here and here.

·       The Rabbit Hole (Brigg) will be holding The Totally Locally Brigg Indie Market on Saturday 18 June, with locally based authors and musicians taking place in the market as well as outside and inside the shop during the day, to celebrate IBW and indies. On Wednesday 22 June, they will do an evening event with Matson Taylor, talking about his new book All About Evie, sequel to The Miseducation of Evie Epworth, which includes a number of local references. On Thursday 23, they’re holding a live Zoom event with local schools with children’s author Aisha Bushby. Finally, on Friday 24 June, Indie Book of the Month author A. M. Dassu will be visiting the shop. Throughout IBW, The Rabbit Hole will also be collaborating with Hull City Council at The Big Malarkey Festival. More info here.

BOOKTOK TOUR

Independent Bookshop Week 2022 will see its first ever BookTok Tour, with participating BookTokers from Northumberland, London, Manchester, St Neots (Cambridgeshire), York, Sunderland, Cambridge, Wolverhampton and Banchory (Aberdeenshire) joining the celebrations by visiting their local independent bookshops and sharing content about the Indie Book Awards.

Participating BookTokers include: anya.reads (61.6K folloers), booksbyz (98K followers), daisreads (100.4K followers), frostgalaxy (20.8K followers), ninasbookshelf (31.3K followers), the_caffeinatedreader (37.5K followers), tolusuniverse (42.7K followers), whatbritreads (49.3K followers) and bowiesbooks (16.3K followers).

PODCAST AND ONLINE

·     Bookshop.org, the online bookstore that supports independent bookshops, will be holding two virtual events during IBW: on Thursday 23 June, Jason Reynolds,who is shortlisted for the Indie Book Awards for When I Was the Greatest  (illustrated by Akhran Girmay), will be in conversation with Carolynn Bain from Afrori Books at 7pm; on Tuesday 21 June, BodéAboderin (AKA Papa B) willdiscuss Fatherhood by Papa B with Candice Brathwaite and fellow fathers and father-figures Tom Cox, Robert Douglas and Niran Vinod at 7pm. Tickets to both events are available to all customers that buy a copy of the books form a participating indie, or from Bookshop.org. In addition, Bookshop.org will be holding a virtual event with Indie Book Awards shortlistee Michelle Zauner, author of Crying in H Mart, to be broadcast just after IBW.

·     Simon Savidge and Melanie Sykes, the official Book Club for Indie Bookshop Week, will be reading the Indie Book Awards shortlisted book Scoff by Pen Vogler for their June Book Club, which they will then discuss on their YouTube channel. More info here.

·     Round Table Books (London) will be hosting a podcast recording of Down the Rabbit Hole, the podcast for grown-ups who love children’s books, hosted by Caroline Carpenter, Hannah Love, Charlie Morris and Sam Sedgman. The episode will see the special guest Namina Forna, YA author of The Merciless One (Usborne) in conversation with guest host Stacey Thomas, book reviewer at Bad Form Review and judge on The Diverse Book Awards longlist. The episode will air on Saturday 18 June, the first day of IBW. More info here.

·     Gerrards Cross Bookshop (Buckinghamshire)will be hosting a recording a show of the podcast We’d Like A Word, a radio show and podcast about the words we write, the words we read, the words we say, hosted by Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan. In their special IBW episode, they’ll interview author Conn Iggulden as well as bookseller Sheryl Shurville. More info here.

·     Denny’s Books (Thames Ditton, Surrey)will be hosting an episode of the podcast Writers Routine, a show discussing the work and lives of writers, hosted by Dan Simpson. More info here.


INDIE TWINNING

·     Topping & Company Edinburgh will be twinning with award-winning indie press Fitzcarraldo Editions. There will be a bespoke window display, tote bags and postcards available throughout the week.

·     Books on the Hill (St Albans) will be twinning with VERVE Books, with celebrations including: author event with Jane Jesmond on Saturday 18 June in the bookshop; podcast episodes with VERVE authors Laurie Petrou and Carolyn Kirby; a social media giveaway for a personalised book buying experience at Books on the Hill; co-branded bookmarks; an special IBW window display and more. More info here.

·     Next Page Books (Hitchin) will be teaming up with children’s book publisher Barrington Stoke during IBW. They will hold an ‘Introduction to Barrington Stoke’ evening event for local parents and carers in the shop on Tuesday 21 June, where Jane Walker will talk about how their amazing books can help children break down barriers to reading and ensure that ‘every child can be a reader’.  In addition, Jane will also be a bookseller for a day on the same day, helping with displays, booking in stock and chatting to customers!

·     Bookhaus (Bristol) are going to partner with the Latin American-focused indie publisher Charco Press. On Saturday 18 June they will be hosting an event in the bookshop with two of their translators, Daniel Hahn and Rosalind Harvey. More info here.

·     Gloucester Road Books (Bristol) will be working with Little Toller to highlight a big range of their wonderful publishing in store, and offer some free goodies when people buy one of their books from the shop. They will also hold an event with Little Toller author, Davina Quinlivan, who will be talking about her book Shalimar with Pippa Marland in store on Wednesday 22 June. More info here.

·     DRAKE The Bookshop (Stockton-on-Tees) are twinning with local press b small publishing. They will be doing a competition for children to win a copy of The Encyclopaedia of STEM Words, plus copies of the book for their school library too, and organising STEM storytime in the bookshop.

They are also working with four primary schools on a Reading Ambassador project, asking ambassadors to create some comments and reviews of the book, with the best reviews winning a set of books for their school library.

Joanna Cannon said: “Independent bookshops are magical places, staffed by passionate and enthusiastic booksellers who have the uncanny knack of always being able to find you exactly the right book, at exactly the right time.

“Independent Bookshop Week is a time to celebrate and support bookshops across the UK, and I’m so looking forward to being a bookseller for a day with the wonderful Alex at the gorgeous Bert’s Books.”

Naomi Jones said: “Indie bookshops are total treasure troves and often a really important part of their local community.

“They’re staffed by friendly, passionate booksellers who are full of brilliant recommendations. As an author, and someone who loves bookshops and books, I think it’s really important to support them which is why I’m thrilled to be involved with Independent Bookshop Week.”

Emma Bradshaw, Head of Campaigns at the BA, said: “We’re so excited for the start of Independent Bookshop Week next week! The breadth of events organised by booksellers across the UK and the number of bookshops taking part is larger than ever.

“After two years of the campaign taking place under COVID restrictions, we’re thrilled to see so much in-store activity lined up. Whether they are joining an author event, attending a children’s story time or family activity, enjoying special offers and promotions, or just buying their next great read, we know all book-lovers are in for a treat this June.”

Follow the latest developments via social media: #IndieBookshopWeek @BooksAreMyBag

Local indie bookshops set to celebrate Independent Bookshop Week

·       Authors Rebecca Solnit, Richard Coles, Dorothy Koomson, Patrick Gale, Emma Stonex, Leroy Logan, Tessa Hadley, Eilidh Muldoon, Stephen Payne and more to join celebrations in indies across the UK

·       Bookshop-curated literary festivals, special podcast recordings, poetry showcases, indie offers and exclusives, literary quizzes, bookshops turning into “gnome man’s land” and much more

·       Indie twinning with Andersen Press, And Other Stories, Head of Zeus, Manchester University Press, Guppy Books, Louise Walters Books

The Booksellers Association (BA) has revealed the line-up for this year’s Independent Bookshop Week, the annual celebration of independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland, taking place between 18 – 25 June 2022 and with Hachette as the headline sponsor.

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Top L-R: The Portobello Bookshop’s mural by Eilidh Muldoon (Edinburgh); Brighton Book Festival logo; The Ginger’s Cat Children’s Bookshop (Kilmacolm). Bottom L-R: indie exclusive edition of The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn (Fig Tree); author Tessa Daly; The Big Malarkey Festival logo

With nearly 700 independent bookshops confirmed to take part, celebrations taking place up and down the country include: literary festivals organised by independent bookshops, including the inaugural Brighton Book Festival; special podcast recordings taking place inside the bookshops; poetry showcases; nation-wide bookshop crawls; exclusive early releases for indies; beautiful window displays; local school events, and much more.

Returning with lots of exciting activities, Independent Bookshop Week is encouraging book-lovers of all ages to visit their local independent bookshop and join the celebrations this June.

The line-up for IBW 2022 includes:

BOOKSHOP EVENTS

·     Rev Richard Coles will be doing a tour of independent bookshops during IBW, signing stock of his crime debut Murder Before Evensong (Orion). The tour will stop at Chorleywood Bookshop (Hertfordshire) on Monday 20 June and City Books (Hove) on Wednesday 22 June, among others.

·     Marcus Leaver, Welbeck co-founder and author of A Little Book About Books, will visit 60 independent bookshops throughout Independent Bookshop Week, with the book available exclusively from independent bookshops until September. Confirmed indies include Not Just Books Limited (Thetford), The Book Lounge (Carnforth, Cumbria), The Mainstreet Trading Company (St Boswells), The Edinburgh Bookshop, Booka Bookshop (Oswestry), The Poetry Pharmacy (Shropshire), The Book House (Thame), The Aldeburgh Bookshop, The Holt Bookshop (Norfolk) and The Book Case (Lowdham).

·     The Summer Bookshop Crawl will be setting up nation-wide bookshop crawls, taking place between 17-19 June and covering 10 different locations, including Belfast, Bristol, Edinburgh, Falmouth, Hastings, Leicester, Newcastle, Norwich, Sheffield and Stratford upon Avon.

As well as indie bookshops, their tours will also include second hand and charity bookshops. Participants interested in doing a self-guided bookshop crawl will be able to download a welcome pack from the website including the map, downloadable routes, and a bookshop crawl ID that they can use to claim any discounts and perks from the local bookshops they visit. More info here.

·     Authors and avid bookshop lovers Liz Fenwick and Brigid Coady will be setting up in their annual bookshop crawl with the Romantic Novelists Association, visiting indie bookshops across the country and meeting local booksellers.

·     Afrori Books and The Feminist Bookshop (Brighton) will be launching the first Brighton Book Festival on 24-26 June, with headline names including Guvna’B, Yvonne Bailey Smith, Dorothy Koomson, Leroy Logan, Sabba Khan and Alison Rumfitttaking in discussions covering the myth of the mainstream, masculinities, feminist futures, queer books in Brighton and British culture in books. There will also be a variety of workshops focussing on adapting books to film, pitching your novel, and developing soundtracks for books. More info here.

·     Drake The Bookshop (Stockton-on-Tees) are bringing back their Great North Author Tour (GNAT) on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 June. The tour will see ten authors deliver 20-minute performances and creative writing workshops in local schools on Friday, before going on a whistle stop tour of Stockton, Saltburn, Guisborough, Loftus, Thirsk and Ripon on Saturday, stopping in local bookshops to sign copies of their books. More info here.

·     Portobello Bookshop (Edinburgh) will be doing an event with children’s author and illustrator Eilidh Muldoon, who will be visiting the bookshop on the afternoon of Monday 20 June, to do a reading and a colouring session aimed at young children. On Friday 24 June, Rebecca Solnit will be coming to Edinburgh for a special evening event at the Assembly Rooms on George Street, to discuss her two latest books Orwell’s Rosesand Recollections of My Non-Existence, in conversation with award-winning journalist and author Chitra Ramaswamy. More info here.

·     The Rabbit Hole (Brigg) will be collaborating with Hull City Council at The Big Malarkey Festival, as well as putting together a series of author events and children’s activities to mark IBW. More info here.

·     The Ginger Cat Children’s Bookshop (Kilmacolm) will be doing an event with Amy B Moreno on Monday 20 June at St Columba’s Junior School in Kilmacolm, to celebrate Amy’s book A Billion Balloons of Questions. 

·     Griffin Books (Penarth) is organising lots of events as part of the Penarth Literature Festival to coincide with IBW, with daily events featuring Caryl Lewis, Pamela Petro, Peter Finch, Tessa Hadley, Lauren Ace; a crime writing workshop with Katherine Stansfield; a poetry showcase hosted by Penarth-based poet Stephen Payne; literary quizzes and more. More info here.

·     The Bookery (Crediton) will hold a series of events to mark IBW, including: Patrick Gale and award-winning singer-songwriter Jim Causley will be chatting about Patrick’s latest book Mother’s Boy and Jim will be performing songs based on Causley’s poems on Tuesday 21 June; best-selling authors Laura Shepherd-Robinson and Emma Stonex will be in conversation in an event on Wednesday 22 June; there will be one-on-one ‘illustrator clinics’ with author and illustrator Sarah McIntyre, who is also a patron of The Bookery, on Saturday 18 June. More info here.

·     Niche Comic Books (Huntingdon) will host an open mic poetry night with performance poet, musician and storyteller Fay Roberts on Thursday 23 June, and an acoustic night with talented singer-songwriter Christian Smith on Friday 24 June, both at The Commemoration Hall in Huntingdon. More info here and here.

·     Harris & Harris Books (Suffolk) will be hosting a talk with Annie Garthwaite, author of the outstanding debut novel Cecily, to discuss her book, do a reading and sign copies in the atmospheric Clare Church on Wednesday 22 June. More info here.

·       One Tree Books (Petersfield ) will be visited by best-selling author Kate Mosse, one of the contributors of Marple: Twelve New Stories , a brand new collection of short stories featuring the Queen of Crime’s legendary detective Jane Marple, penned by twelve acclaimed authors, on Wednesday 22 June, 10-12pm. More info here.

·       Confer-Karnac Bookshop (London) will be celebrating IBW and the first year in their new Spitalfields home with all-day celebrations on Saturday 25 June, 11– 5pm. Expect a book launch with author Anne Power, 15% off on all books all day, a talk on ‘How to Get Published’ with Christina Wipf Perry (Publishing Director) and Catharine Arnold (Author and Editor of The New Psychotherapist), an afternoon of tea and cake, and much more! More info here.

·       Chorleywood Bookshop will be celebrating their 50th anniversary (!) as well as IBW with a packed week of events, including: Boutique Book Club with novelist Clare Pooley to discuss her new book, The Authenticity Project, a joyful, uplifting novel about truth, friendship and the power of connection on Tuesday 21 June; an evening with best-selling writer and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, talking about his captivating memoir, Back in the Day on Wednesday 22 June; best-selling crime writer, actor and comedian Mark Billingham will be bookseller for a day on Friday 24 June, and much more. More info here.

PODCAST AND ONLINE

As well as in-person events, Independent Bookshop Week celebrations will include lots of online activity, including:

·     Simon Savidge and Melanie Sykes will be the official Book Club for Indie Bookshop Week again this year. They’ll be reading a book from the Indie Book Awards shortlist for their June Book Club, which they will then discuss on their YouTube channel. More info here.

·     YouTube influencer Lauren and the Books will be hosting a Cosy Reading Night on Saturday 25 June between 7-10pm to celebrate Indie Bookshop Week. More info here.

·     Round Table Books (London) will be hosting a podcast recording of Down the Rabbit Hole, the podcast for grown-ups who love children’s books, hosted by Caroline Carpenter, Hannah Love, Charlie Morris and Sam Sedgman. The episode will see the special guest Namina Forna, YA author of The Merciless One  (Usborne) in conversation with guest host Stacey Thomas, book reviewer at Bad Form Review and judge on The Diverse Book Awards longlist. The episode will air on Saturday 18 June, the first day of IBW. More info here.

·     Denny’s Books (Thames Ditton, Surrey)will be hosting an episode of the podcast Writers Routine, a show discussing the work and lives of writers, hosted by Dan Simpson. More info here.

·     Gerrards Cross Bookshop (Buckinghamshire)will be hosting a recording a show of the podcast We’d Like A Word, a radio show and podcast about the words we write, the words we read, the words we say, hosted by Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan. More info here.


INDIE TWINNING

Building on the success of previous years, the Indie Twinning strand of IBW is coming back for a third year, with independent publishers and independent bookshops teaming up to develop bespoke programmes of activity across the country. Confirmed indie twinning activities include:

·     The Book Hive (Norwich) will be twinning with independent publisher And Other Stories, to mark the publication of The Visitors by Jessi Jezewska Stevens. Inspired by the events in the book, set on the eve of the Occupy Wall Street protests, and whose protagonist suffers from hallucinations of a garden gnome, The Book Hive’s three-storey building will become “gnome man’s land”, inviting customers to build a new society and suggest a law or policy for the soon-to-be independent utopia/dystopia. At the end of the week, a team of booksellers and publishers will pick their favourites, who will be rewarded with an And Other Stories goody bag.

·     October Books (Southampton) are twinning with Manchester University Press. They will be doing a book launch event on Thursday 23 June for Borderland by Phil Hubbard, who used to work at October Books as a bookseller.

·     The Ginger Cat Children’s Bookshop (Kilmacolm) will be twinning with Andersen Press, with a window displays featuring a hand-painted standee from Robert Starling based on his new book The Bookshop Mice, along with activity sheets and signed bookplates; point of sale material from Elmer, The Bolds, Phil Earle, Harry Woodgate, and signed book plates from David McKee and Ross MacKenzie.

·     Forum Books (Corbridge) are delighted to be twinning with Head of Zeus, with more plans to be revealed.

·     Wallingford Bookshop (Oxfordshire) will be twinning with Guppy Books, and are planning a combination of online and in person activity, with something happening each day of IBW.

·     Green Dragon Bookshop (Crewkerne, Somerset) will be joining forces with the Louise Walters Books, a one-woman independent press from Northamptonshire.

·     Topping & Company Edinburgh will be twinning with award-winning indie press Fitzcarraldo Editions. There will be a bespoke window display, tote bags and postcards available throughout the week.

·     Books on the Hill (St Albans) will be twinning with VERVE Books, with celebrations including: author event with Jane Jesmond on Saturday 18 June in the bookshop; podcast episodes with VERVE authors Laurie Petrou and Carolyn Kirby; a social media giveaway for a personalised book buying experience at Books on the Hill; co-branded bookmarks; an special IBW window display and more.

·     Next Page Books (Hitchin) will be teaming up with children’s book publisher Barrington Stoke during IBW. They will hold an ‘Introduction to Barrington Stoke’ evening event for local parents and carers in the shop on Tuesday 21 June, where Jane Walker will talk about how their amazing books can help children break down barriers to reading and ensure that ‘every child can be a reader’.  In addition, Jane will also be a bookseller for a day on the same day, helping with displays, booking in stock and chatting to customers!

SPECIAL EDITIONS AND PUBLISHER EXCLUSIVES

·     The Independent Bookshop Week children’s bag will feature the mouse and the lion from the best-selling, award-winning picture book The Lion Inside (Hachette Children’s Group) by Rachel Bright and Jim Field. The bag will be part of the Independent Bookshop Week point of sale kits, which will be available exclusively from indie bookshops during IBW. To celebrate the upcoming publication of The Gecko and the Echo, there will also be a limited number of bookshop standees featuring Rachel & Jim’s gorgeous new character, Goldie.

·     Fig Tree (Penguin Random House) will produce an indie exclusive edition of The Whalebone Theatre, a wonderful debut by Joanna Quinn, published on 9 June. The exclusive edition will be signed by the author, with blue sprayed edges and foil on the cover.

·     We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza (HarperCollins) will have an indie bookshop exclusive edition with gorgeous blue sprayed edges, as well as POS packs including bookmarks, posters and tote bags, which will be released exclusively for indies ahead of official publication on 7 July.

·     Rex: Dinosaur in Disguise by Elys Dolan (Walker), a comedy of errors starring the instantly-loveable Rex – the first book ins a series for 7+ readers – will make available for independent bookshops a standee, print, bookmarks, poster and downloadable activity pack, perfect for keeping little dinosaurs busy.

·     Celebrate IBW and the 10th birthday of George, everyone’s favourite calamitous dog from Oh No, George!  (Walker) – with a delightful “why not visit your local bookshop?” poster, designed exclusively for IBW by award-winning Chris Haughton.

Emma Bradshaw, Head of Campaigns at the BA, said: “We can’t wait to celebrate Independent Bookshop Week with indie booksellers and book-lovers across the country this June.

“From author events to school initiatives, and from podcast recordings to their own literary festivals (!), independent booksellers are proving ever full of creativity and dedication, not only as they curate a special week-long line-up of activities, but also in their everyday work, as pillars of their high streets and local communities.

“We invite everyone to join us as we celebrate the brilliance of independent booksellers, during and beyond Independent Bookshop Week!”

Richard Coles said: “Nothing gives me more pleasure than the thought of Canon Clement, his mother and his dachshunds finding their home at independent bookshops around the country and I can’t wait to meet as many booksellers as I can!”

Follow the latest developments via social media: #IndieBookshopWeek @BooksAreMyBag

What a first year for The Portobello Bookshop!

When Jack founded The Portobello Bookshop in July last year, never could he have imagined that he’d be celebrating Portobello’s one-year anniversary in the midst of a global pandemic!

While the physical shop might be currently closed, Jack is determined to keep the activity going (safely!) and keep bringing books to his wonderful customers.

After weeks of hard work and planning, the bookshop set up a new online order system, and they will soon be launching a click-and-collect service.

In spite of the current challenges, Jack and his team are remaining hopeful and creative, and are still planning to celebrate Independent Book Week, in whatever form might be safe to do so.

Their current plans involve a virtual event with children’s author Emily MacKenzie, whose latest book Beware! Ralfy Rabbit and the Secret Book Biter (Bloomsbury) is published this month.

Emily will also be curating a stunning shop window for Portobello.

Jack said: “For the time being we don’t plan to open as a physical shop, but instead to run a click and collect service, as we keep an eye on things and open at a time when we feel it is ok to do so. 

We’re going to make sure our shop is as safe as possible. This will include distancing signs around the interior of the shop, a shield for our till area, and of course hand sanitiser always available.

“The interior of our shop was always designed for easy access and navigation and the flow of it from left to right will allow us to hopefully ensure people can move around safely and browse easily.”

 

Jack talked about their plans for Independent Bookshop Week: “IBW is a wonderful thing and we’re pleased that it will be possible for us to do something for it with the lockdown having been lifted a little.

“We’ve got local author and illustrator Emily MacKenzie popping in to the shop to do an inspiring window featuring characters from her latest book Beware Ralfy Rabbit and the Secret Book Biter, a book all about books, reading and the love of literature.

“She’ll also be doing an online event, most likely streamed via our Instagram, which both children and adults are welcome to join!”

From online events with bestselling authors, to a picture book celebrating key workers, to virtual bookshop crawls, Independent Bookshop Week 2020 will go ahead this year, taking place 20-27 June as planned.

Organised by the Booksellers Association (BA) and sponsored by Hachette, the annual celebration of independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland this year has adapted to include online events to give book lovers across the country access to authors and books during lockdown.

The week will celebrate the role indie booksellers have continued to play in building a sense of community during the pandemic, as well as encouraging customers to support their local highstreet by shopping local at what is a particularly challenging time for small retailers.

VIRTUAL EVENTS

Confirmed events taking place during IBW include:

  • Meg Rosoff, bestselling author of How I Live Now, will be joining the series of virtual events “At Home with 4 Indies”, created by booksellers from Book-ish (Crickhowell), Linghams (Wirral), Forum Books (Corbridge) and Booka Bookshop (Shropshire). The series, which since the lockdown began has included guests such as Joe Wicks, Robert Webb, David Baldacci, and Marian Keyes offers all book-lovers a new, special kind of author event. The event with Meg Rosoff will be live on the At Home with 4 Indies Facebook page on Tuesday 23rd June at 8pm.
  • Maggie O’Farrell, bestselling author of the Women Prize nominated novel Hamnet, will join At Home with 4 Indies on Friday 26th June at 8pm.
  • Cressida Cowell, Waterstones Children’s Laureate will be a holding a virtual bookshop tour on her social channels, featuring each of the following indies on a different day for the duration of IBW. Bookshops confirmed so far are Mainstreet Trading (Melrose), Little Ripon (North Yorkshire) and Silverwood Events (Kirkham, Preston).
  • Steve Chambers, co-author of Resist: Stories of Uprising, a collection of stories and essays exploring two millennia of British protest, will be doing a virtual event with Bookmarks Bookshop (London) on Friday 26th June.
  • Julia Bell, novelist, essayist, poet, creative writing course director and author of Radical Attention will be taking over the social channels of Newham Bookshop (London) and sharing her bookshop picks during the week.
  • Tim Burgess will be curating a special book-inspired playlist, released on his Twitter channel at 3pm on Sunday 21st June.
  • To celebrate National Reading Group Day, which coincides with the first day of IBW, The Reading Agency will be encouraging reading groups across the UK to read The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri. There will be a discussion with the author on Facebook on Saturday 20th June.

INDIE BOOKSHOPS AND PUBLISHERS PAIR UP

To underline the many ways in which small businesses are supporting each other at this difficult time, IBW wills see independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland being “twinned” with indie publishers, in a series of special events and exclusives.

Confirmed twinned bookshops and publishers include:

  • Saraband Books (Glasgow and Manchester), indie publisher of fiction, nature writing, and environmental reads will be twinned with Sam Read Bookseller (Grasmere, Lake District).
  • Publishers of “the best of Chinese literature”, Alain Charles Asia (West Sussex) will be promoting 11 indie bookshops from Sussex throughout the week via its social channels.
  • Indie publisher Wrecking Ball Press (Hull) will be partnering with The Rabbit Hole (Brigg) and will be hosting virtual events with a selection of their authors, providing signed titles and more.

EXCLUSIVES

An early release of Meg Rosoff’s new children’s book, The Great Godden will be available exclusively in indie bookshops during Independent Bookshop Week, with signed copies and tote bags available for customers, before its general release in July.

Thank You, Heroes, a new picture book celebrating key workers by Patricia Hegarty and Michael Emmerson will be release exclusively in indies from 20th June, ahead of wider publication in July. Little Tiger will be donating all publisher profits on UK sales to NHS Charities.

INDIE BOOK AWARDS

The shortlist for the Indie Book Awards 2020, this year in their fourteen edition, has been revealed, as voted for by independent booksellers across the UK and Ireland.

Spanning four categories – Fiction, Children’s Fiction, Picture Book and a new Non-Fiction prize – the awards celebrate the paperback books of the year, as chosen by independent bookshops, and are part of Independent Bookshop Week (20 – 27 June 2020), the annual celebration of indie bookshops organised by the Booksellers Association.

Included in this year’s shortlist are Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo (Girl, Woman, Other), international best-selling author Elif Shafak (10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World), Baillie Gifford Prize winner Hallie Rubenhold (The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper), former Children’s Laureate Julia Donaldson (Animalphabet) and Irish Children’s laureate Sarah Crossan (Toffee).

Chosen by a judging panel of independent booksellers, authors and industry influencers, the Indie Book Awards winners will be announced on Friday 26 June 2020, the penultimate day of Independent Bookshop Week.

The full Indie Book Awards 2020 shortlist:

FICTION SHORTLIST

The Offing by Benjamin Myers (Bloomsbury)

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak (Penguin)

You Will Be Safe Here by Damian Barr (Bloomsbury)

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Picador)

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (Corsair)

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo (Penguin)

NON-FICTION SHORTLIST

Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner (Hodder & Stoughton)

War Doctor by David Nott (Picador)

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold (Black Swan)

Extraordinary Insects: Weird. Wonderful. Indispensable. The Ones Who Run Our World by Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson (Mudlark)

Mudlarking by Lara Maiklem (Bloomsbury)

No Win Race by Derek A Bardowell (Mudlark)

CHILDREN’S FICTION SHORTLIST

Toffee by Sarah Crossan (Bloomsbury)

Deeplight by Frances Hardinge (Macmillan Children’s Books)

Chinglish: An Almost Entirely True Story by Sue Cheung (Andersen Press)

The Star Outside my Window by Onjali Q. Rauf (Orion Children’s Books)

The Somerset Tsunami by Emma Carroll (Faber & Faber)

The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson (Usborne)

PICTURE BOOK SHORTLIST

Animalphabet by Julia Donaldson & Sharon King-Chai (Two Hoots)

Greta and the Giants by Zoe Tucker & Zoe Persico (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books)

Don’t Worry Little Crab by Chris Haughton (Walker Books)

Alfie on Holiday by Shirley Hughes (Puffin Books)

I’m Sticking With You by Smriti Halls and Steve Small (Simon & Schuster)

Franklin and Luna Go To The Moon by Jen Campbell, illustrated by Katie Harnett (Thames & Hudson)

The final winners of the Adult categories will be chosen by a panel chaired by bookseller Matt Taylor (Chepstow Books & Gifts) and including Elizabeth Perry (Daunt Books), Zool Verjee (Head of Marketing and Publicity at Blackwells), Sarah Shaffi, (freelance journalist and #BAMEinPublishing co-founder) and Hachette author William Shaw.

The judging panel of the Children’s categories will be chaired by bookseller Vanessa Lewis (The Book Nook) and includes Layla Hudson (Round Table Books), Jessica Paul (Max Minerva’s Marvellous Books & More), Jonathan Douglas (CEO of National Literacy Trust) and Hachette author Piers Torday.

For updates and to join the conversation on social media, follow @booksaremybag and #IndieBookshopWeek.