Tackling lockdown restrictions with ‘vigour, creativity and innovation’ — 48 honoured on regional and country shortlists for Independent Bookshop of the Year Award
Pages of Hackney, in Clapton, on the shortlist for London
The British Book Awards have revealed the regional and country shortlists for the 2021 Independent Bookshop of the Year Award, with this year seeing 48 bookshops from nine regional/country categories competing to be named the country’s best indie retailer for books. The shops will compete to win their region first, before vying for the overall prize, which will be announced in the British Book Awards online event ceremony on 13th May.
From the historic (134-year-old Sam Read and 95-year-old Village Books) to the relative newcomers (Tring’s Our Bookshop and The Margate Bookshop) the pandemic of the last year has seen independent bookshops up and down Britain and the island of Ireland completely transform their operational models in order to get books into the hands of readers. This has ranged from bicycle deliveries to local customers, to booksellers rapidly building new e-commerce platforms, while also creating new channels for interactive video content to replace in-person events.
Tom Tivnan, The Bookseller’s managing editor, said: “Last year was a difficult for the entire books trade but indie booksellers were perhaps at very sharpest end of the pandemic. Yet, as we can see by 48 entries on the Independent Bookshop of the Year shortlists, indies tackled the coronavirus restrictions with vigour, creativity and innovation.”
The 2021 regional and country shortlists
East of England
Harris & Harris Books | Clare, Sudbury
Kett’s Books | Wymondham Niche Comics & Bookshop | Huntingdon
Red Lion Books | Colchester
Island of Ireland
Bridge Books | Dromore, Co Down
Tertulia | Westport, Co Mayo
The Company of Books | Dublin
London
BrOOK’S | Pinner
Burley Fisher Books | Haggerston
Gay’s the Word | St Pancras
Goldsboro Books | Covent Garden
Hewson Books: The Kew Bookshop | Kew
Newham Bookshop | Newham
Pages of Hackney | Hackney
Village Books | Dulwich
Midlands
Burway Books | Church Stretton
Five Leaves Bookshop | Nottingham
The Bookshop on the Green | Birmingham
North England
Book, Bean and Ice Cream | Kirkham
Cogito Books | Hexham
DRAKE - The Bookshop | Stockton-on-Tees
Forum Books | Corbridge
Linghams Bookshop | Heswall
Sam Read Bookseller | Grasmere
The Grove Bookshop | Ilkley
The Little Ripon Bookshop | Ripon
Scotland
Far From the Madding Crowd | Linlithgow
Lighthouse - Edinburgh’s Radical Bookshop | Edinburgh
The Edinburgh Bookshop | Edinburgh The Mainstreet Trading Company | St Boswell’s
Timberbooks | West Kilbride
South East England
Books On The Hill | St Albans
Mostly Books | Abingdon
Our Bookshop | Tring
Moon Lane Books and Toys | Ramsgate
October Books | Southampton
Sevenoaks Bookshop | Sevenoaks
The Book Shop | Lee-on-the-Solent
The Margate Bookshop | Margate
South West England
Crediton Community Bookshop | Crediton
Max Minerva’s Marvellous Books & More
| Bristol
Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights
| Bath
Storysmith | Bristol
The Snug Bookshop and Cafe | Bridgwater
Wales
Book-ish | Crickhowell
Chepstow Books & Gifts | Chepstow
Cover To Cover | Swansea
GriffinBooks | Penarth
The 2021 regional and country winners will be announced on 17th March; the overall winner will be revealed during the online British Book Awards ceremony which this year will take place on 13th May. The award is sponsored by Gardners.
While many book-buyers rallied to support local shops during this time, the importance of independent bookshops in the retail and publishing landscape was also recognised and boosted by industry initiatives such as the online platform Bookshop.org, launched in 2020.
Tom Tivnan said: “If there is a through-line it is the nimbleness in how shops changed business models no matter if they were venerable or start-ups. The bottom line is clear: indies will continue to thrive, no matter what is thrown at them. And, either virtually or in the physical space, they are true hubs of their communities.”
For further information, and to join the conversation please visit:
www.thebookseller.com/british-book-awards www.twitter.com/thebookseller
