Independent Bookshops Moon Lane and Sevenoaks Bookshop Triumph at the British Book Awards 2021

•                        Children’s specialist Moon Lane, with outposts in Kent and London, beats Blackwell’s, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and WH Smith to be named Book Retailer of the Year

•                        Kent’s Sevenoaks Bookshop takes sought-after Independent Bookshop of the Year trophy

Moon Lane Books

For the first time in the history of the British Book Awards, an independent and children’s specialist has been named Britain’s overall top bookseller. Moon Lane — which has two outposts in Lewisham, South-east London and one in Ramsgate, Kent — beat out some of Britain’s biggest book chains, including WH Smith and Blackwell’s, to claim the UK crown.

Moon Lane was first awarded Children’s Bookseller of the Year sponsored by Macmillan Children’s Books – for the third time, following recognition in 2017 and 2020 – and thus was also entered into the shortlist for Book Retailer of the Year, sponsored by Simon & Schuster.

The category is usually the preserve of the big chains, but Moon Lane went on to win here, too.

Meanwhile, another Kent bookshop, Sevenoaks Bookshop, fought off eight exceptional retailers– all of which had been crowned regional and country winners – across the UK and the island of Ireland to be crowned this year’s Independent Bookshop of the Year, sponsored by Gardners.

Both announcements were made as part of the British Book Awards ceremony, live-streamed this afternoon.

Sevenoaks Bookshop

Tom Tivnan, The Bookseller’s managing editor and chair of retailer categories, said: “ The past year was obviously one of the most difficult periods for the British book trade in decades. All the more impressive, then, was the ingenuity with which all of the shortlistees dealt with the challenges of the pandemic. Both the impressive independent bookshop winner Sevenoaks and Moon Lane with its historic children’s bookseller and retailer of the year double award prove that serving local communities lies at the heart of all great bookselling.”

Tamara Macfarlane, founder of Moon Lane, said: “For a business that was started in 2003 with a small overdraft we have come a long way. We adapted and pivoted the business and refused to let COVID-19 distract us from our mission. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of supporting children and families reading together. We witnessed a huge uptake of dads watching book related content on Moon Lane TV. We have developed a strong brand which inspires and is trusted. Reading is key for children to grow and chase their dreams. Literacy is vital for the UK’s economic growth. So, pandemic or no pandemic we knew we had to keep on going.”

Fleur Sinclair, owner of Sevenoaks Bookshop, said: “For our whole team, the award and recognition of all the immense hard work over the past year is the most incredible magical boost. The expansion is a dream, really – I still can’t quite believe we pulled that one off! But nothing could’ve been achieved without the support of our amazing customers, and the encouragement, comradeship, advice and solidarity from all our fellow independent bookshop friends and the BA – we owe you all a huge debt of gratitude!”

Moon Lane was one of so many indies not just surviving but thriving in 2020. Its three shops rose brilliantly to the myriad challenges of lockdown, shoring up sales through home deliveries and using the extra time on its hands to develop a bright online personality, including via its revamped website, social media and a popular new Moon Lane TV channel on YouTube.

The judges also saw Moon Lane as an exemplar of independent booksellers’ values: committed to its communities and passionate about making books accessible to everyone. The loyalty that this approach has generated over the years became apparent in the support the business received from so many parents and children over 2020, when it was most needed. The year showed that while big retailers have resources to fall back on during difficult times, they can never match independents for agility, creativity or public goodwill.

Sevenoaks Bookshop, which has been trading for an incredible eight decades, has like many other retailers endured unprecedented challenges during the last 12 months. Led by owner Fleur Sinclair (who bought the shop in 2015), the small but indefatigable team of Sevenoaks Bookshop responded to the challenges of lockdowns, moving to web, phone and e-mail orders during months of closure and dispatching around 3,500 books to loyal customers—many of them personally delivered by foot and bicycle. Click-and-collect and Bookshop.org added more sales channels. Events moved online too, including book clubs on Facebook and author events on Zoom.

Yet having transformed their business model while launching a range of new digital services to connect with readers, Sevenoaks Bookshop ended the year in a position of Sales growth despite the pandemic, and even expanded their store, having taken over adjacent premises. The shop is now twice the size it was before the pandemic, and now includes a new dedicated children’s area—a sign of great confidence for the future.

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