With less than three weeks to Bookshop Day (Saturday 14 October), the Booksellers Association (BA) is delighted to reveal additional plans for the annual celebration of bookshops big and small across the country .
From fun events including draw-along sessions to special audiobook offers, to author events with Linton Kwesi Johnson, Geri Halliwell, Miriam Margolyes, Robin Stevens, Richard Armitage, Tom Fletcher, Peter Clark, Zehra Hicks and many more, Bookshop Day is the perfect opportunity to connect with your high street bookseller. Visit your local bookshop to get brilliant book recommendations, to start your Christmas shopping at the biggest time of the year for new book releases, and for a celebration of bookshops and their role in “bringing people together” in their local communities.
NEW BOOKSHOP OPENINGS/MOVES
A number of bookshops will be opening new branches or moving their premises just in time for Bookshop Day, while others have been open since this summer and are looking forward to celebrating their first Bookshop Day. New chain branches and independent bookshops include:
Waterstones in Birmingham are opening their doors in October
Waterstones in Edinburgh will be opening in October
Waterstones in Craigavon (Northern Ireland) will open in October
Harris & Harris (Suffolk) is moving to their new premises, which are five doors down from their current bookshop. The move will take place around Bookshop Day.
Drop City Books (Stoke on Trent) will open in October
Sherlock and Pages (Frome, Somerset) will open their doors in October
LOS in a Book (Leigh on Sea) are set to open in late October
Caper (Oxford) will open in late October
Waterstones Petersfield reopened at a new location last June
Waterstones Blackburn reopened at the end of July
The Book Circle (Selby, North Yorkshire) opened on the 22 July
Melanin Magic (West Norwood, London) opened in July
Writer’s Block (St Peter Port, Guernsey) opened in July
The Kitchen Table Dorset (Shaftesbury) opened on 19 August
Foyles Waterloo (London) opened in mid-August, having previously closed by Network Rail redevelopment
Gay on Wye (Hay on Wye) opened in August
Teppa Books (Tonbridge, Kent) changed hands and name in early August
Booka Bookshop and Café (Bridgnorth, Shropshire) to open a new branch at the end of September
Hannah Rimmer, Bookshop Manager, Waterstones Blackburn said: “Waterstones Blackburn opened its doors at the end of July and the local community welcomed the shop with open arms. Everyone has been so excited and happy to see us back, it’s been truly wonderful, and the shop has been busy since. We had The Gruffalo visit for our launch day and hosted a fun and very busy Storytime. We are working alongside Blackburn Youth Zone and currently have our first intern with us for a few months. It’s wonderful to be part of the local community and to work with young people. We’re looking forward to Christmas already!”
Alina Saadeh-Longo , Bookshop Manager, Foyles Waterloo said: “It has been really special to reopen our Waterloo bookshop. The love and positive feedback we’ve received from customers has been astonishing – many of our shoppers are overjoyed to see that we’re back, calling the shop an oasis for them during their commutes.”
