From the 29th June until the 6th July over 360 bookshops around the UK are taking part in Independent Booksellers Week (IBW), a week-long celebration of independent bookshops, organised by The Booksellers Association (BA), the national trade association for booksellers in the UK.
Independent Booksellers’ Week is part of the IndieBound campaign for independent bookshops, which promotes the idea of shopping locally and sustainably and highlights the stark issues facing bricks and mortar bookselling.
Authors across the country will be taking part in AuthorFest, a series of high profile talks and events encouraging British book lovers to support their local bookshops. Bestselling writers including Antony Beevor, Kate Mosse, Rachel Joyce, Ann Widdecombe, Richard Madeley, Deborah Moggach, Kate Humble, Jack Straw, Malorie Blackman and Ruth Ozeki will be visiting bookshops to discuss why they matter so much to them and the valuable role that to play. Events include:
* Kate Mosse – Sarratt Village Hall (Chorleywood Bookshop), Tuesday 2nd July, 7.30pm
* Antony Beevor – Dulwich Bookshop, Tuesday 2nd July, 7pm
* Rachel Joyce – The Shire Hall, Monmouth (Rossiter Books), Thursday 4th July, 7pm
* Deborah Moggach -Jaffe & Neale, Chipping Norton, Monday 1st July, 6.30pm
* Richard Madeley – City Books, East Sussex, Thursday 4th July, 5.30pm
* Kate Humble – Sussex Produce Company (Steyning Bookshop), Wednesday 3rd July, 7pm
* Ruth Ozeki – Jaffe and Neale Bookshop, Chipping Norton, Wednesday 3rd July, 6.30pm
* Jack Straw – Watford Grammar School for Boys (Chorleywood Bookshop), Monday 1st July, 7.30pm
* Malorie Blackman – Jewish Free School, Kingsbury (Bookworm Bookshop), Friday 5th July
Parents will have the chance to help their children discover more about their local independent bookshops with a series of interactive events across the country. Bloomsbury Children’s Publishing have created a unique Illustrator-in-Residence project, with eight of their top illustrators will be volunteering their skills and becoming ‘illustrators in residence’ in their local bookshops during the Week. Over the course of the week each of the illustrators will visit a number of shops in their local area, holding workshops, storytelling sessions and designing window displays. Catch the illustrators at these bookshops: Under the Greenwood Tree, Clapham; Foyles Bristol; David’s Bookshop, Letchworth Garden City; Bags of Books; Lewes, East Sussex; Book Nook, Hove; Stanfords, Bristol; Wenlock Books, Much Wenlock; Seven Stories, Newcastle Upon Tyne; The Mainstreet Trading Company, St Boswell’s; Blackwell’s Bookshop, Edinburgh.
Over 110 bookshops will be orchestrating a series of Where’s Wally hunts, with Wally hiding in local businesses in towns throughout the country. Culminating in a grand ceremony with fantastic prizes to be won, it’s the perfect opportunity to energise the whole family whilst celebrating the importance of local businesses to communities. The biggest hunt so far has been organised by the Fable bookshop in Abergavenny, which has got 23 businesses involved including the local museum, library and tourist information centre.
To find out more visit the website: http://independentbooksellersweek.org.uk/
