The best independent bookshops in every British region in 2026

Any store can sell good books. So to really stand out, bookshops have to go above and beyond through things like author panels, fundraising events, reading clubs and just generally being a pillar of the community. That’s something that all 66 of the British indie bookshops (plus six Irish stores) nominated for Independent Bookshop of the Year have in common. 

The grand prize is handed out every spring by The Bookseller at its British Books Awards (aka The Nibbies), with winners for each region as well as an overall national winner. 

Last year’s national champion, The Heath Bookshop in Birmingham, is in the running again. When it took top prize last May, judges called it ‘a microcosm of the vibrancy of modern independent bookselling’ and praised it in particular for its author events, community projects and ‘progressive and inclusive stock curation’.

Tom Tivnan, deputy editor of the Bookseller, said: ‘We all know the current travails of the high street in general, but indies across the UK and Ireland are meeting the difficulties with grit, innovation and community spirit.What impresses is how these shops are nimbly and proactively moving into areas that tap into local needs.

‘All this on top of the core mission of spreading the joy of books, which indies arguably do better and with more passion than any other sector.’

The regional winners and overall national winner of Independent Bookshop of the Year will be announced in a ceremony on May 11. Here’s a list of every store in the running. 

Bookshops shortlisted for The British Book Awards 2026 Independent Bookshop of the Year in every UK region

East England

• Maldon Books, Maldon
• Norfolk Children’s Book Centre, Alby
• Red Lion Books, Colchester
• The Book Hive, Norwich
• The Holt Bookshop, Holt

North England 

• Criminally Good Books, York
• House of Books & Friends, Manchester
• Imagined Things Bookshop, Harrogate
• Kemps General Store & Books, Malton & Wetherby
• Sam Read Bookseller, Grasmere
• Simply Books, Bramhall
• The Little Ripon Bookshop, Ripon
• Truman Books, Leeds 
• Verey Books, Penrith
• Wave of Nostalgia, Haworth 

South-East England

• Chapter 34, Shoreham-by-Sea
• Hungerford Bookshop, Hungerford
• Kemptown Bookshop, Kemptown
• Medina Bookshop, Isle of Wight
• Mostly Books, Abingdon
• Our Bookshop, Tring
• P&G Wells, Winchester
• St Andrews Bookshop, Great Missenden
• The Folkestone Bookshop
• Wallingford Bookshop, Wallingford 

Midlands

• Blandford Books, Broadway
• Burway Books, Church Stretton
• One More Chapter Books, Radcliffe-on-Trent
• Poetry Pharmacy, Bishop’s Castle
• Script Haven, Worcester
• That Little Bookshop, Stafford
• The Heath Bookshop, Birmingham
• The Rabbit Hole, Brigg
• Wonderland Bookshop, Retford

South-West England

• Bert’s Books, Swindon
• Cotswold Book Room, Wotton-under-Edge
• FOLDE Dorset, Shaftesbury
• Liznojan Books, Tiverton
• Storysmith, Bristol
• The East Gate Bookshop, Totnes
• The Edge of the World, Penzance
• The Imaginarium, Lymington
• The Kitchen Table, Shaftesbury
• The White Horse Bookshop, Marlborough

London

• Backstory, Balham
• Bàrd Books, Bow
• BookBar, Islington and Chelsea
• Burley Fisher Books, Dalston
• Saucy Books, Ladbroke Grove
• South Kensington Books, South Kensington
• The Common Press, Shoreditch
• The Paper Cat Children’s Bookshop, Herne Hill
• Village Books, Dulwich

Find out more about the London bookshops in the shortlist here.

Scotland

• Argonaut Books, Edinburgh
• Book Lovers Bookshop, Edinburgh
• Daydreams Bookshop, Milngavie
• Far From the Madding Crowd, Linlithgow
• Heron & Willow, Jedburgh
• The Book Nook, Stirling
• The Wee Bookshop, Dollar
• Ullapool Bookshop, Ullapool

Wales

• Book Space, Cardiff
• Books at the Dragon’s Garden, Llandovery
• Chepstow Books & Gifts, Chepstow
• Cover to Cover, Swanswea
• Griffin Books, Penarth
• Llyfrau Ystwyth Books, Aberystwyth
• The Berwyn Bookshop, Buckley
• The Bookshop by the Sea, Aberystwyth
• The Bookshop, Mold 

Read more about the shortlisted London bookshops here. 

Plus: Two of the best 100 coffee shops in the world are in Britain. 

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