A good bookshop doesn’t just sell books. It creates a community of bibliomaniacs who come back time and time again for expert literary recommendations, wholesome bookish events and all-round great vibes. If that sounds right up your street, you’ll be pleased to know that the UK is full of such places. In fact, a grand total of 72 bookshops were in the running for this year’s coveted Independent Bookshop of the Year prize at the British Book Awards.
But there could only be one winner. For 2025, the Independent Bookshop crown went to The Heath Bookshop in Birmingham’s Kings Heath. It’s the first Brum-based book store to receive the award.
Judges called the shop a ‘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’.
Since opening four years ago, The Heath Bookshop has launched its very own literature and music festival and has hosted events with more than 130 authors, including Rick Astley, Richard Armitage, Derek Owusu and Jess Phillips. With a coffee shop next door, it also offers a book subscription service and regular film screenings.
In response to the win, Catherine Gale and Claire Dawes, the owners of The Heath Bookshop, said: ‘We are completely overwhelmed, we are a really small team, there’s Catherine and I who own the shop and then Abbey does two days a week, and that’s our team!
‘We work so hard, as do all of the bookshops, but we couldn’t even believe we’d won the Midlands because we’re so new, we’re only two and a half years old. The support we’ve had has been amazing and we didn’t want to believe it, so we really can’t quite get over it.’
Full list of regional and country winners of Independent Bookshop of the Year 2025
- East England – Maldon Books, Essex
- Northern Ireland – Bridge Books, Dromore
- London – Queen’s Park Books, Queen’s Park
- Midlands – The Heath Bookshop, King’s Heath,Birmingham
- North England – Simply Books, Bramhall
- Scotland – Book Nook, Stewarton
- South-East England – Medina Books, Cowes, Isle of Wight
- South-West England – Storysmith, Bristol
- Wales – Griffin Books, Penarth
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