Fancy yourself a bit of a bookworm? A literary nerd? A bibliomaniac? You’ll likely have a list of your favourite indie bookshops to breathe in the smell of fresh pages and while away the weekends looking for your next read.
We’ve a huge selection of gorgeous indie bookshops in the UK and picking out the best of the best is no easy task. But every year The British Book Awards takes on the challenge with its award for Independent Bookshop of the Year.
A record number of 77 bookstores across the UK and Ireland have secured their place as finalists this year, celebrated for being at the heart of their local communities. The regional winners will be revealed on Tuesday, March 12 before the overall Independent Bookshop of the Year is crowned at a ceremony in London on March 13.
Here’s the full list of stores up for for honour:
East England
- The Book Hive – Norwich
- Niche Comics Bookshop – Huntingdon
- Bookbugs and Dragon Tales – Norwich
- Kett’s Books – Wymondham
- Maldon Books Limited – Maldon
- The Holt Bookshop – Holt
- David’s Bookshop – Letchworth
- Next Page Books – Hitchin
London
- Children’s Bookshop – Muswell Hill
- Burley Fisher Books – Haggerston
- The Common Press – Bethnal Green
- Round Table Books CIC – Brixton
- BookBar – Islington
- Village Books – Dulwich
- Backstory – Balham
- Brick Lane Bookshop – Tower Hamlets
- The Riverside Bookshop – London Bridge
- Goldsboro Books Limited – Charing Cross
Midlands
- The Rabbit Hole – Brigg
- The Childrens Bookshelf – Hereford
- Burway Books – Church Stretton
- Wonderland Bookshop – Retford
- The Heath Bookshop – Birmingham
- Five Leaves Bookshop – Nottingham
- Rossiter Books – Malvern
- Poetry Pharmacy – Bishop’s Castle
North England
- Forum Books – Corbridge
- Sam Read Bookseller – Grasmere
- The West Kirby Bookshop – Wirral
- House of Books & Friends – Manchester
- Drake, The Bookshop – Stockton-On-Tees
- Kemps General Store Ltd – Malton
- Truman Books Ltd – Leeds
- Pritchards Bookshop – Liverpool
- Wave of Nostalgia – Haworth
- Verey Books – Penrith
Scotland
- The Edinburgh Bookshop – Edinburgh
- Typewronger Books – Edinburgh
- Atkinson-Pryce Books – Biggar
- Far From the Madding Crowd – Linlithgow
- The Book Nook Stewarton Ltd – Kilmarnock
- Highland Bookshop Ltd – Fort William
- The Bookmark – Grantown on Spey
- Ullapool Bookshop – Ullapool
- Night Owl Books – East Linton
- Heron & Willow – Jedburgh
South-east England
- Coles Books – Bicester
- Afrori Books – Brighton
- Our Bookshop – Tring
- Hungerford Bookshop – Hungerford
- Mostly Books – Abingdon
- Books on the Hill – St Albans
- The Margate Bookshop – Margate
- P & G Wells – Winchester
- Pigeon Books – Southsea
- Mrs Middleton’s Shop And The Rabbit Hole – Isle of Wight
South-west England
- Gloucester Road Books – Bristol
- The Borzoi Bookshop – Stow-on-the-Wold
- Harbour Bookshop – Kingsbridge
- Shrew Books – Fowey
- Folde Dorset Ltd – Shaftesbury
- Max Minerva’s – Bristol
- Westbourne Bookshop – Bournemouth
- Liznojan Books – Tiverton
- Bookhaus – Bristol
- Bert’s Books – Swindon
Wales
- Gwisgo Ltd – Aberaeron
- The Bookshop Mold – Mold
- Book-ish – Crickhowell
- The Bookshop by the Sea – Aberystwyth
- Cover to Cover – Swansea
While the winners are being deliberated, check out Time Out’s lists of the best bookshops in London, the finest indie stores in Manchester and our favourite booksellers in Edinburgh.
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