Indie champions

Before the internet took off, we relied on local bookshops. Not my words, but those of George the Poet, whose exclusive poem for Independent Bookshop Week, was aired on social media this week, part way through the seven-day celebration of indies.

“The independent bookshop has always been a space for / Broadening horizons and expanding views”, as the newly-released poem reads. This year some 700 independent bookshops have participated in the Booksellers Association-run IBW with more than 100 events taking place in their shops, or close by, during the course of the week. Five bookshops have been “twinned” with independent publishers to curate a bespoke week of activity. Meanwhile, more than 20 bookshops took part in the inaugural Big Book Club on the evening of Wednesday 19th June.

IBW was launched in 2006, but never feels old, or like it’s losing its way. Such broad-based campaigns are easier to imagine than they are to do, with multiple media hooks (from author visits to live readings) amplified by the collective voices of the many. It has not been a particularly easy few weeks for those working across events – or elsewhere at the customer coal-face – but the positiveness that surrounds IBW is genuine and heart-warming, and particularly visible thanks to social media. It is also good business. According to the BA, #IndieBookshopWeek trended on X/Twitter on Saturday, peaking in seventh spot. Considering what else is going on, that’s magnificent. This is hand-drawn stuff, the sum of years of hard graft.

The BA has accompanied this week’s range of activities with talking points ahead of the general election. These include action on rates, making it easier for booksellers to sell into schools and other institutions, and support for fairer leases. More widely, the BA wants greater recognition of how bookshops strengthen high streets, with local shops also events spaces, meeting places, cafés and community hubs.

Since 2016 independent bookshop numbers have risen by over 20%

The Labour Party announced this week that, should it form a government, it would aim to create 350 “banking hubs” on local high streets as a way of providing access to cash for both customers (and services to retailers), incentivising shoppers to return to shops. This would be welcome, not least since it feeds into what the BA has also been driving at, particularly the halo effect of having bookshops viable and visible in their communities. If Labour is serious, then it could be a winner, though it would need to join the dots – customers may want access to cash, but they will also need places where that money can be spent.

Since 2016, independent bookshop numbers have risen by over 20%, bucking the general high street retail trend. However, that growth comes after two decades of decline and, as the BA says, the recovery is fragile. That they do survive though is vital. As the poem goes: “Your local bookshop/Didn’t feel the world of literature lovers should be di-/Vided into separate parts. It’s/More than a business relationship; the/Community invested its heart.”

Incidentally, George the Poet is a spoken word performer, and his words are actually best experienced – like bookshops – in real-life.