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Barker and Doyle scoop Independent Bookshop Week Book Awards
Pat Barker and Catherine Doyle are among the winners of the 2019 Independent Bookshop Week (IBW) Book Awards.
Voted for by independent booksellers and to celebrate Independent Bookshop Week (15th – 22nd June), Barker won the adult category with her Women's Fiction Prize shortlisted The Silence of the Girls (Penguin). Doyle’s MG debut The Storm Keeper’s Island (Bloomsbury) won the children’s category, while If All the World Were… (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books) by Joseph Coelho and illustrated by Allison Colpoys won the picture book award.
Barker said: “I am absolutely delighted to win the IBW Book Award. I have always loved the special atmosphere in independent bookshops and admired the enthusiasm and dedication that goes into running them. Everything that's good and hopeful about the book trade is in those shops so receiving this award gives me particular pleasure.”
Doyle added: “Independent bookshops occupy a vital and special place in our culture. They are treasure troves, unique and vibrant and underpinned, always, by a boundless passion for stories that is both infectious and inviting."
The winners will be presented with their awards in their local independent bookshop with Barker also doing a signing at Forum Books, Newcastle on Monday 17th June. Doyle will take part in events with Nomad Books, Fulham on 19th June and The Bookcase, Chiswick on 20th June.
Paying tribute to indie bookshops, Coelho said: “Knowing the passion and drive that Independent Bookshops demonstrate, it is a complete honour to have won the Independent Book Week Book Award with mine and Allison Colpoys If All The World Were… Coming across an Independent Bookshop when visiting a new town or city is always like finding hidden treasure and I’m delighted that our book has been given a little sparkle from our treasury of delightful, exemplary, joyous book stores.”
Colpoys added: “I am so grateful for the support of the booksellers who have put for If All the World Were… into the hands and hearts of children and families just when they have needed it. The existence of independent bookstores is so integral to the development of a child’s imagination and their love of reading, and we are lucky to have such a passionate advocate for children’s literature.”
Independent Bookshop Week kicks off on Saturday 15th June. Follow the latest developments via social media: #IndieBookshopWeek @BooksAreMyBag.
