Rev Richard Coles announced as Independent Bookshop Week ambassador as 2024 plans revealed

Reverend Richard Coles, Clive Myrie and Kiran Millwood Hargrave have been announced as the official ambassadors of Independent Bookshop Week (IBW) 2024. This news comes as the Booksellers Association (BA) announces its initial plan for IBW — the annual celebration of independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland — with nearly 700 bookshops already set to take part.

This year, IBW will take place between 15th to 22nd June, with Hachette UK returning as the headline sponsor.

Myrie, Coles and Hargrave will also participate in bookshop events, with more details and venues to be revealed. Moreover, to support the campaign, spoken word performer George Mpanga — also known as George the Poet — has created a poem that will be shared on social media at 6 p.m. on 19th June.

“Booksellers around the market towns and cathedral cities of the UK have been so very genial and welcoming to me as I’ve spent many an enjoyable day visiting them to talk about Canon Daniel Clement, parish murders and dachshunds," Coles said. "I wouldn’t be in the wonderful position that I now find myself in – crime writer! – without their considerable efforts and support, so I am hugely grateful."

Coles added: "It all began for me with an independent bookseller, The Oundle Bookshop, in Northamptonshire where, when I was eight years old, my grandfather bought me my first proper book – The Complete Sherlock Holmes Short Stories – and without knowing it set me on this gilded path.”

The national giveaway from National Book Tokens, High Five for Bookshops, is also back for a sixth year, supporting indie bookshops across the UK and Ireland to reward loyal customers. Bookshops participating in IBW each receive 100 vouchers that customers can use to claim a £5/€5 National Book Tokens e-gift card to spend in store. High Five has continued to grow year on year since it was first launched, with 92,000 vouchers sent to indies in 2023, signifying a 200% increase from 2019. 

Launching this year, the Big Book Club will see indie bookshops across the UK and Ireland hold book club evenings on 19th June. The Beckenham Bookshop in Beckenham, Booka Bookshop in Bridgnorth and Oswestry, and The Mainstreet Trading Company in Melrose are among the many indies taking part. 

In addition, people are invited to organise their own Bookshop Crawl to celebrate IBW, using the Bookshop Map on the homepage of the Books Are My Bag website to locate local bookshops.

Indie Twinning is also returning for a fifth year, with indie publishers and bookshops teaming up to develop activity programmes. Meanwhile, authors, poets and illustrators are invited to get involved with IBW by "Guest Bookselling" in-store, while online Bookshop.org will be offering free shipping on any purchases made on the website on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd June.

Hazel Broadfoot, president of the BA, said: “Independent Bookshop Week is an opportunity to shine a light on their hard work and creativity that brings so many cultural benefits to their high streets. In my bookshop, Village Books Dulwich, we have our planning under way – we’ll be joining in the fun and hosting lots of events for our customers of all ages to celebrate the power of books and reading.”

David Shelley, c.e.o. of Hachette UK, commented: “We’re proud to continue our headline sponsorship of Independent Bookshop Week, an integral part of our happy and important partnership with the Booksellers Association. Independent bookshops are the beating heart of our industry, and this is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the vital work that they do, up and down the UK and Ireland, getting our authors’ books into the hands of readers with such passion and dedication.”