Suddenly On Sheaf Street named National Book Tokens Newcomer of the Year

Suddenly On Sheaf Street, a bookshop in Daventry, is the winner of the 2024 National Book Tokens Newcomer of the Year Award.

Suddenly On Sheaf Street wins a hamper to share among the team, a trophy and promotion to more than 400,000 book lovers via National Book Tokens’ newsletter, with additional promotion on the website and social channels.

Now in its fifth year, the award is given to new bookshops based on their first full year of National Book Tokens sales and redemptions, which are used as a measure of how well the bookshop is engaging with local customers.

The winning bookshop is based in a 16th-century building and features two floors of books, stationery and yarn. The store also has a space for workshops and events, which have previously included craft workshops and a Sherlock Holmes performance night.

In 2023, there were 51 new bookshops vying for the award.

Lisa Bywater, head of marketing for National Book Tokens, said: “The local response in Daventry and beyond to the opening of Suddenly On Sheaf Street, and the way the team at the shop have responded to meet the evident demand, is the perfect demonstration of the necessity of bookshops on our high streets: not only for the vital business of bookselling and the joys of reading for pleasure, but also as hubs for community, creativity and innovation.”

Joanna Clements, manager at Suddenly On Sheaf Street, added: “Since opening in August, we have been blown away by the amazing reception we’ve had locally. The response to a new bookshop has been like an oasis in the desert. We have loved meeting such a wide variety of people and helping to pair them with their perfect new read.

"We had a truly phenomenal first Christmas period, with lots of shoppers from the town centre and the surrounding villages coming in to select gifts for their loved ones and tell us about their favourite recent reads. December was non-stop for us, and it feels like everyone in Daventry must have received a book, or a book token, for Christmas!"

Previous winners of the National Book Tokens Newcomer of the Year Award include The Book Stop in St Helens on Merseyside, The Portobello Bookshop in Edinburgh and Darling Reads in West Yorkshire.