The British Book Awards 2025 Independent Bookshop of the Year Award finalists revealed

There has been a record number of submissions for The British Book Awards 2025 Independent Bookshop of the Year Award, with 72 independent bookshops selected as finalists.  

The nominations cover nine different regions and countries, including 10 in Scotland, North England, London, south-west England and south-east England respectively and seven in the Midlands. Within these regions, Bristol alone boasts three finalists, while for the first time Manchester has two bookshops appearing and Northern Ireland celebrates the most finalists ever with three shops recognised. 

The award, sponsored by book wholesaler Gardners, celebrates stores that reach beyond the literary landscape and bring books to the heart of local communities. This year saw the highest ever number of entries and organisers said the 72 finalists reflected how independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland “continue to thrive with imagination and innovation boosting sales, amid rising challenges on the high street”. 

Tom Tivnan, managing editor at The Bookseller, said: “The last year has been a drab time for the high street, with declining footfall and rising prices, but what has been underscored by our regional and country finalists is that independent bookshops are beacons of hope amid the gloom. I have been judging this award for a decade and a half and I have never seen such depth of quality and energy in the submissions, from the newcomers to most venerable stores.  

“British and Irish indies continue to thrive, despite the overall climate, with entrepreneurship and creativity. These finalists are wonderfully unique and idiosyncratic, but there is a link in that all of them are not confined by the four walls of their shops – they are out in their communities organising festivals, visiting schools, bringing authors to town. Sure, they sell a lot of books but that is just the start: independent bookshops are Britain and Ireland’s local cultural linchpins.” 

The shops will first vie to win their region before contending for the overall prize, which will be announced when The British Book Awards ceremony returns on 12th May 2025. The overall Independent Bookshop of the Year winner will also be in the running to be crowned Book Retailer of the Year. 

Ruth Gardner, Gardners’ UK sales manager, said: “Every independent bookshop has a unique story to tell and we are proud to support those who make reading more accessible and magical for everyone. This award recognises their invaluable contribution. Independent bookshops are at the heart of the book world, bringing communities together and championing the joy of reading. We’re proud to support the Independent Bookshop of the Year award and would like to wish all entrants the very best of luck and can’t wait to be part of this journey with them.” The overall winner will again receive £5,000 from the wholesaler.

There are 14 debut finalists all celebrated for the first time, including Bàrd Books (London), which only opened its doors in July 2024, and two children’s specialists shops, Tales for Tadpoles (Island of Ireland) and Caper (south-east England). 

Organisers said: “Bookshops powered by a specialist interest and passion continue to flourish, with the regional and country finalists including Queer Lit (North England), Manchester’s shop tackling the lack of LGBTQ+ representation in the literary scene; The Gilded Acorn (London), the shop aspiring to be the world’s most sustainable bookshop with its environmentally friendly bookselling; and House of Books & Friends (North England), the purpose-led bookshop combatting loneliness in the city centre of Manchester.” 

The 2023 overall winner Penarth’s Griffin Books (Wales) returns as a finalist again this year. Meanwhile, Carolynn Bain, the founder of Afrori Books (south-east England), could build on 2023’s win as Individual Bookseller of the Year by taking home an award for the entire bookshop. 

Many of last year’s regional and country winners are finalists once again, with Haworth’s Wave of Nostalgia (North England), Tower Hamlets’ Brick Lane Bookshop (London), Bishop’s Castle’s Poetry Pharmacy (Midlands), Stewarton’s The Book Nook (Scotland), Shaftesbury’s FOLDE Dorset (South-West England) and Carrickfergus’s The Secret Bookshelf (Island of Ireland) all competing to win the crown two years in a row. 

Meryl Halls, managing director of the Booksellers Association of the United Kingdom and Ireland, said: “From being trusted curators, to championing authors, to fostering communities of like-minded individuals, to bringing local jobs and essential footfall to shopping districts, the role that independent bookshops play within the book trade, wider society and economy is more vital than ever. We are delighted to see this superb selection of finalists, and their invaluable contribution, recognised as cornerstones of the book industry.” 

The regional and country winners of the Independent Bookshop of the Year award will be announced on Tuesday 11th March, while the overall winner will be revealed during The British Book Awards ceremony at Grosvenor House London on 12th May 2025. 

Join the conversation by following The Bookseller on X/ Twitter and Instagram and using #BritishBookAwards. 

 

East England 

Jarrolds (Norwich)
Kett’s Books (Wymondham)
Norfolk Children’s Book Centre (Alby)
Red Lion Books (Colchester)

Maldon Books (Maldon)
The Holt Bookshop (Holt)

Island of Ireland 

Bridge Books (Dromore, Co Down) 
Little Acorns Bookstore (Derry)
Tales for Tadpoles (Bray, County Wicklow)
Tertulia Bookshop (Westport, County Mayo)
The Secret Bookshelf (Carrickfergus)

London 

Backstory (Balham) 
Bàrd Books (Bow)
Brick Lane Bookshop (Tower Hamlets)
Children’s Bookshop (Muswell Hill) 
Goldsboro Books (Covent Garden)
Housmans Bookshop (King’s Cross) 
Nomad Books (Fulham)
Pages of Hackney (Hackney)
Queen’s Park Books (Queen’s Park) 
The Gilded Acorn (Holborn) 

Midlands 

Booka Bookshop (Oswestry)
Burway Books (Church Stretton) 
Kibworth Books (Kibworth)
The Poetry Pharmacy (Bishop’s Castle)
The Heath Bookshop (King’s Heath, Birmingham) 
The Rabbit Hole (Brigg) 
Wonderland Bookshop (Retford) 

North England 

House of Books & Friends (Manchester) 
Kemps Books & General Store (Malton) 
Linghams Bookshop (Heswall)
Pickering Book Tree (Pickering)
Queer Lit (Manchester)
Sam Read Bookseller (Grasmere) 
Serenity Booksellers (Stockport)
Simply Books (Bramhall)
The Little Ripon Bookshop (Ripon)
Wave of Nostalgia (Haworth)

Scotland 

Heron & Willow (Jedburgh)
Far From the Madding Crowd (Linglithgow)
Night Owl Books (East Linton)
Seahorse Bookstore (Ardrossan)
The Bookhouse (Broughty Ferry)
The Book Nook (Stewarton)
The Edinburgh Bookshop (Edinburgh)
The Ginger Cat Bookshop (Bridge of Weir)
The Wee Bookshop (Dollar)
Ullapool Bookshop (Ullapool) 

South-East England 

Afrori Books (Brighton) 
Caper (Oxford)
David’s Bookshop (Letchworth) 
Hungerford Bookshop (Hungerford) 
Medina Books (Cowes, Isle of Wight) 
Mostly Books (Abingdon) 
The Book Shop (Lee-on-the-Solent) 
The Margate Bookshop (Margate)
The Wallingford Bookshop (Wallingford) 

South-West England  

Bert’s Books (Swindon) 
bookhaus (Bristol)
Falmouth Bookseller (Falmouth) 
FOLDE Dorset (Shaftesbury)
Gloucester Road Books (Bristol) 
Liznojan Books (Tiverton)
Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights (Bath)
Storysmith (Bristol)
The East Gate Bookshop (Totnes) 
Winstone’s Hunting Raven Books (Frome) 

Wales 

Cover to Cover (Mumbles) 
Griffin Books (Penarth) 
The Berwyn Bookshop (Flintshire) 
The Bookshop by the Sea (Aberystwyth)
The Bookshop Mold (Mold)