Theresa May, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Lemn Sissay to host Bookshop Day events

The final line-up for this year’s Bookshop Day on 12th October features events with Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Theresa May, Lemn Sissay and Cressida Cowell, among many others.

This year’s “Bookshops Making a Difference” theme highlights the contribution bookshops make to their local communities and the day offers a chance for people to celebrate their local high street bookstore. “Bookshop Day 2024 is less than three weeks away, and this year sees a fantastic and full line-up of events,” said Emma Bradshaw, head of campaigns at the Booksellers Association.

Book festivals including Cheltenham Literary Festival, Manchester Literature Festival, Durham Book Festival, Clapham LitFest and Ilkley Literature Festival will be taking place around Bookshop Day. Along with author events and signings, this year’s programme also features an evening marking Korean Culture Month, bookshop visits by TikTok influencers, poetry readings and various other events.

In the North of England, Waterstones in Manchester will provide books for author events with Joseph Coelho, Sissay and others at Manchester Literature Festival. The branch will also host a conversation with Boris Johnson about his novel Unleashed (HarperCollins Publishers) at The Bridgewater Hall, with tickets including a signed copy of the book. Meanwhile, Ilkley’s Grove Bookshop will be in charge of the books for author events at Ilkley Literature Festival on Bookshop Day, featuring May and Susie Dent.

In London, Foyles Charing Cross will host a celebration of Korean Culture Month with an evening with Joo Dong-Geun. Carolyn Ward will join other authors at Blackwell’s in Oxford, while Waterstones will provide books for events at Cheltenham Literary Festival, featuring Cowell, Rebecca F Kuang, Frank Gardner and others. Moreover, the Waterstones branches in Bluewater and Canterbury will welcome A F Steadman for book signings. Waterstones Piccadilly will host Jamie Smart and Clapham Books in southwest London will provide books for author events at Clapham Litfest, with authors like Anthony Seldon and Elly Griffiths.

Angela Harding, creator of this year’s Books Are My Bag limited-edition bag, will illustrate bookshop windows with vinyls and hand-drawn elements, and sign books in Cornwall’s Edge of the World Bookshop, Essex’s Maldon Books, Daventry’s Suddenly on Sheaf Street and southwest London’s Nomad Books.

In Scotland, Waterstones Glasgow will host an evening with Sarah A Parker, while Karin Celestine will be signing books in Wales Abergavenny’s Book-ish. This Bookshop Day will spotlight Glasgow and its bookshops, with local artists Jacqueline Briggs and Jack Stamp working with Jack Arts on two murals in St Enoch Square and Blythewood Street in the city centre.

Moreover, The Rabbit Hole in Brigg will be officially opening its second bookshop, The Rabbit Hutch, in Grimsby on Bookshop Day.

Waterstones and Foyles will offer double stamps in all their shops and Foyalty card holders will receive double stamps on in-store purchases. The audiobook retailer Libro.fm will also run a sale between 7th and 13th October. In addition, participating partner bookshops will hide “Golden Tickets” with 12 free audiobook credits for customers to find in their shops.

Now in its second year, Bookshop.org’s Golden Bookmark competition will grant one winner £250 in Bookshop.org gift cards every year for life, supporting independent bookshops. The competition will start on 1st October and run until the end of the month, with activities planned around Bookshop Day. Participants will receive five bonus entries each time someone enters through their referral link, which will be made available to them after their entry is submitted.