Bookshop Day
Celebrating Bookshops Big and Small

Launched in 2016, Bookshop Day 2024 takes place on Saturday 12 October. Booksellers, publishers, authors, illustrators and poets work collaboratively on the campaign to encourage consumers to shop in their local bookshop and ensure their high street is thriving. Participating retailers include Waterstones, Foyles, WHSmith, Blackwell’s and numerous independent bookshops. Bookshop Day is part of Books Are My Bag, the consumer-facing campaign run by the Booksellers Association to celebrate and promote bookshops in the UK and Ireland.

Bookshop Day is sponsored by National Book Tokens, Hachette UK, Penguin Random House UK, HarperCollins Publishers, Pan Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, DK, Bloomsbury, Canongate, Usborne, Scholastic, Faber & Faber, Bonnier Books UK, Chicken House, Profile Books, Walker Books, Atlantic Books, Little Tiger, Ingram Content Group, David Fickling.
 
We’re grateful to Gardners for their help distributing the point of sale kits. Midas looks after media coverage for the campaign.
 

Books Are My Bag Readers Awards
The Books Are My Bag Readers Awards are the only book awards with a shortlist curated by booksellers and winners chosen by readers. To qualify for the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards 2023, books must have been published in hardback or paperback between 1 January 2023 and 14 October 2023. Breakthrough Authors are those who have achieved significant breakthrough in 2023. They don’t have to be debut writers, and their books don’t have to have been published in 2023.
 
Booksellers Association members are invited to nominate their books of the year for each category. A panel of booksellers then whittles the nominations down to a shortlist. The 2023 shortlist panel was made up of the following booksellers:
 

• - Nick Campbell, Children’s Buyers Waterstones
• - Kirsty Hurst, Firm Sale/Specials Book Buyer for WHSmith
• - Peri Cimen, Assistant Manager, Green Heart Books 
• - Juliana Ocampo, Sales Advisor, Stanfords
• - Richard Smartt, co-owner The Book Ends
• - Red Newsom, lead bookseller at Blackwell's Manchester
• - Marie Moser, owner The Edinburgh Bookshop

The 2023 Books Are My Bag Readers Awards Winners, as chosen by readers:
 
Fiction
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Non-Fiction
Strong Female Character by Fern Brady 
Poetry
The Cat Prince & Other Poems by Michael Pedersen 
Children's Fiction
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
Young Adult Fiction
Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
Breakthrough Author
Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
Readers' Choice
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
 
The Books Are My Bag Readers Awards are sponsored by National Book Tokens, Hachette UK, Penguin Random House UK, HarperCollins Publishers, Pan Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, DK, Bloomsbury, Canongate, Usborne, Scholastic, Faber & Faber, Bonnier Books UK, Chicken House, Profile Books, Walker Books, Atlantic Books, Little Tiger, Ingram Content Group, David Fickling.  National Book Tokens is the headline sponsor of the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards. 

Books Are My Bag Readers Awards 2024 key dates
Thursday 10 October: Books Are My Bag Readers Awards Shortlist Announced
Tuesday 12 November: Books Are My Bag Readers Awards Winners Announced

Booksellers Association members may opt in or out of participating in Bookshop Day and the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards at any point. Please email emma.bradshaw@booksellers.org.uk if you would like to check if you are registered to participate, or if you would like to change your participation.

If you are an author, poet, illustrator, agent or publisher and would like to know more about the campaign, please email emma.bradshaw@booksellers.org.uk