The Booksellers Association of the United Kingdom & Ireland Limited

Indie Book of the Month

Indie Book of the Month logo - Orange illustration of four upright books with stars above, next to the text “Indie Book of the Month” on a white background.
Indie Book of the Month launched as 'Independent Booksellers Children’s Book of the Season' in Autumn 2017. The initiative proved so popular that it became a monthly campaign in January 2019, and a year later rebranded as ‘Indie Book of the Month’, with a stunning new logo designed by children’s author and illustrator, Sophy Henn. In March 2020, an adult fiction title was introduced to the campaign, to run alongside the children’s title.

Indie Book of the Month is designed to showcase independent bookshops’ power to drive sales as a sector. It aims to demonstrate the impact independent booksellers can make by working together to build readerships for the books they love.

The titles for each month are chosen by a panel of independent booksellers from publisher submissions. The panel read and rate each title, their votes are collated, and the titles with the highest number of votes are then discussed by the panel and the Booksellers Association. After this, selections for the Indie Book of the Month are confirmed.

If you are interested in being a member of the bookseller panels for the Indie Book of the Month (these change every quarter) then please email k[email protected] stating whether you would like to be on the Fiction or the Children’s panel.

 

Indie Book of the Month: September 2025 

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Fiction Book of the Month: Hungerstone by Kat Dunn
Children's Book of the Month: Turtle Moon by Hannah Gold

Independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland will be promoting Hungerstone and Turtle Moon throughout September both in-store and across social media. The Booksellers Association will also support the Indie Books of the Month campaign with dedicated Books Are My Bag branded social media activity and promotional material.
 
From the acclaimed author of the Carnegie Medal-nominated Bitterthorn and the Battalion of the Dead trilogy, Hungerstone by Kat Dunn is a fierce and atmospheric gothic novel that reimagines the classic vampire tale for modern readers. Dunn's previous work Bitterthorn was nominated for the Carnegie Medal for Writing and shortlisted for the Nero Book Award. This sapphic retelling explores themes of ambition, female oppression, and unstoppable hunger in a story that is both historical and decidedly contemporary.
 
Kat Dunn, author of Hungerstone, commented: "I'm the reader and writer I am because of the wonderful independent bookshops and booksellers who opened up new worlds for me as a child, so it's a real 'pinch me' moment to have Hungerstone chosen as Fiction Book of the Month. I'm endlessly grateful for the support of independent bookshops."
 
From the Sunday Times bestselling and internationally acclaimed author whose debut The Last Bear won the Blue Peter Book Award and Waterstones Children's Book Prize in 2022, Turtle Moon by Hannah Gold is an unforgettable jungle adventure that follows Silver Trevelon and her family to a turtle rescue centre in Costa Rica. When rare turtle eggs are stolen, Silver must journey into the heart of the jungle to uncover long-buried secrets in this beautifully illustrated eco-thriller. Gold's work has been translated into 27 languages worldwide.
 
Hannah Gold, author of Turtle Moon, commented: "Turtle Moon is, without doubt, my most personal story yet and as such I feel both humbled and delighted that it has been picked as September's Children's Book of the Month for independent bookshops across the UK. Indie bookshops have always been the most fantastic support to me throughout my career - from the early days of debuting with The Last Bear in lockdown, to the countless school visits they've helped me with and all the book signings we've done together. They really are the heartbeat of the high street, the connecting rod for local communities and I could not be happier that, with their blessing, my turtles can swim to an even wider audience."
 
The Indie Book of the Month titles are selected by panels of independent booksellers from publisher submissions.
 
  • Fiction panel: Inkspot and Silverleaf, Maldon Books, Ottie and the Bea.
  • Children's panel: Sevenoaks Bookshop, The Buckingham Bookshop, Seven Stories Bookshop, Bag of Books, The Orcadian Bookshop.

Previous Indie Book of the Month titles 
- Fiction Book of the Month
- Children's Book of the Month

Join in with the Indie Book of the Month campaign on social media:

#IndieBookoftheMonth
x.com/booksaremybag
facebook.com/booksaremybag
instagram.com/booksaremybag

Resources
- Logo
- Poster A3
- Poster A4