In 2017, the BA began working in partnership with the Unwin Charitable Trust (UCT) to provide a free mentoring programme for independent BA members. The BA itself now coordinates the programme, though it continues to be supported by the outstanding generosity of the Trust. Over the years, more than 150 booksellers from across the UK and Ireland have benefited from the services of a dedicated mentor, allowing them to discuss their business plans, queries and concerns in complete confidence and without requiring time away from their shops. The mentors are all highly experienced and award-winning booksellers.
Meet the Mentors Sheila O’Reilly Sheila has been in bookselling for over 25 years. Under her ownership, Dulwich Books was voted best independent bookshop in the UK & Ireland. A former BA Council member, Sheila is now the Project Manager for the BA Learning Skills Hub. She sits on the Bookselling Ireland committee and is a board member of the European and International Booksellers Federation. She has been a bookshop mentor since 2017. Patrick Neale Patrick has worked for Sainsbury’s and Waterstones as a store manager and became an independent bookseller in 2001. He is the tutor on the BA's Introduction to Bookselling Course; co-author of the BA's guide How to Start and Run a Bookshop; an award-winning bookseller; and a former BA President. He continues to fight the cause for independent bookselling, knowing just how much independent bookshops enrich every community that has one. Nicki Thornton Nicki has worked with more than 30 independent bookshops since becoming a mentor in 2017. In 2006 she established Mostly Books in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, which went on to win the inaugural Best New Bookshop Award at the Nibbies (British Book Awards). Mostly Books built up an enviable schools business from scratch and Nicki used her knowledge of children's reading to launch her own writing career with the bestselling The Last Chance Hotel series.