The Booksellers Association of the United Kingdom & Ireland Limited

Bookshop Day Unveils Line-up

30/09/2022
The line-up for Bookshop Day (Saturday 8 October) – the annual celebration of bookshops big and small in the UK and Ireland – have today been revealed, with dozens of events and activities taking place across the country.
 
From author events with Jacqueline Wilson and Oliver Jeffers to children’s sessions involving face painting, mask-making and colouring, and from the kick-off of a four-week Great Author North Tour involving six bookshops to exclusive promotions and freebies of all kinds (including sweet ones!), Bookshop Day is set to be a reminder to all book-lovers that there’s nothing like your local bookshop.
 
BOOKSHOP EVENTS
Author events and activities taking place on Bookshop Day across the UK include:
 
South of England
  • Waterstones Milton Keynes will be holding a free event on Saturday 8 October at 2pm with children’s author Paula Harrison, celebrating her new book Kitty and the Vanishing Act, with a special mask-making session for children. More info here.
  • Waterstones Bluewater (Dartford) is holding an event on Saturday 8 October with Stacey Solomon as she signs her new book, Tap To Tidy At Pickle Cottage, an accessible and entertaining guide to DIY hacks and major renovation projects, which follows her bestselling self-help book Tap to Tidy. More info here.
  • Waterstones Orpington (South London) invites customers to the bookshop to meet author Jo Clegg as she celebrates her latest book Here Comes the Sun – an uplifting story of new beginnings, family, community and finding yourself again, all set locally in our town of Orpington. More info here.
  • Waterstones Ashford will be welcoming author Judith Eagle in store to sign copies of her Waterstones Book of the Month middle grade, The Accidental Stowaway, a thrilling nautical mystery set in 1910. More info here.
  • Maldon Books (Essex) is doing an event with Jaqueline Wilson, one of Britain’s best-selling and most beloved children’s authors, on Saturday 8 October, to celebrate her new book Project Fairy. More info here.
  • The Little Green Bookshop (Herne Bay) will be holding an day of celebrations, readings, live music and more, including an event with author Lucy Strange who will ready from her novels Sisters of the Lost Marsh and The Mermaid in the Millpon. More info here.
  • October Books (Southampton) will be joined on Bookshop Day by Tobias Taitt in the shop to hear about his autobiographical graphic novel, BLACK, set in 1970s Southampton. Hear from the author himself in this exclusive talk celebrating and recognising the social significance of post-Windrush black history in Southampton, and marking Black History Month. There will be an accompanying exhibition of the artwork at the John Hansard gallery. More info here.
  • The Children’s Bookshop (Muswell Hill, London) will be doing an event with bestselling children’s author Oliver Jeffers on Bookshop Day. Oliver will be signing in the shop of his latest book, Meanwhile Back on Earth. More info here.
  • Yellow Lighted Bookshop (Tetbury) is hosting a special evening with Jackie Morris, the illustrator of this year’s Books Are My Bag Limited Edition Bag, on Friday 7 October at Tetbury Goods Shed Arts Centre. The event will celebrate both Jackie’s latest book, and the fifth birthday of her acclaimed publication The Lost Words. More info here.
  • Bags of Books (Lewes) are holding an event for children with Gianna Pollero to celebrate Bookshop Day. Monster Doughnuts is a hilarous series that every doghnut loving child will want to read. More info here.
  • Books on the Hill (Clevedon) are having a number of children’s authors visisting the shop throughout Bookhop Day, including Vanessa Harbour, Laura James, Amy Wilson, J. M Joseph, Lucy Hope and Pip Jones. More info here.
  • The Ivybridge Bookshop (Ivybridge) will have a children’s storytelling event to celebrate Bookshop Day with Triona Harris, Brendan Kearney and Clare Helen Welsh. The bookshop is also running a book donation to a Kharkiv school relocated to Lithuaniaa: bring in your favourite children’s book to donate to Gravitas Schola, teaching kids relocated from Kharkiv. The first 50 donations will receive a £5 book token to buy a new favourite book! More info here.
  • Daunts Books (Summertown, Oxford) will celebrate Bookshop Day with Iona Rangeley, author of the Einstein the Penguin series. Einstein the Penguin introduces an unforgettable new character for all the family to enjoy. Join Iona for an extra special ‘Bookshop Day’ event full of quizzes, readings and, of course, penguins! More info here.
 
North of England
  • Waterstones Harrogate will celebrate Bookshop Day with an afternoon author event with Chris Nickson, author of many wonderful crime novels locally set in Yorkshire and North Derbyshire, and local author Daniel Ingram-Brown, author of the exciting book for children, Bea's Witch. They’re also holding a special evening event in partnership with Bluemoose Publishing – one of Britain's finest independent publishing houses – featuring talks with several authors. More info here, here and here.
  • Waterstones Nottingham presents an afternoon of Discworld fun to celebrate the life and work of Terry Pratchett. Join them in store on Saturday 8 October for a quiz, a chance to design your own Discworld character and the chance to sample baked goods straight from the cookbooks of Nanny Ogg! More info here.
  • Waterstones Durham will be joined by brilliant local author Jude O'Reilly for a bookclub session and to sign copies of Sleep When You're Dead – a fantastic new addition to the Michael North Series. More info here.
  • Waterstones Doncaster encourages customers to visit, shop and celebrate Bookshop Day with them. Drop by, speak to a bookseller for some great recommendations, get the kids involved in fun actvities and buy a new book. More info here.
  • Waterstones Bolton are inviting children of all ages to take part in their book Scavenger Hunt. Simply ask at the till for the activity sheet and if you are able to complete the whole scavenger hunt you can enjoy 10% off any non-discounted children's book. More info here.
  • Waterstones Liverpool are organising an event in their children's section for storytime with Sophie Corrigan. Sophie will be reading from her brand new children's book, Literary Critters: William Shakesbear's Journey for Inspiration, followed by a book signing. The storytime is free to attend and everyone is welcome! More info here.
  • Blue Sheep Books (Wednesbury) will be celebrating their 1st birthday with several offers including buy one new paperback, get the second for £1, 40% off selected hardbacks, free cupcakes and kid’s party bags and face painting. More info here.
  • DRAKE The Bookshop (Stockton-on-Tees) the bookshop’s Great North Author Tour (GNAT) bus is back! For four weeks, starting on Saturday 8 October, the bus will be full of authors travelling to several bookshops where schools and shops can get involved. Locations include The Little Ripon Bookshop, White Rose Books & Café, The Guisborough Bookshop, Book Corner and The Bound. More info here.
  • Sam Read Bookseller (Grasmere) will host an online Q&A with Nadia Wassef to talk about her Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller in celebration of Bookshop Day. More info here.
  • Cogito Books (Hexham) have invited members of their Children’s and YA Book Groups to come and join them as booksellers for the day, to mark Bookshop Day. Do come and join them on Saturday 8 October, enjoy some delicious cake, and say hello to their future booksellers! More info here.
  • Read (Holmfirth) are holding an author event on Bookshop Day with Jo Moseley, author of the bestselling book Stand Up Paddleboarding in Great Britain. Jo will share stories of the beautiful places she visited, the kindness of the paddle-boarding community and helpful tips on safety, starting and progressing, and it will be possible to buy signed/dedicated copies on the day. More info here.
  • The West Kirby Bookshop (Kirby) will be welcoming Liverpool based author, Jennifer Hayashi Danns, on Bookshop Day, to celebrate the publication of her first Young Adult novel, Beneath the Burning Wave. More info here.
  • Hessle Bookshop (Hessle) are celebrating Bookshop Day with local children's author Marion Gamble, who will come into the shop to sign copies of her latest book William Likes to Bounce. More info here.
  • The Little Ripon Bookshop (Ripon) will have no.1 bestselling author Ruth Jones coming to the shop to sign copies of ther latest book Love Untold, a heart-warming novel about mothers and daughters and the complex bond between them. More info here.
  • The Bookcase (Lowdham) will welcome back illustrator James Brown for another instalment of reading, sketching and making! The new Lottie Loves Nature book will be launched in the shop on Bookshop Day. Join in with the draw along, listen to an extract from the book and learn all about hedgehogs. More info here.
  • Kemps General Store & Bookshop (Malton) will welcome in the shop author Matson Taylor, who will be putting dow his pen and joining them behind the counter, taking over the till and stacking the shelves. He will also be chatting and getting to know our customers and probably signing a few of his books too. More info here.
 
Wales
  • Waterstones Swansea presents a Bookshop Day event with Swansea’s own James Norbury, author of the Sunday Times Bestseller, Big Panda and Tiny Dragon, and the brand new The Journey. James will be illustrating postcards live in the shop, and signing his books – pop in to meet James, watch him at work (and, whilst stock lasts, pick up one of the postcards) and get your book signed and dedicated. More info here.
  • Bookish (Crickhowell) will hold a special event in partnership with The School of Life on Saturday 8 October. The event will be a guided discussion around their bestselling book What They Forgot To Teach You At School. Prompted by a structured series of questions, readers will be invited to open up about the life lessons they wish they’d been taught at school, and what a wiser, emotional education might comprise of. More info here.
  • Storyville Books (Pontypridd) will be celebrating Bookshop Day as well as the launch of their new extenstion on Saturdy 8 October with authors, goody bags, the creation station, storytelling, an illustration workshop and much more. They will be joined in store by author Karin Celestine, authorThe Wish Gatherers and The Lightbringer. More info here.
  • The Wellfield Bookshop (Cardiff) will be hosting an event with Matthew Williams on Bookshop Day at 3pm, where he’ll discuss The Science of Hate, explaining how prejudice becomes hate and what we can do to stop it, followed by a book signing. The event is free with tickets available at the bookshop.

Scotland
  • Portobello Bookshop (Edinburgh) are celebrating Bookshop Day with a very special children’s event. Join author Amy B. Moreno for a fun-filled interactive morning exploring her brand new picture book, A Billion Balloons of Questions! Children aged 3 to 7 are invited to join Amy for a special reading and a crafty session of drawing, colouring and coming up with some great big questions of their own. More info here.
  • Waterstones East Kilbride (Glasgow) will be holding a special event for children inspired by The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Follow Caterpillar's journey as he eats his way through a lot of fruit and other food. More info here.
  • Ginger Cat Children’s Bookshop (Kilmacolm) invites local author Lindsay Littleson who wrote The Mixed-Up Summer of Lily McLean, and the sequel, The Awkward Autumn of Lily McLean to celebrate Bookshop Day with them. More info here.
 
Northern Ireland
  • Bridge Books (Dromore Co Down) invites people to join them in celebration of Bookshop Day with discounts, giveaways, and of course their legendary goodie bags. More info here.
  • The Secret Bookshelf (Carrickfergus) are marking Bookshop Day with fouble loyalty points on purchases from Saturday 8 October until the end of the month, 3 for 2 on bargain books and book giveaways throughout the day. More info here.
 
Ireland
  • The Library Project (Dublin) will be launching the fourth issue of BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! The Magazine at The Library Project with editor Ghislain Pascal and Irish photographer Charles Moriarty on Friday 7 October, with an exhibition of works by AdeY, Tyler Udall and Michael Søndergaard running alongside the bookshop for the month of October. More info here.
 
NEW BOOKSHOP OPENINGS
A number of bookshops across the country have just opened, or are planning to open their doors around Bookshop Day, ready to welcome their customers from this autumn:
   
 
Emma Bradshaw, Head of Campaigns at the BA, commented: “Bookshop Day is next week, and we simply cannot wait to see bookshops across the country buzzing with events, children’s sessions, author talks and the million other activities that booksellers have been busy organising over the past few months. There’s no better time than Bookshop Day to visit your local bookshop and celebrate the difference they make to our highstreets. This is also the perfect occasion to start your Christmas shopping early, and get personalised recommendations for your Christmas book presents from the experts!”
 
Details of Bookshop Day events taking place across the country can be found on the Books are My Bag Facebook events page.
 
Follow the latest development on social media via @booksaremybag / #BookshopDay
 
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