The Booksellers Association has today announced The Middle Daughter by Chika Unigwe, as Fiction Book of the Month for April, and Molly, Olive and Dexter by Catherine Rayner is Children’s Book of the Month.
 
Independent bookshops around the UK and Ireland will be promoting The Middle Daughter and Molly, Olive and Dexter throughout April on social media and in-store. The Booksellers Association will be supporting the promotion of the Indie Books of the Month through social media and promotional material.
 
 The Middle Daughter by Chika Unigwe is the story of seventeen-year-old Nani who discovers womanhood through hardship before finding her freedom and independence.
 
When Nani is only seventeen, she loses her beloved sister and father. Misunderstood by the rest of her family, she is beguiled by an itinerant preacher, a handsome self-proclaimed ‘man of God’ who seems to offer all the answers. But instead of building a better future with him, Nani is forced too soon into a challenging womanhood with an oppressive husband.
 
The Middle Daughter is a modern, feminist reimagining of the myth of Hades and Persephone that asks what a powerful woman looks like. It is a heartbreaking and compelling story of the binds of tradition, the damage they can cause, and the courage it takes to break the silence. Exploring themes of sisterhood, the cultural stigma around sexual assault, baby factories and female independence, Unigwe challenges the usual balance of power between women and their abusers and offers a version where the victim is empowered to break free by the women around her. The Middle Daughter is published by Canongate on 6 April 2023 and is available to pre-order now.
 
Chika Unigwe said: “Independent bookshops sustain us, they are the life of our communities. We gather in them to nourish our souls, and without them, we are starved. Nothing can replace the experience of walking into a bookshop where the bookseller gives you individual attention and can point you to the book you didn't even know you needed. Long live our independent bookshops and our booksellers.”
 
Molly, Olive and Dexter by Catherine Rayner is the start of an irresistible new picture book series, which sweetly celebrates friendship and play, all while delivering a reassuring message that loved ones are never too far away.
 
Molly the hare, Olive the owl, and Dexter the fox, are three friends who live near the oak tree at the edge of the meadow. Hide-and-seek is Molly’s favourite game, but things aren’t going her way. For starters, Olive and Dexter don't seem to know the rules. And when Molly shows her friends how to play properly, they hide a little too well. Set in a delicately rendered pastoral world of soft colour and shimmering line, this is a picture book that tackles outsize toddler emotions with sensitivity and whimsy. Molly, Olive and Dexter is published by Walker Books on 6 April 2023 and is available to pre-order now.
 
Catherine Rayner said: "A trip to an indie bookshop is something that everyone in my family gets excited about. It’s a treasure trove for all our imaginations. We never know what we will come out with but it’s always something brilliant! Whether it’s a novel I’d never had heard of, a new picture book from an author or illustrator we love, or a book that we will use for a recipe for dinner that evening. The bookshop is always full of new discoveries chosen by expert booksellers - and what else could possibly be more exciting!?  
 
Our local indie bookshop has supported me as an illustrator and author. It has opened up its doors for signings, events, launches - even window painting over the years. Welcoming my new titles on to their shelves and making sure people know what’s coming next...I’m immensely grateful  for this and I feel honoured that they recommend my books to their customers.” 
 
The Indie Book of the Month titles are selected by panels of booksellers from publisher submissions. The Children’s panel for April comprised members from Read, Holmfirth; Children’s Bookshop, Muswell Hill; Rossiter Books and The Alligator’s Mouth. The Fiction panel were from Kemptown Bookshop; Nantwich Bookshop; Postscript Books and Hewson Books.

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