Books Are My Bag, the consumer campaign division of the Booksellers Association, has today announced The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft as Fiction Book of the Month, and My Path by Jana Curll as Children’s Book of the Month for January.
 
Independent bookshops around the UK and Ireland will be promoting The Extinction of Irena Rey and My Path throughout January on social media and in-store. Books Are My Bag will be supporting the promotion of the Indie Book of the Month through social media and promotional material.
 
From the Women’s Prize-longlisted author of Homesick, Jennifer Croft, and the International Booker Prize–winning translator of Flights by Nobel Laureate Olga Tokarczuk, comes a propulsive, beguiling novel about eight translators and their search for a world-renowned author who goes missing in a Polish forest. A brilliant examination of art, celebrity, the natural world, and the power of language. The Extinction of Irena Rey is an unforgettable, unputdownable adventure with a small but global cast of characters shaken by the shocks of love, destruction, and creation in one of Europe’s last great wildernesses
 
Jennifer Croft, author of The Extinction of Irena Rey commented: “I am thrilled that my book has been chosen as a Fiction Book of the Month. Bookshops are safe places for contemplation and are the heart of the community. My novel focuses on communities of book lovers and how they can and cannot change the world.”
 
From international author and illustrator Jana Curll, comes an inspiring journey that will help little ones understand that anyone can defy the odds and find their own unique way forward. Follow one plucky little snail’s shimmering journey as they set off on an amazing adventure in this empowering celebration of choice and the unique paths we all tread.
 
Jana Curll, author and illustrator of My Path commented: “There is a magic to independent bookshops. They are spaces of unexpected discovery and delight, and are often at the heart of community connection, where the love of literature and learning is truly celebrated.”  
 
The Indie Book of the Month titles are selected by panels of booksellers from publisher submissions. The Fiction panel were from Literary Cat in Machynlleth, Wedale Bookshop in Galashiels and Red Lion Books in Colchester. The Children’s panel comprised members from Booka Bookshop in Oswestry, Owl and Pyramid in Seaton, Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights in Bath, Chestnut Books in Etwall and Kenilworth Books in Warwickshire.
 
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