This August, we launched our second Booker Prize Indie Bookshop Spotlight, a competition in which we invited independent bookshops and booksellers from across the UK and Ireland to celebrate this year’s Booker Prize shortlist along with us.

To enter, bookshops were asked to assemble in-store displays of the titles nominated for the prize, posting images of their activity on their social media channels. Entries, which came from the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland, impressed us both with the creativity and innovation of their displays, and the passion and dedication of the booksellers.

Separately, we also worked with The Reading Agency to run a competition for libraries across the UK, who were tasked with creating an imaginative display to encourage readers to take part in our Reading Challenge.

The six winning bookshops of the Booker Prize Indie Bookshop Spotlight competition are The Portobello Bookshop, Edinburgh; Fourbears Books, Reading; Bàrd Books, London; The Secret Bookshelf, Carrickfergus; Hold Fast Bookshop, Leeds; and Books Upstairs, Dublin. 

Bàrd Books, London, has been chosen at random as the overall winner of the competition. The team has won tickets to attend this year’s award ceremony and dinner on Tuesday, 12 November, 2024 at Old Billingsgate in London.

Here, we spoke to the booksellers from each winning shop, asking them why indie bookstores are so much more than just shops, and to explain the importance of the Booker Prize to both them and their readers. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to visit a local shop in your community – and discover a new favourite while there.

Fourbears Books, Reading 

Alex Forbes, owner

Tell us a bit about your bookshop, and what makes it unique. 

The bookshop is incredibly special to me. After leaving a 15-year career in financial services just after the start of the pandemic, I wanted to try something completely different. I love books so a bookshop seemed the obvious choice. I then went on a date with a girl and she asked what I did. I said ‘I’ve left my job and I’m opening up a bookshop’. Apparently, that was the line that secured the second date. We then had some lockdown dates in the shop and last year I proposed to her in the shop. We now have a beautiful daughter who helped start our baby group, and I have gained a 13-year-old who always has an opinion on the Manga books I stock. It’s been a whirlwind four years with highlights of sell-out events for numerous authors, our first Fourbears Fest with 15 events in a weekend, and opening our doors last Christmas Day for lonely people in our community to have some Christmas cheer (this included one lady who just wanted to get away from her in-laws for half an hour). We feel like we are at the heart of our community and that shapes what we do and continues to create special moments where everyone is smiling and getting lost in the world of books.

How did you start out bookselling and what do you enjoy most about it, and working in a bookshop?

I was given three years redundancy notice in my previous job and I thought long and hard about what to do next. It’s not often you get a chunk of money to spend how you like, so I wanted to do something different and something I was passionate about. I attended the Booksellers Association’s How to Open and Run a Bookshop course, and my mind was made up. We opened in December 2020. When I started planning the shop earlier that year I didn’t for a moment think Covid lockdowns would last as long as they did so I carried on, survived and we are about to celebrate our fourth birthday. I love talking about books and seeing the joy when our customers speak about books they’ve recently loved. Getting to know our community has been very special. 

Why do you think independent bookselling is so important?

I think Indie bookselling brings something different to the high street. Whether it be promoting lesser-known books and sharing a special read which doesn’t have mainstream publicity, or having a conversation with customers about what they want to read rather than relying on algorithms, then that customer returns for their next books. There’s an individuality about an indie where no two will be the same, which adds to the magic. We also have many customers who are quite lonely and a bookshop is such a safe space for them to come and chat with someone, even if it’s not about books. 

What does the Booker Prize mean to you as a bookseller and what does it mean to your customers?

There is a real buzz about the Booker, ranging from the customers that buy the entire shortlist, or those that begin with the winner. It’s great to have books discussed in the media when they are there purely for their writing merits. Each year it brings us new customers who are discovering the shop. Next year we will be having a Booker party to celebrate the shortlist and the winner announcement.

Which of the Booker Prize 2024 shortlisted titles would you like to see win, and why?

It’s a tough question but I’d say James by Percival Everett. I love his books but when I heard it was a reimagining of Huckleberry Finn it went straight to the top of the reading pile, and it didn’t disappoint. The intensity was breathtaking, and I couldn’t put it down.

Hold Fast Bookshop, Leeds

Victoria and Chris Bonner, owners

Tell us a bit about your bookshop, and what makes it unique. 

We are Victoria and Chris, and we opened Hold Fast Bookshop in November 2022. You can find us floating in Leeds Dock onboard National Historic Ship Marjorie R, a converted Yorkshire Coal Barge. She is moored in the former commercial dock in Leeds where boats like her were loaded and unloaded – these days the industry is gone and we now have coffee shops, wine bars, and an artisan bakery in the dock nearby. We often share the water with paddle boarders and swimmers, as well as a stroppy heron called Keith who fears no human or dog. We have seats on our upper deck where people can read on those rare rainless days we get in Leeds. We also sell plants which adds a much-needed splash of colour to the area.

How did you start out bookselling and what do you enjoy most about it, and working in a bookshop?

People often ask where we got the idea to set up a bookshop on a boat – in truth, we have lived and worked on the water for 22 years so it never really occurred to us to try and find a shop on dry land. Having the shop has changed our taste in books – reading more widely has introduced us both to new genres we never would have picked up before. 

Why do you think independent bookselling is so important?

If there is anything better than chatting about books all day, we have yet to find it and it’s such a vital part of independent bookselling. It’s great to see the interactions in a bookshop – customers often start chatting to each other about what they have read or enjoyed. That doesn’t really happen in other shops – it’s as if ‘normal rules’ don’t apply in bookshops and by stepping in you know things will be a little calmer, more chatty and comfortable. It’s also so important for readers to see a range of books of all kinds of genres. I think most have more courage and a sense of adventure with their book choices than the dreaded algorithm would ever give them credit for. 

What does the Booker Prize mean to you as a bookseller and what does it mean to your customers?

The Booker Prize is such a great conversation starter in the shop – people have been hearing about the shortlisted books and authors on the radio, on TV and online and there is a real buzz around the selection. Sometimes there is nothing better than a long lingering browse in a bookshop, and other times you just want someone to give you a book and say ‘read this, it’s good’. The Booker Prize is a shortcut readers need when fatigued by choice or too time-poor to wander the shelves.

Which of the Booker Prize 2024 shortlisted titles would you like to see win, and why?

We would be so happy for Samatha Harvey to win. Orbital is a fantastic story and I also like how accessible it is. It’s an extraordinary book, so emotive but quite short and very easy to read. Our customers are enjoying it, and we have lots of people coming in for it after friends have recommended it. I was lucky enough to meet Samatha at an event and she was so nice – and ironically very down to earth – we talked about trying to write on trains and how it’s almost impossible not to be distracted. I’d love to be able to say I had a cuppa with a Booker Prize winner! 

Bàrd Books, London

Vicki Shenkin Kerr, owner; Kristin Griffin, manager 

 Tell us a bit about your bookshop, and what makes it unique. 

Still in its infancy, Bàrd Books opened this past July on Roman Road in East London, an area with a very diverse community. In the hundred-odd years we have access to, there has never been a bookshop in this slice of the city. Open from morning to late at night, we provide a working space, excellent coffee, cosy cushioned window seats for reading, a separate spacious kid’s room, and margaritas on tap. (Yes, margaritas on tap.) Bàrd Books is a place to chat, relax, and to get great book suggestions and munch on delicious pastries whilst surrounded by our colourful, carefully curated bookshelves.  Our event docket is equally varied, from our monthly sell-out book club to tarot readings, authors in conversation and open mic opportunities. 

How did you start out bookselling and what do you enjoy most about it, and working in a bookshop?

You could say it was a 20-year dream, or you could say it was a moment of spontaneity – either way when we saw the site (formerly an estate agent) it was just meant to be. Three months in and there’s something every day to challenge and delight. A box arrives from a publisher with exciting new reads, an author event that inspires, and a regular brings you cookies. Surrounded by books and wine, good people and good conversation – what more could you want?

Why do you think independent bookselling is so important?

Independent bookselling is integral to a healthy community. After the pandemic, it is important we have these in-person spaces to reconnect. Bookshops are places to give and receive reading recommendations. Whether relying on the expertise of the bookseller who can sharpen our tastes based on what we’ve enjoyed before or sparking up a conversation with a fellow book lover who can introduce us to something completely new.

What does the Booker Prize mean to you as a bookseller and what does it mean to your customers?

Books aren’t cheap. Branching out as a reader is a risk. It’s easy to bury ourselves in the backlists of an author we already trust or rely on social media trends for our next reads. The Booker exists as an accessible pedestal of highly regarded novels that we can explore, knowing we’re in safe hands.  As booksellers, we also appreciate the challenge of discovering new books that we are confident in recommending.

Which of the Booker Prize 2024 shortlisted titles would you like to see win, and why?

It seems Percival Everett’s James is the favourite to win according to much of social media. Understandably so. Everett’s powerful reimagining of a classic from a modern viewpoint is as close to perfection as a novel can get.  However, we at Bàrd Books – always striving to go at least a little off-piste, are rooting for Rachel Kushner’s Creation Lake to take home the gold. Creation Lake is such a rich text with every sentence chock full of information and wit, giving you something to unpack at every full stop. It would also be hard not to mention the record-breaking number of female authors shortlisted in this 55^th year of Booker history. Kushner, an author with an impressive backlist working at the top of her game, is more than deserving of representing the incredible list of works this year.

The Portobello Bookshop, Edinburgh

Jack Clark, director

Tell us a bit about your bookshop, and what makes it unique. 

We opened in 2019 and have been working hard to grow our shop, events programme, relationships with our local community, schools and fellow Portobello-based businesses, and to establish ourselves as a haven for book lovers. Events play a huge part in what we do and we generally host 70 to 100 events a year, ranging from large-scale events at venues across Edinburgh with hundreds of people in attendance, to smaller, more intimate events of around 60 to 80 people in the bookshop. We also work hard to make the shop a welcoming space for everyone from our customers to authors, and all the wonderful dogs who visit with their owners, too. The shop is filled with our team’s book recommendations throughout, and we’re fortunate to have built relationships with many authors that allow us to offer signed and personalised copies of their books via our website to customers all over the world. We also have great relationships with local charities and schools, as well as other high street businesses that we enjoy promoting on our social media channels. 

How did you start out bookselling and what do you enjoy most about it, and working in a bookshop?

I started bookselling in 2019, after previously working as an art director. My real love was always books and I’d harboured a dream of opening a bookshop for many years before finally making the jump. Bookselling is a joy – it’s one of the few jobs where you get to work alongside and meet people every day who love the same things you do and where you’re able to have discussions about your favourite authors and their work. Working in our bookshop is fairly fast-paced as we’re doing such a variety of different things each week, which makes the days fly by. It’s an exciting environment to be working in with a team who are passionate and dedicated, and there’s nothing nicer than seeing your favourite customers calling in regularly for a natter at the tills.

Why do you think independent bookselling is so important?

I believe independent bookselling and independent bookshops are a vital part of the high street and the wider local community. Indie bookshops, each with its own unique and special identity, provide a haven in which to spend time, separate from home or work, where people can get lost in stories, great conversations, and maybe even make a new friend or two. It’s wonderful to see new bookshops opening in towns or villages that previously didn’t have one, as they help add so much to a high street and community, and we’re proud of how deep our connections with the local community run. 

What does the Booker Prize mean to you as a bookseller and what does it mean to your customers?

The Booker Prize is the prize that we all discuss the most at the shop, and I’m sure that’s the same for many bookshops around the country. It means so much to so many authors, and so many of our customers, and it’s wonderful to see the response that shortlisted authors, and the winner, receive in terms of customer engagement, and engagement across our team of 14 booksellers. It can completely transform an author’s career and it’s fascinating to see the different approaches that the judging panel have each year and the books that make the longlist. Of course, it also means so much to publishers and it’s lovely to see and share in the excitement they feel when one of their authors is shortlisted.

Which of the Booker Prize 2024 shortlisted titles would you like to see win, and why?

Oh, that’s not a question a diplomatic bookseller can answer. There are some great books on the list. I think the ones that most of us have read are James and Orbital and a lot of us really liked both. But that’s not the fairest answer, we’re still working our way through the list! We’re looking forward to finding out this year’s winner.

The Secret Bookshelf, Carrickfergus

Chris Disley and Jo Zebedee, owners and managers

Tell us a bit about your bookshop, and what makes it unique. 

We aim to be a community space for our town, with a range of events, and carefully curated stock. We opened six weeks before Covid struck and were closed for lock-down within six weeks. We were originally in a very quirky upstairs unit, with lots of small rooms, but were able to open a more accessible ground floor unit, where we’ve kept the quirky feel and the broad range, which is what people say they love about the shop. We donate 5% of sales to local schools, and we run events which are, mostly, free to attend, to support accessibility to books. We have hosted a YA festival and partnered with the Louis MacNeice festival this year. We’re also in a very pretty garden, which gives us a very ‘out of the way’ relaxing feel. 

 How did you start out bookselling and what do you enjoy most about it, and working in a bookshop?

We’re a husband-and-wife team. Chris has worked in bookshops since he left university in the early 90s, and it was the one thing he wanted to do – he just loves books! Jo worked for a decade as a manager in Easons before moving to a more flexible job while bringing up a young family. We love being part of our community and getting to know our customers and the sort of books they love. We also love the product, the variety and range to choose from, and that our shop is an extension of our family life. 

Why do you think independent bookselling is so important?

As an author as well as a bookseller, Jo feels it’s important to support the wider author ecosphere than the bestselling authors, only. If independent bookstores don’t thrive the midlist authors suffer – and they’re our range and home of so many books that we love. But it’s also important to our communities, offering a safe space to enjoy books on every subject without judgment. 

 What does the Booker Prize mean to you as a bookseller and what does it mean to your customers?

The Booker Prize is the most visible of all the book prizes and drives a lot of interest in the titles it selects. It always presents a diverse range of books – we never know what to expect on the lists! A strong Irish showing in recent years has driven interest, too. Our customers are actively engaged with the list, with many picking up titles from it, and enjoying conversations around the books. Our book club also picks up from the list – Prophet Song [Booker Prize 2023 winner] was a thought-provoking discussion this year.

Which of the Booker Prize 2024 shortlisted titles would you like to see win, and why? 

Our customers have loved James, so we’d like to see that win from the customer/popular perspective. But as we love speculative fiction, we’d like to see Orbital win, ourselves. It’s nice to see short novels being celebrated as we know customers love them.

Books Upstairs, Dublin

Louisa Earls, manager

Tell us a bit about your bookshop, and what makes it unique.

Books Upstairs is Dublin’s oldest independent bookshop and since its foundation in 1978, we have supported the positive role of books in Irish society. Our stock has always focussed on literature, history and politics as well as previously absent or underrepresented subjects and authors in Ireland.

Since moving to our current home on D’Olier St in Dublin’s city centre, where we have a café and event space, we’ve become a hub of literary activity in the city. With our busy live events schedule we showcase the best of Irish writing as well as offer our community the chance to encounter leading international authors.

How did you start out bookselling and what do you enjoy most about it, and working in a bookshop? 

Louisa Earls is manager at Books Upstairs having taken the reins from her father Maurice, who founded the shop with his friend Enda. The best thing about working in a bookshop is the books of course. But a close second is the people! As a bookseller, you are at the intersection of readers, writers and publishers: people who love books and appreciate the power of books. It is a joy to feel like we are making a positive contribution to the lives of our customers. We are so touched by their positive response to all that we do.

Why do you think independent bookselling is so important?

Our philosophy has always been to encourage the circulation of ideas, and we believe that independent bookshops like ours can make a huge difference to the cultural life of a city. Indie bookshops are in a unique position to engage in the social and political concerns that are important to their community. Since our beginnings, we’ve been committed to the principle of inclusivity. We are proud to have been the first bookshop in Ireland to have stocked queer literature, as well as feminist and other political books which were not easy to find in Ireland of the 1970s and 80s. We hope we’ve created a safe and welcoming space for all readers.

What does the Booker Prize mean to you as a bookseller and what does it mean to your customers? 

The Booker Prize announcements are always exciting dates in a bookseller’s calendar, but for us – and perhaps Ireland in general – 2023 was a very special year. The whole country took notice of the Booker Prize when a record four Irish authors were longlisted for the prize. We seized the moment to bring a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to our community by hosting the only event which brought together the four Irish longlistees in one place. There was such a fantastic buzz in the shop that day and it was a very joyous celebration of Irish writing and its recognition on a global stage. Our customers love to see Irish writing thrive in an international context, so we were delighted to host another Booker Prize event this year with longlisted Irish author Colin Barrett. His book Wild Houses has been a firm favourite among our staff and customers alike. 

The Booker Prize draws attention to some of the finest writing in the English language today, and our customers are like us – they have eclectic taste and are always looking for the best writing they can find!

Which of the Booker Prize 2024 shortlisted titles would you like to see win, and why?

It’s such a great shortlist this year. We were sorry not to see Wild Houses in there for some Irish representation, but it’s wonderful to see such a diverse shortlist and so many women. Two books we find ourselves rooting for here at Books Upstairs are James and Creation Lake. Rachel Kushner has a singular voice and is incredibly popular with our customers, but at a push, we’d probably have to choose James. It is an extraordinary book, one in a long line of incredible works by Percival Everett. So, it would be really lovely to see him win.