All You Need to Know About Bookshop Day This Saturday
The line-up for Bookshop Day (Saturday 8 October) – the annual celebration of bookshops big and small in the UK and Ireland – has been revealed, with dozens of events and activities taking place across the country.
Bookshop Day (Saturday 8 October) is the annual celebration of bookshops across the UK and Ireland with events for all the family, including scavenger hunts, face painting, children’s storytime, charitable book drives, quizzes, sweet freebies and more.
There will be bookshop events with Jacqueline Wilson, Ruth Jones, Oliver Jeffers, Nadia Wassef, Tobia Taitt, Amy B. Moreno, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and more, as well as Black History Month and Terry Pratchett celebrations, author talks, crafty sessions and face-painting, live music, art exhibitions, scavenger hunts, free cupcakes and goodie bags.
Bookshop Events
Family-friendly 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bags of Books (Lewes) are holding an event for children with Gianna Pollero to celebrate Bookshop Day. Monster Doughnuts is a hilarious series that every doghnut loving child will want to read.
- 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.
- 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 Lithuania: 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!
- 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!
North of England
- 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!
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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.
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:
- Backstory in Balham, London is planning to open just after Bookshop Day
- Battersea Books (Stanfords) in London is set to open on Friday 14 October
- Books on the Rise in Richmond, London will be opening their doors soon
- The Folkestone Bookshop in Folkestone are planning their opening soon
- Heron Books in Bristol is due to open this Saturday 1 October
- Juno Books in Sheffield are planning to open on Bookshop Day itself
Emma Bradshaw, Head of Campaigns at the BA, commented: “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 high streets. This is also the perfect occasion to start your Christmas shopping early, and get personalised recommendations for your Christmas book presents from the experts!”
Follow the latest development on social media via @booksaremybag and follow the hashtag #BookshopDay.
