10 London shops have been shortlisted for the Independent Bookshop of the Year

10 London bookshops have been shortlisted for the Independent Bookshops of the Year at the British Book Awards this year.

The award, which is sponsored by book wholesaler Gardners and supported by The Booksellers Association, celebrates bookshops at the centre of local communities.

A record number of 77 independent bookshops across nine different regions and countries were named as finalists.

Shortlisted London literature emporiums included Burley Fisher Books in Haggerston, Backstory in Balham and Round Table Books in Brixton. 

The regional winners will be announced on Tuesday March 12. These bookshops will then go head to head for the title of the UK’s best independent bookshop at an awards ceremony in London on May 13.

The 10 independent bookshops listed in London are:

• Children’s Bookshop – Muswell Hill
• Burley Fisher Books – Haggerston
• The Common Press – Bethnal Green
• Round Table Books CIC – Brixton
• BookBar – Islington
• Village Books – Dulwich
• Backstory – Balham
• Brick Lane Bookshop – Tower Hamlets
• The Riverside Bookshop – London Bridge
• Goldsboro Books Limited – Charing Cross

“One of the things that is driven home by the selection process for this award is how lucky book buyers in the UK and Ireland are as we are truly in an independent bookshop renaissance,” said Tom Tivnan, managing editor at The Bookseller. 

“This year’s cohort is one of the strongest I have seen in my 15 years judging this award. Indies have come out of the pandemic and into a cost-of-living and business rates crises, yet still through innovation and creativity thrive as never before.”

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