This week we are shining a spotlight on Independent Book Shop Week! A celebration of independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland, aiming to highlight the vital role independent bookshops play in their communities.
Pandora and the Story Forge author Gaynor Andrews has taken a moment to tell us all about her favourite independent book shops.
Independent Bookshop Week, which champions all those magical little bookshops around the UK and Ireland, takes place every year in mid-June. I live in a rural area in the north east of Scotland and we are very lucky to have three wonderful independent bookshops within striking distance. I couldn’t possibly choose my favourite – they are all brilliant in their own ways.
The first one I visited as a debut author was Orb’s Community Bookshop at 10 ½, The Square, Huntly. The pretty market town has historic links to the Gordon Highlanders regiment, a ruined castle and a nearby falconry centre that provided owls for the Harry Potter films. But the first time I visited Huntly, it was the little bookshop that caught my eye, with its huge window displays spilling over with books and a view of bustling book-browsers inside. The bookshop is staffed entirely by knowledgeable and dedicated volunteers, who visit schools, host book launches and events, and joyfully seize any opportunity for a spot of fancy dress. A local artisan baker regularly sells her wares from their premises and they also house the local seed library during the growing seasons. Their events sometimes spill over to another amazing community owned and operated project across the square, which has a café, cinema and co-working spaces.
December 2024 was the culmination of a year of celebrations at Orb’s to recognise the 200th anniversary of the birth of the author George MacDonald, who was born in Huntly. And soon after these momentous celebrations, I was invited to run a storytelling and book-signing event, which coincided with the Christmas market and guaranteed a stream of little visitors. I was so warmly welcomed, with offers of help, cups of tea and shortbread stars, that the event was a delight and I’m looking forward to visiting them again in the future.
As part of the Independent Bookshop Week activities, I will be running a storytime session at Yeadon’s Bookshop in Elgin. Elgin lies between Aberdeen and Inverness, on the River Lossie. Its bustling modern library looks across the duck-filled pond to the ruins of Elgin’s once-magnificent cathedral. Looking up above the ubiquitous shop fronts in the High Street, you get a glimpse of the former splendour of this historic town.
Yeadon’s Bookshop curves around the corner at the top end of Commerce Street. It’s a beautiful shop, with tall shelves and tables stacked with books, along with greetings cards, gift wrap and notelets. Poppy, the little bookshop dog, sleeps under the table, calmly assessing visitors with a tiny tail thump. As an independent bookshop, they pride themselves on carefully choosing books they think their visitors will love and sourcing signed and special editions, especially of local authors.
Yeadon’s was established in 1887 and is one of the oldest continuously trading bookshops in Scotland. On the other end of the scale, my third local bookshop is brand new, having opened its doors just a couple of weeks ago.
Beinn’s Coffee and Bookshop stands in the centre of Dufftown, just down from the Clock Tower, the former town gaol, and next door to a wonderful craft shop, 3 Bags Wool, which supplied me with the pink yarn for Pandora’s hair!
Dufftown is part of the Speyside’s whisky trail, with the Glenfiddich distillery just a couple of miles away. It’s also at one end of a little heritage railway, called ‘The Whisky Line’. If coffee is more your thing, then I’d recommend the coffee and cakes at Beinn’s, especially as you can then segue nicely into a book-browsing session. They’ve somehow managed to squeeze in a wonderfully eclectic range of books, including a tiny children’s corner and a couple of cosy armchairs. The delicious smell of coffee is replaced by the tantalising crisp scent of new books, with their gloriously alluring covers.
Independent bookshops offer something a little different from the large chains – a carefully curated selection of books and a chance to speak to a real person, a fellow booklover who is happy to spend time chatting about your next book choices. They play a vital role in their communities and are staunch supporters of local authors. Happy Independent Bookshop Week to all the lovely bookshops in our communities!
So, make sure you make a trip to your local independent book shop this week and treat yourself to a book or two.
With huge thanks from Rocket Bird Books to all those lovely book sellers out there.
