Indie Book Award Nominees Celebrate Favourite Bookshops
As readers, it can be easy to think of bookshops as places where we discover authors by finding their books on the shelves, but – of course – bookshops are also places where authors find ideas, inspiration and, most importantly, invaluable support from their readers.
For an insight into how authors experience and interact with their local bookshops and booksellers, we asked the winner of the Fiction category of the Indie Book Awards, Selena Godden, and two of her fellow nominees, Sarah Winman and Emma Stonex, to share their thoughts and experiences about their favourite independents.
Sarah Winman, author of Still Life
There is a certain discomfort in having to choose a favourite independent bookshop. I know of no writer who particularly enjoys the task. All indie bookshops work so hard to serve their communities and every bookshop I’ve visited whispers with the same passion, the same professional knowledge and the same joy for books and writers. And I have been supported - generously so - by many.
But I shall cast my eye to the South West of England. And in particular, Falmouth Bookseller, helmed by Ron Johns. This is a gem of a place that has been selling books to its community for over forty years. As a test of endurance, that in itself is a magical feat. It is a joyous, knowledgeable place. I did a memorable event there when my book Marvellous Ways came out - the story of an old woman who lives in a muddy tidal creek up the Fal river. Cornish booksellers love their Cornish books and I felt delighted I could give them this story. Another brilliant and rather special Cornish bookshop is Edge of the World in Penzance.
Salena Godden, author of Mrs Death Misses Death
I owe a huge debt and have immense gratitude to the booksellers and have loved meeting these brilliant and passionate book people since my book was published. The hardback of Mrs Death Misses Death was published during the lockdown of January 2021. Although we were not permitted to go out and tour, the support of bookshops was immense online. I was so surprised and honoured by the warm response – I have saved these posts and stories on my Instagram highlights, so please feel free to take a look and make sure you follow all of these bookshops and book bloggers. As my book was published, I felt like I was throwing a marble down a black bowling alley, but independent bookshops shone a light on my rolling marble, my one debut book, in all that uncertainty and darkness.
I live in East London. I am lucky it is an area rich with excellent independent bookshops. I owe so much gratitude to Vivian at Newham Bookshop. During lockdown, Vivian came to my house to personally deliver boxes of books for me to sign. I have memories of us distance-chatting on the doorstep, me in my socks and pyjamas and both of us in masks. Newham Bookshop is a beacon in this area, and like so many East London authors, I will always be grateful for their hard work. Eventually when we were allowed to start planning events more and things were opening up, I went on book visits around my area to meet and thank people and sign books and was welcomed so warmly by Stoke Newington Bookshop, Brick Lane, Liberia, Pages of Hackney, and Ink 84.
As the paperback was published, I also made sure to take my book home to Hastings. Printed Matter organised a book event for me down there at St Mary's in the Castle with local author Gareth Rees and I'm so grateful to Lee for all of his continued support. It's a big deal for me and I do not take it for granted. Thanks also go to Afrori in Brighton and Margate Bookie too. I'm a seaside girl, so these particular indie bookshop friendships mean the world to me. I have always loved touring and performing, sharing my work live and meeting people. Recently, I was performing in Yorkshire and I visited Truman Books in Farsley. My writing has always been about that connection more than anything else, so bookshops and libraries are the places where the people I want to reach and meet are.
Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters
Max Minerva’s Marvellous Books burns brightly in north Bristol, around the corner from my old school in Westbury Park. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why it’s so special to me; to visit this indie and see my book on the shelves, only a stone’s throw from where I dreamed in English lessons of one day becoming a published author, is as joyful as it is surreal.
The shop’s history speaks volumes about its owners’ integrity and ambition. When, in 2016, the previous bookshop on the site closed, Jessica and Sam decided to buy it and bring it back. They understood the importance and value of an independent bookseller to local residents – not just as a place to pick up stories, but as a place to gather, share, connect and be inspired. Today, Max Minerva’s shines brilliant as the sun on a street packed with independent retailers – its distinctive vivid-yellow shopfront a beacon of the community.
Pinned to the door are notices about upcoming author talks and signings, while beautiful window displays support local writers as much as bestsellers. As soon as I step inside, I feel time slow down. It’s just me and the books, attentively arranged, a magnificent variety and breadth of subject, from household names to little-known debuts, that manage to capture everything you’ve heard of and everything you haven’t. Carry on through to the back, where a lovely children’s section brims over with character, an ever more important space for young readers as they peel away from Kindles and towards the physical comfort and solace of real books. This is what it’s about at Max Minerva’s; the wellbeing and nourishment offered by books, by picking them up and handling them, by opening them to meet another’s mind and in those words find a reflection of one’s own, by talking about them with sellers. Everyone I’ve spoken to at Max Minerva’s has a deep knowledge of and devotion to their books.
One such title came around when I was last in the shop. By a sheer stroke of luck, author Natasha Brown dropped in to sign copies of her critically acclaimed, enormously powerful debut Assembly, a story about a Black British woman preparing to attend a garden party at her boyfriend’s family home. It’s razor-sharp on race, gender, class and colonialism in our cultural moment and the prose is exquisite. At Max Minerva’s, I was able to chat with Natasha and she dedicated and signed a hardback copy of Assembly for me. As I walked home, I reflected on that certain magic that indies give us – of surprise, of unexpected connection, and unique experiences that you simply won’t find anywhere else.
