Highland bookshops shortlisted for Independent Bookshop of the Year award

By Michelle Henderson

February 16 2022, 9:00 am

Two Highland bookshops are preparing to fight off stiff competition from across the UK in a bid to become 2022 Independent Bookshop of the Year.

The Bookmark in Grantown and The Highland Bookshop in Fort William are among 62 stores across nine regions of the UK and Ireland battling for the coveted 2022 title in The British Book Awards.

The shops will compete to win within their region first, before vying for the overall prize, which will be announced at The British Book Awards winner ceremony on May 23.

The overall Independent Bookshop of the Year winner will then compete to be crowned Retailer of the Year.

The Bookmark shop in Grantown has been shortlisted as one of 62 finalists competing to become Independent Bookshop of the Year.

The Independent Bookshop of the Year Award celebrates those stores that have continued to support local communities with magnificent books.

The awards follows a turbulent two years for traders, forced to shut up shop for prolonged periods and endorse innovative ways to share the written word.

Tom Tivnan, The Bookseller’s managing editor, said: “The received wisdom in the book trade when the pandemic first hit was that independent booksellers might be the most vulnerable. They have proved anything but as through close ties to their communities, indies have flourished for the last two years.

“This year’s Independent Bookshop of the Year regional and country finalists reflect a broad diversity across the UK and Ireland with the thread of innovation running through, no matter if they are one of the UK’s most venerable indies or one of its newest.”

Amidst the turmoil of the Covid-19 pandemic, independent bookshops have been forced to completely transform their operational modules.

Ideas have ranged from bicycle deliveries to local customers, to booksellers rapidly building new eco-commerce platforms and creating platforms for hosting interactive video content to replace face-to-face events.

The British Book Awards has been the leading awards for the book trade since 1990.

The awards, sponsored by Gardners, is supported by a host of major industry associations including The Publishers Association, The Booksellers Association and the Independent Publishers Guild. Judged by leading industry experts it is regarded as ‘the BAFTAs of the book’.

The Bookmark shop in Grantown is one of two Highland retailers shortlisted in Scotland.

Competing at regionals

The two Highland-based stores will now go on to compete against four fellow retailers across Scotland to be voted best in the country.

The Bookmark and The Highland Bookshop will go up against Far from the Madding Crowd in Linlithgow; The Book Nook Stewarton in Stewarton; The Edinburgh Bookshop in the Scottish Capital and Timberbooks in Overton.

The 2022 regional and country winners will be announced on Wednesday March 16, with the overall winner being unveiled at a ceremony in Central London later this year.