Every month we go behind the shelves at a different independent bookshop - we meet the owners, customers and pets. Bookshop dogs and cats are the best! If you’d like us to feature your local bookshop get in touch using the form below.
INDIE BOOKSHOP OF THE MONTH
Loyalty Bookstores, Washington, USA
Loyalty Bookstores – Indie Bookshop Of The Month – August 2023
Diversity is at the heart of ‘Loyalty’. Intersectionality and community are central to their staff and these values drive their selections, programming and promotions.
‘Loyalty’ was founded in 2018 by Hannah Oliver Depp, a Black and Queer bookseller who has spent her career working to diversify the book industry so it can better serve the powerful communities of colour and queerness. In 2023, Christine Bollow joined as co-owner, bringing her events experience and perspective as a Queer, disabled, and biracial Filipina bookseller.
“We like books. We like you. And we’re ready to bring the best diverse books and events to our community.” - Loyalty Books.
This month we are celebrating five years of Indie Bookshop of the Month!
In 2018 we kicked off our new feature by visiting City Books in Hove and from there we have taken you across the UK and beyond! In 2021 Damian took us on a tour of Unity Books in New Zealand and Megan Bay Dorman has interviewed bookshop owners on Insta Live across the world, including Gertrude & Alice in Australia, Desperate Literature in Madrid, Winding Stair in Ireland and One Grand Books in New York.
Shrew Books – Indie Bookshop Of The Month – June 2023
In 2020, Fowey’s much-loved bookshop, Bookends, closed its doors, but not for long! Kate Longman was ready and waiting to reveal Shrew Books as the shop’s latest incarnation.
Browse the bookshelves and you will see the latest fiction and non-fiction, but you will also discover a range of Cornish writers and Cornish settings.
Indie Bookshop of the Month: May 2023 - Tertulia
This month we’re taking you to Westport, County Mayo in Ireland. Tertulia is owned by Brid and Neil, who fell in love with Westport after taking a wrong turn! Tertulia is a space for book lovers, film lovers, a place to relax, enjoy a cup of coffee, meet old friends and new, chat about books and more! This indie bookshop is a perfect fit with Salon as the word tertulia means; a type of literary salon that was popular in Spain from at least the 17th century!
Indie Bookshop of the Month: April 2023 - Typewronger Books
Welcome to Typewronger Books, Edinburgh's smallest bookshop and Scotland's only typewriter repair shop! Within the tiny walls of this bookshop you’ll find new books, independent publications and zines. You can also join Risograph Zine-Making Workshops and a play reading group as well as regular free events. Typewronger Books is home to a small but beautiful community of readers, writers, artists and musicians…. Sounds idyllic! Read below to find out more about this tiny but big hearted bookshop.
Indie Bookshop of the Month: March 2023- BookBar
BookBar is a space where old friends can meet and new friends can be made. Chrissy Ryan, creator and owner, says: “There is nothing better than sharing a good book. The joy of unravelling the characters and plot points with a friend over a glass of wine, hearing inspiring ideas at a book club, sharing in the community a love of reading inspires.”
BookBar encourages people to connect through books and meet at the bookshop’s events; live music, readings, wine tastings and even ‘read-dating’ - their very own version of speed-dating! And they serve coffee too.
See you at the BookBar!
Indie Bookshop of the Month: February 2023-The Bookish Type
To celebrate LGBT+ History Month we’re taking you to The Bookish Type in Leeds. This queer indie bookshop was started up by Ray and Nic in 2019 when they ran pop-up bookstalls, but in 2020 they finally opened the doors to their shop in the Merrion Centre.
On every shelf you’ll find a range of queer literature, from fiction to children’s books, YA to memoirs, poetry to short stories and zines to non-fiction, and more! Ray and Nic champion LGBTIQA+ authors and books with queer themes and characters, “because we know the importance of seeing yourself – and your community – represented. Also, there is so much amazing queer literature that we want to celebrate it all!”
Celebrating 5 Years of Indie Bookshops!
To celebrate five years of our Indie Bookshop of the Month feature, we’re taking you back to City Books in Hove, the very first shop we featured way back when in July 2018! Read on to see our interview with Paul and Inge:
From the niche to the super-niche, from super-swank to pile-em-high second-hand, we LOVE independent bookshops! We want to highlight the high-street heroes who dedicate their lives to readers and writers so every month we’re celebrating a different indie profiling the owners and their tastes (and bookshop cats & dogs)
Meet Paul and Inge from City Books in Hove!
Support Us On Bookshop.org
Bookshop.org is on a mission to support indies.
Every time you buy a book from them, you contribute to a fund evenly shared among participating shops – including Salon! Find our favourite titles at Bookshop.org
