10 June 2022
Independent Bookshop Week is just around the corner! Launched in 2006 as part of the Books Are My Bag campaign, this special week is a celebration of independent bookshops nationwide and the role independents play in their communities.
We asked Serpent’s Tail authors to take us on a journey through their favourite independent bookshops, from London, to Ludlow, to Vermont and beyond!
Join the conversation and let us know your favourite indie bookshop by tweeting us @SerpentsTail.
Sarai Walker – author of The Cherry Robbers
Northshire Bookstore, Vermont USA
“I love so many independent bookshops. One of my favourites is Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vermont. In the early 2000s, I did my master’s degree in creative writing at Bennington College, which is nearby.
I would often visit Northshire Bookstore and spend hours there browsing their amazing selection. It was such a cozy environment in which to discover new books and authors, and I always found not only books there but inspiration. A couple years ago I returned to Vermont for the first time in about 15 years. Of course I went back to Northshire and there I saw my first novel on the shelf. It was such a thrill for me to see my work available there.”
Alix Nathan – author of Sea Change
Poetry Pharmacy, Bishop’s Castle and The Montgomery Bookshop, Ludlow UK
“Living in the Marches means my two nearest independent bookshops are in England and in Wales: the famous and fascinating Poetry Pharmacy, Bishop’s Castle and The Montgomery Bookshop, cosy, book- and flower-filled in lovely Montgomery. Not far away is Burway Books, small in size, big of heart. In a 25-mile radius bookshops are only independent! Yet a little further, Castle Bookshop in historic Ludlow and the amazing, ever lively Booka’. Better scrub the 25-mile radius bit as Booka is 29 miles away. I suppose if I stretch the distance between me and Shrewsbury Waterstones to 30 miles the assertion about radius could be retained …”
Lizzy Stewart – author of Alison
The Bookseller Crow, Crystal Palace, London UK
“The experience of trying to choose a favourite bookshop is not similar to the desperate brain-rifling I have to do to choose a favourite book. It is impossible, for every mood there is a different bookshop! So I’ll have to go for the one that has been my longest serving local! Though I’ve moved away now, the Bookseller Crow in Crystal Palace served me well for six years. The selection of books is well curated and unusual, which really gives the shop an identity. The graphic novel selection is great, the kids book section is good and they have, on occasion, let me draw all over their windows!”
Jami Attenberg – author of I Came All This Way to Meet You
“It’s impossible for me to choose a favourite independent bookstore because in a way they’re all my favourites. I love how each indie bookstore I step into has its own identity and point of view. I love reading the little shelf-talker notes booksellers write for their favourite reads. I love chit-chatting with the staff, seeing how their day is going, having them point me in the right direction of something new I haven’t heard of before. I love the soundtrack playing in the background. I love the dinging of a bell on a front door whenever a new customer shows up. I love the way little communities form out of them. I love how they make a neighbourhood complete.”