Love books? Buy books!
Celebrating Independent Bookshops Week
If you’re lucky enough to have an independent bookshop on your local high street, Independent Bookshops Week (14–21 June) is the perfect excuse to pop in and pick up your next read.
As booksellers across Wales take part in the campaign, which is run annually by the Booksellers’ Association, the Books Council of Wales is highlighting some of the new titles that have been published this year and encouraging booklovers all over Wales to support their local bookshop.
Helgard Krause, Chief Executive of the Books Council of Wales said: “Independent bookshops in Wales are often at the heart of their high streets and communities, and we’re very fortunate to have a network of dedicated booksellers who are passionate about books and who work tirelessly to keep books on the high street and in shop windows.
“This year is shaping up to be a fantastic year for books from Wales in both Welsh and English, and by choosing to buy books from our local bookshops, we can all make a difference. Your next £10 paperback will support shops, jobs and help publishers print their next book – so we say, if you love books, buy books!”
Author Fflur Dafydd said: “There is something unique about independent bookshops, they create their own universe; each one a special treasury where the bookseller’s personality can be felt in the way the books have been placed and displayed, where the love of books seems to shimmer on every shelf.”
Here are some of the books available:
- Afonydd: Poems for Welsh Rivers / Cerddi Afonydd Cymru Sian Northey, Ness Owen (Arachne Press)
- Boundary Waters by Tristan Hughes (Parthian)
- Wales As Is by David Hurn, Richard King (Seren)
- One Woman Walks Europe, by Ursula Martin (Honno)
- Loud Medicine – Dispatches from the Music Industry Underworld by James Kennedy (Calon)
- Beyond / Tu Hwnt – anthology of Welsh Deaf and Disabled Writers, ed. Bethany Handley, Megan Angharad Hunter and Sioned Erin Hughes (Lucent Dreaming)
- Ewro 2025, Y Swistir by Ffion Eluned Owen (Y Lolfa)
- Hiraeth Neifion by Simon Chandler (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch)
- Y Twr by Rebecca Thomas (Sebra)
- Y Cyfan a fu Rhyngom Ni by Iestyn Tyne (Gwasg y Bwthyn)
- Y Caeth yn Rhydd by Jim Parc Nest (Barddas)
You can find your local independent bookshop in Wales on the Books Council of Wales website Bookshops of Wales | Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru
Independent Bookshop Week is a celebration of independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland. It aims to highlight the vital role independent bookshops play in their communities, and to encourage consumers to shop for their summer reads with their local independent.
