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The Bookseller is calling for submissions for its second annual Bookshop Heroes feature: a listing of some of the best individual booksellers in the UK and Ireland.
The special feature will publish on 19th November and will salute the inspirational managers, superstar hand-sellers, innovative events gurus and canny buyers who are the heart and soul of British and Irish bookselling. The Booksellers Association is supporting the Bookshop Heroes feature, which will be part of a wider special issue devoted to bookselling and bookshops.
Thirty-three booksellers were featured in the inaugural class of 2020, ranging from long-serving trade veterans such as Newham Bookshop's Vivian Archer and Tomás Kenny, whose family has run Galway's Kennys Bookshop for three generations; to relative newcomers such as Lali Hewiston of the Portal Bookshop in York; and Aleida Gomez de Caso of Blackwell's Broad Street, Oxford.
Meryl Halls, the BA m.d. said: “We’re delighted that The Bookseller has again chosen to recognise excellence in bookselling by publishing a second Bookshop Heroes feature. Booksellers really are the heroes of their towns, villages and cities. Over the past 18 months we have seen the bond between them and their customers and communities—which could have come under threat under the strain of the pandemic—become stronger and deeper; a testament to booksellers’ resilience and creativity. The Bookseller Bookshop Heroes feature celebrates that resilience and creativity to a trade-wide audience.”
Any bookseller, at any experience level, from both independent, chain and online shops in the UK and Ireland, is eligible to become a Bookshop Hero. Nominations can come from managers, colleagues, competitors, customers—or booksellers themselves. Nominators may put forward as many booksellers as they like. To be considered, a testimonial of not more than 300 words outlining the individual bookseller's achievements, and why they warrant being a Bookshop Hero, should be emailed to The Bookseller managing editor Tom Tivnan (tom.tivnan@thebookseller.com). Entries must be received by 29th October.