July 1-8 is indie week

1-8 July 2008 will be the inaugural Independent Booksellers Week (IBW) in Britain with more than 320 bookshops participating. The IBW is officially sponsored and supported by The Times which will be providing editorial coverage. The scheme was devised by the Small Business Forum (SBF).

This is from the IBW website: 'The inagural Independent Booksellers Week between 1st-8th July. Independent Booksellers Week is a celebration of independent bookselling, and has been organised by the Small Business Forum of the Booksellers Association (BA). Independent Booksellers Week is funded by Bertrams, Gardners Books, National Book Tokens and the BA and is supported by The Times and The Book Partnership, with additional help from Galaxy and Readers' Digest. Jacqueline Wilson, former Childrens' Laureate, and much loved author, is also supporting the campaign.'

Author Kate Mosse, who is also the television presenter of the BBC Four literary chat show, the Readers' and Writers' Roadshow and who, in 1996, co-founded the annual Orange Prize for Fiction by women, says: "It's high time that we celebrate our vibrant independent bookshops. I've always admired and shared independent booksellers' passion for books and reading, and I feel they play a crucial role in local communities. I hope that this initiative will encourage people to visit their local bookshops and discover for themselves what makes them so special."

Celebrations in the shops are expected to include author signing sessions, school visits for storytelling, and holding children’s and reading-group parties.

Publisher's Weekly

IBW