Literary lovers of the capital city, gather round. We have a rather sizeable update in the Independent Bookshop of the Year department. You may remember that last month we told you about the ten London bookshops that had been shortlisted for the highly-coveted award. Well, this month, we’re telling you about one particular London bookshop that’s just been crowned the regional winner for London.
The annual award aims to shine a light on the smaller-scale, independent bookshops across the country that continue to flourish, thrive, and create sacred spaces for bookworms and bibliophiles, despite the challenges of a cost-of-living crisis and – you know… the internet. The regional and country winners were carefully selected by the British Book Awards judgesand flying the flag for London is Queen’s Park Books.
Credit: @qpbooks via Instagram
Queen’s Park Books
Nestled away in north London, Queen’s Park Books is well worth journeying up the Bakerloo Line for. Perched upon the plethora of fully-stacked shelves are a whopping 10,000 carefully curated titles – from classic to contemporary, and everything in between.
Founded by the Fergiani family (the same family who opened West End Lane Books ten years prior), Queen’s Park Books has been stood proudly in – you guessed it – Queen’s Park for over twenty years. The book-buffs inside pride themselves on their impressive product knowledge, their personal service, and having a book to suit – quite literally – everybody. What more could you ask for, hey?
Credit: @qpbooks via Instagram
So, how does this story end, I hear you ask? Well, the overall winner of Independent Bookshop of the Year will be announced at the British Book Awards, taking place at London’s Grosvenor House on May 12. The winning bookshop will receive a £5000 cash prizea shot at winning the equally sought-after Book Retail of the Year award, and – let’s face it – eternal bragging rights. But for now, we’ll have to leave you on a bit of a cliffhanger, I’m afraid.
Discover the other Independent Bookshop of the Year regional and country winners here and find out more about Queen’s Park Books here.
