#BookshopDay 2024
A thousand retailers, artistic murals, illustrations, a limited-edition new tote bag… AND a new issue of TYPE! ... this year’s #BookshopDay is an enormous celebration of bookshops, the people who run them, and the impact these vital businesses have in our communities.
We spoke to Emma Bradshaw, Head of Campaigns at the Booksellers Association, about the 2024 Bookshop Day on 12th October.
Emma, tell us about your background…
I began as a bookseller at Ottakar's in Bromley before moving to the publicity department at HarperCollins Children's Books in 2005, and then Bloomsbury Children's Books in 2007, where I worked for almost 11 years. In July 2018 I took up my current role as Head of Campaigns at The Booksellers Association. My team and I look after all the Books Are My Bag consumer-facing campaigns, including Bookshop Day, the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards, Indie Book of the Month, the Indie Book Awards and Independent Bookshop Week.
Tell us about the Booksellers Association…
The Booksellers Association (BA) is the membership organisation for booksellers in the UK & Ireland and represents over 95% of booksellers. The BA exists to support, advise and work with its members to provide business-critical products and services for booksellers. These include National Book Tokens, our gift card which prompts increased footfall and keeps gift spending in the book trade; Batchline and Batch, our award-winning EPOS, stock management and payments service, which saves time, money and hassle when settling invoices and organising returns; a full range of money-saving affinity deals; a free Business Support Helpline; Booktime magazine; government lobbying and representation work across the nations and regions; various networking opportunities and events; and the Books Are My Bag campaigns.
Tell us about #BookshopDay…
Bookshop Day is an annual, one day celebration of all high street bookshops. Approximately 1,000 retailers, both independents and branches of chain bookshops, are registered to participate. Bookshop Day aims to remind customers of the value of their local bookshops and that they are the perfect places to kick-start their Christmas gift-buying (to coincide with the biggest publishing period in the book trade calendar), and to “choose bookshops”. The campaign launched in 2013 and falls on the second Saturday in October.
What happens each #BookshopDay?
There are four strands of Bookshop Day activity:
We commission an illustrator to create the campaign artwork that appears on all our point-of-sale materials and social media assets. This year’s illustrator is the fabulous Sophy Henn.
To further drive footfall, we work with an artist to create our annual Limited-Edition Bag. The bag is available for purchase exclusively via high street and independent bookshops from Bookshop Day while stocks last. This year’s design was created by Angela Harding who is well known for her stunning wildlife artwork.
Our City Spotlight activity sees us shining a light on a different part of the country each year. Working with Jack Arts, we commission local artists to create bespoke bookshop murals to generate local buzz, photo and media opportunities, social media content and to drive footfall into bookshops. This year’s spotlight is on Glasgow.
Working with authors, poets and illustrators, we create a campaign video to be shared across social media via @booksaremybag. You can view it on any of our channels including Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram.
How can everyone support #BookshopDay?
Pop into a bookshop and make a purchase. Buy and use National Book Tokens. Share bookshop experiences on social media using our hashtag #BookshopDay. Enjoy the day.
Anything else to add..
This Bookshop Day we’re highlighting the difference that bookshops make to our local areas all year round. They are hugely valuable as retail spaces and, additionally, many bookshops are running programmes to improve literacy, wellbeing, and the cultural landscape of our communities. We want to remind consumers of the value of their local bookshops, and to choose to do their Christmas shopping with them. We’re thrilled to have so many exciting events and activities in place.
++ TYPE! issue 10 is released this #BookshopDay. Click here to read about our latest issue.