Against the odds, independent bookshops seem to holding their own: in 2022 the number of indies in the UK and Ireland reached a 10-year high of 1,072 shops, according to the Booksellers Association (BA). Though this year’s figures have dropped a little – there are now 1,063 indie bookshops – bookselling has, on the whole “defied the high street trend for nearly a decade”, a spokesperson from the BA says – especially “if we consider the 2016 figure of 867 shops”. As we come to the end of Independent Bookshop Week, an annual celebration which has this year seen 100 events and 700 shops taking part, we shine the light on three of the UK’s independent bookshops.
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