A Northumberland bookshop is celebrating after being crowned Northern England's best independent at the Bookseller's British Book Awards.
Forum Books, which is based in the chapel in Corbridge, was up against nine other bookshops in the North of England. However, it was the only representative from Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and County Durham.
Winning the regional category means that the shop has now moved onto the shortlist for the Independent Bookshop of the Year award across the whole of UK and Ireland, with the overall winner announced at the British Book Awards on May 23, which will be held in London.
Read more: Tickets for Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition on sale
Helen Stanton, owner of Forum Books, said: "I'm very happy! There were so many bookshops in the North, it was the biggest category. So it's amazing that we won this!"
The success of Forum is nothing new, it has already been named the Independent Bookshop of the Year for the North three times before this morning's announcement. This success has allowed Helen to expand with two new bookshops in the region - The Bound in Whitley Bay, which opened in May last year and Alnwick 's Accidental Bookshop, which followed in December.
Helen continued: "When you look at 2021, we started the year in lockdown and ended up with three shops within twelve months. Opening a new independent bookshop is formidable at any time, but it was slightly off the scale this year!"
The lifting of restrictions has seen the return of events at all three of the stores, with Helen saying that authors particularly love speaking at Corbridge, as the chapel still has a pulpit.
She added: "It's been amazing to get back to events which we did last year and we've been able to do some grassroots football sponsorships too, including Whitley Bay's under-14s all girls' team and my son's team, Corbridge United.
"I think that's a good way to get kids into reading, as well as the silent book discos. That's another unique thing we can bring back with the lifting of restrictions."
Despite winning the regional category, Forum has never taken the national crown. Helen added: "Always the bridesmaid... but maybe this year.
"This is actually where it does get a bit emotional. I've always wanted to win it for my customers who give us the most amazing support, especially now more than ever. But we've really built our bookselling team as well, and all the booksellers that we have are so amazing at what they do and it would be nice for them to get the recognition."
Tom Tivnan, The Bookseller’s managing editor, says: "This was undoubtedly the most competitive year we have ever had for Independent Bookshop of the Year, and these nine shops should feel justly proud for claiming their regional and country crowns when their fellow indies have also been flourishing.
"Although there are different models here, from long-time family-run shops to a community-run not-for-profit, the common thread is constant innovation and unwavering support for local communities."
For more information on Forum Books, visit their website or follow them on Twitter.
