Stockbridge independent bookshop named best in UK as Ian Rankin presents award

A STOCKBRIDGE bookshop, already voted the best independent bookseller in Scotland, has now been officially named the best in Britain.

Edinburgh's Golden Hare Books wins Independent Bookshop of the Year at the British Book Awards Edinburgh.

Golden Hare Books beat eight other regional winners from across the UK for the prize which was presented by Edinburgh crime writing superstar Ian Rankin at the ceremony in London on Monday.

Golden Hare Books, on St Stephen Street, was also shortlisted in the Children’s Bookseller of the Year and Individual Bookseller of the Year categories.

Book design is central to the shop which is designed to draw readers’ eyes towards books as “beautiful objects”, and in doing so discover something new and exciting.

It has a carefully curated range of just 3,000 titles, and its small team works tirelessly on events and intiatives such as the Edinburgh Book Fringe festival and “Bibliophile” podcast.

Bookseller Julie Danskin said she was “absolutely stunned” to have won.

“There were so many amazing bookshops up there. It’s a real honour to receive this. Books are back! And there’s a really great community of independent booksellers communicating with each other and helping each other.

“I think there’s a real momentum for independent bookshops and it’s up to us to keep that going.”

Believing bookshops are creative spaces that should be welcoming to and inclusive of everybody, Golden Hare prides itself on on finding new ways to engage the local community.

“We want to be a cultural hub for people of all backgrounds and ages, and we’re always so happy to hear about new ideas.

“Engaging with the local community is such a rewarding and integral part of running an independent business, especially when we get to encourage people to be around books.”

The shop regularly host events with authors of all genres from fiction and poetry to cookery and travel, as well as hosting bookshop parties, reading groups and a writing group. There is also a “Stories and Crafts” session for children,

The British Book Awards – or Nibbies – has been the leading awards for the book trade since 1990 and celebrates the best books, the best bookshops and the best publishers.

The Bookseller’s managing editor Tom Tivnan said: “There may be no better evidence of the resurgence of independent bookselling than this incredibly strong shortlist of regional winners and Golden Hare as the overall champion. Golden Hare is an examplary indie: yes, it sells loads of books but, perhaps more importantly, it is a lynchpin of the local community.

“The number of indie shops in the UK and Ireland has risen over the past two years, which is good news for the high street in general but it also shows that readers are increasingly responding to personal interactions and knowledgeable booksellers’ recommendations over online algorithms.”

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