ACHUKA Children's Books UK

children's & YA recommendations on the go

You are here: Home / Blog

The Diverse Book Awards 2020 Winners

By Leave a Comment

The winners of the newly-established Diverse Book Awards in the children’s and young adult categories are

The Star Outside My Window by Onjali Q. Rauf

and

Chinglish: An Almost Entirely True Story by Sue Cheung

 

These books were selected from the following shortlists:

Children’ s 

  • My Hair by Hannah Lee, illustrated by Allen Fatimaharan (Faber & Faber) 
  • Planet Omar Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian, illustrated by Nasaya Mafaridik (Hodder) 
  • Son of the Circus by E. L. Norry (Scholastic) 
  • The Star Outside My Window by Onjali Q. Rauf (Orion Children’s Books) 
  • Tin Boy by Steve Cole, illustrated by Oriol Vidal (Barrington Stoke) 

​Young Adult 

  • All The Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman (Hot Key Books) 
  • Chinglish: An Almost Entirely True Story by Sue Cheung (Andersen Press) 
  • The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta (Hodder) 
  • The Boxer by Nikesh Shukla (Hodder) 
  • The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (Hachette) 

For more information about the award go to its website: https://www.thediversebookawards.co.uk

Little Rebels Award 2020 Winner

By Leave a Comment

The Little Rebels Children’s Book Award, now in its 8th year, is a prize for radical fiction aimed at children aged 0-12. The award is given by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers and was established in conjunction with Letterbox Library. The award is now administered by Letterbox Library and Housmans Bookshop.

This year’s winner is The Boy Who Loved Everyone by Jane Porter ill. Maisie Paradise Shearring.

The award ceremony was held virtually on Zoom at 7pm yesterday, 22 October 2020.

The winner was chosen (by Darren Chetty, Shaun Dellenty, Emily Drabble, Patrice Lawrence and Jim MacSweeney) from a shortlist of seven:

SOFIA VALDEZ, FUTURE PREZ by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by David Roberts (Abrams & Chronicle)

SNEAKY BEAK  by Tracey Corderoy, illustrated by Tony Neal (Little Tiger)

THE BOY WHO LOVED EVERYONE by Jane Porter, illustrated by Maisie Paradise Shearring (Walker)

THE LITTLE ISLAND by Smriti Prasadam-Halls, illustrated by Robert Starling

KING LEONARD’S TEDDY by Phoebe Swan (Child’s Play)

NOW OR NEVER – A DUNKIRK STORY by Bali Rai (Scholastic)

THE CLOSEST THING TO FLYING by Gill Lewis (OUP)

Previous years’ winners and shortlists can be found here:
https://littlerebels.org/previous-shortlists-winners/

Follow the award on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlerebelsaward/

Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards 2020 Winners

By Leave a Comment

sainsburys2020

Congratulations to all those involved with the books recently announced as winners of the 2020 Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards, now in their seventh year.

  • Activity Book
    Winner: Draw With Rob by Rob Biddulph
  • Baby & Toddler
    Winner: Don’t Tickle The Dinosaur! by Sam Taplin, illustrated by Ana Martin Larranaga
  • Favourite Characters
    Winner: Oi See It! Say It! by Kes Gray, illustrated by Jim Field
  • Fiction
    Winner: Anisha, Accidental Detective by Serena Patel, illustrated by Emma McCann
  • Learning & Development
    Winner: Do You Love Bugs? by Matt Robertson
  • Picture Book
    Winner: Mabel and the Mountain by Kim Hillyard
  • Children’s Classic
    Winner: Where’s Spot by Eric Hill

 

Andersen Press Release Free Half Term Holiday Pack

By Leave a Comment

Following the success of the free Elmer Day at Home and Summer Staycation activity packs Andersen Press are continuing their commitment to supporting children and families through the pandemic with a new, free activity pack featuring their Autumn releases, along with some Halloween classic titles.

Andersen tell us: “The two previous packs have been downloaded over 5,000 times and, as families face another school holiday at home, this is a way to celebrate books in an accessible and cost-effective way for families, and hopefully give them something to do on a rainy, autumnal day.”

The Half Term Halloween Fun Activity Pack features free colouring sheets, word puzzles, creative challenges and more based on a selection of Andersen titles;


Vampire Peter written by Ben Manley, illustrated by Hannah Peck


The Spots and The Dots written by Helen Baugh, illustrated by Marion Deuchars


Who Makes a Forest? written by Sally Nicholls, illustrated by Carolina Rabei


Fergal Meets Fern written and illustrated by Robert Starling


Cally and Jimmy by Zoe Antoniades, illustrated by Katie Kear


Not Now, Bernard by David McKee 

 

Also included is a competition, for one family to win all books included in the pack.
To enter: complete one of the activity pages in the pack and tweet a photo of it to @AndersenPress, making sure you include the hashtag #APHalloweenFun.

The Half Term Halloween Fun Activity Pack is available for immediate download here:

http://bit.ly/APHalloweenFun

OU Launches ‘Book Chat’ In Partnership With Macmillan Children’s Books

By Leave a Comment

The Open University (OU) is today launching Book Chat: Reading with your Child, a free resource which comprises three short films and support materials to help parents, families and carers read books conversationally and creatively to children. Working with Macmillan Children’s Books, the films use two picture books and a poetry collection to support families with reading to different ages of children.

Book Chat is the informal interaction that accompanies quality reading to and with children, developing children’s language and comprehension and nurturing a love of reading. The films model this relaxed interaction through the use of open questions, comments and prompts to initiate Book Chat and enable parents and children to share the pleasure of reading together –  a significant step for the project, as homelife becomes even more important whilst families cope with a post-pandemic world.

The films are based around three titles published on the Macmillan Children’s Books list and their Two Hoots illustrated imprint. Each is aimed at a different age of child who will be engaging with the stories or poems.

One Fox by Kate Read (5+) – a previous ACHUKA Book of the Day

A House That Once Was by Julie Fogliano and illustrated by Lane Smith (7+)

and The Same Inside: Poems about Empathy and Friendship, a collection of poems by Liz Brownlee, Matt Goodfellow and Roger Stevens (9+)

 

These new films and other resources in the OU’s Supporting Reading Reading At Home series can be found here:
https://researchrichpedagogies.org/research/supporting-rah 

For other resources in the OU’s Supporting Reading Reading At Home series can be found here:
https://researchrichpedagogies.org/research/supporting-rah

The OU’s Reading for Pleasure programme is led by Professor Teresa Cremin, who also reads on one of the films, along with Richard Charlesworth and Ben Harris, both experienced teachers and long-standing partners of The Open University’s work. The aim is to reach over a million families across the UK, through The OU, The Reading Agency, The United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) and the Department for Education’s English Hubs as well as through other consumer-facing partners. 

Alyx Price, Associate Publisher at Macmillan Children’s Books, says: “We were delighted when the OU approached us to support Book Chat. We have partnered with them on other Reading for Pleasure initiatives and this new project was a perfect match for us, particularly at this important time for families and home life. Book Chat offers great support to families and carers who don’t know where to start, as well as giving new inspiration to those who already share stories regularly with their children. The selected titles are perfect for reading aloud and the films will introduce families to these great books and more, setting them up for a lifetime loving stories together”.

This new stage in the OU’s Reading for Pleasure programme is about supporting parents and carers at home. 

HEADSUP!

WEBINAR: Sharing the pleasure: the role of talk in reading  

Tuesday 20 October, 20:00 – 21:00

This OU webinar is free and open to educators, librarians, parents and others interested in supporting young people develop the reading habit. The Book Chat crew, Teresa Cremin, Ben Harris and Richard Charlesworth will be joined by the children’s author Smriti Hall (TBC) and Rumenar Atkar, a mum and primary school librarian. The session will include research and practice insights, strategies to enrich informal book talk at home and school, and book recommendations that get everyone talking.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/webinar-sharing-the-pleasure-the-role-of-talk-in-reading-tickets-122427514993

Winner Of FCBG Book Award 2020

By Leave a Comment

The winner of the 2020 Federation of Children’s Book Award is Tom Palmer for his novel D-Day Dog. Last year he won the Books for Older Readers category with Armistice Runner.

This award is much-cherished by children’s authors as it is voted for by children rather than adults. 

This winners in each category were chosen from the following shortlists:

Books for Younger Children

Jazz Dog, written and illustrated by Marie Voigt, published by OUP

Matisse’s Magical Trail, written by Tim Hopgood and illustrated by Sam Boughton, published by OUP

The Runaway Pea, written by Kjartan Poskitt and illustrated by Alex Willmore, published by Simon & Schuster Children’s Books [CATEGORY WINNER]

Books for Younger Readers

Mutant Zombies Cursed My School Trip, written by Matt Brown and illustrated by Paco Sordo, published by Usborne [CATEGORY WINNER]

Owen and The Soldier, written by Lisa Thompson, published by Barrington Stoke

The Maker of Monsters, written by Lorraine Gregory, published by OUP

Books for Confident Readers

Wildspark, written by Vashti Hardy, published by Scholastic

A Pocketful of Stars, written by Aisha Bushby, published by Egmont

D-Day Dog, written by Tom Palmer, published by Barrington Stoke [CATEGORY WINNER]

Books for Older Readers

Becoming Dinah, written by Kit de Waal, published by Hachette Children’s Group

On The Come Up, written by Angie Thomas, published by Walker Books [CATEGORY WINNER]

Two Can Keep a Secret, written by Karen M McManus, published by Penguin

Alex Wheatle To Be Subject Of New Film Series From Steve McQueen

By Leave a Comment

The life of award-winning author Alex Wheatle is to be the basis of a new film from Academy Award-winning director Steve McQueen for BBC One. Episode 5 of McQueen’s ‘Small Axe’ series for BBC One and iPlayer is entitled ‘Alex Wheatle’ and stars Sheyi Cole playing the part of the author as a young adult. The episode will be live on iPlayer and on BBC One on Sunday 6th December. [In the USA the series will premier on Amazon Prime on 15th November.]

The BBC has released the following description of the episode:

Having spent his childhood in a mostly white institutional care home with no love or family, he finally finds not only a sense of community for the first time in Brixton, but his identity and opportunity to grow his passion for music and DJing. When he is thrown in prison during the Brixton Uprising of 1981, he confronts his past and sees a path to healing. Sheyi Cole stars opposite Jonathan Jules. 

 This announcement comes alongside the publication of Wheatle’s latest novel, Cane Warriors from Andersen Press. 

On the release of the new novel, Alex has said “On Remembrance Sunday every year, the UK honours its fallen dead from the First and Second World Wars and other significant wars. With CANE WARRIORS, I wanted to honour my ancestry and our glori­ous dead. I wanted to lend power to their voices and realise them on the page. I would like my children’s children to learn about the mighty CANE WARRIORS just as they read about Richard the Lionheart, Joan of Arc and Queen Elizabeth I repelling the Spanish Armada.”

 

CLiPPA 2020 Winner

By Leave a Comment

Poet Zaro Weil was today announced the winner of the annual poetry award, CLiPPA (Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award) for her collection of nature poems, Cherry Moon, published by ZaZaKids Books/ Troika Books and illustrated by Junli Song.

Zaro Weil lives in southern France with her husband and two sheepdogs, Spot and Clementine, alongside a host of birds, insects, badgers, wild boars, crickets, donkeys, goats, and hares. Her poetry for children has appeared in many anthologies and previous publications include Mud, Moon and Me published by Orchard Books, Firecrackers fromTroika and Spot Guevara, Guerilla Dog.

Junli Song, whose illustrations add so much to the appeal of this title, is an American, from Chicago.

Illustrator & Poet at the 2019 Bologna Book Fair from Junil Song’s Instagram

In a year of outstanding poetry publishing for children, the judges were particularly impressed by the thoughtfulness and variety of Weil’s poetry, the opportunities Cherry Moon offers for sharing poems aloud, and because, after months of lockdown, her book answers children’s growing need for poetry and the outdoors.

From a particularly strong shortlist, the judges also chose to honour Poems the Wind Blew In by Karmelo C. Iribarren, illustrated by Riya Chowdhury, translated from Spanish by Lawrence Schimel and the first work in translation to be shortlisted.

The announcement of the 2020 Award, delayed from the summer, was revealed in a live Poetry Show, part of The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival. 

Louise Johns-Shepherd, Chief Executive at CLPE said, “The CLiPPA is a huge, inclusive celebration of poetry and its power to engage children. There has been a marked upsurge in interest in poetry for children this year – the National Poetry Archive has seen record levels of site visits for example and subscriptions to our Shadowing Scheme are three times what they were in 2019. Our winner is the perfect book for today: Zaro’s poems allow children to explore their emotions and understand them as shared experiences; and it connects readers with the natural world, something that is vital at this time. Children need poetry right now…”

Zaro Weil receives a trophy and a cheque for £1000. As part of the prize she will also be recorded for the prestigious National Poetry Archive.

UKLA Book Awards Longlist

By Leave a Comment

From over 400 submissions across the four categories, here are the books longlisted for the 13th UKLA Book Awards, the only national awards judged by classroom teachers:

Longlist 3-6+

Under the Great Plum Tree written by Sufiya Ahmed, illustrated by Reza Dalvand. (Tiny Owl)

I Am Brown written by Ashok Banker, illustrated by Sandya Prabhat. (Lantana Publishing)

Sofia Valdez, Future Prez written by Andrea Beatty, illustrated by David Roberts. (Abrams Books for Young Readers)

The Worrysaurus written by Rachel Bright, illustrated by Chris Chatterton. (Orchard Books)

Look Up! Written by Nathan Bryon, illustrated by Dapo Adeola. (Puffin)

Mr Gumpy’s Rhino written and illustrated by John Burningham. (Jonathan Cape)

Hello Friend, written and illustrated by Rebecca Cobb. (Macmillan)

No Longer Alone written by Joseph Coehlo, illustrated by Robyn Wilson- Owen. (Egmont)

Fair Shares written by Pippa Goodhart, illustrated by Anna Doherty. (Tiny Owl)

Rabbit & Bear- A Bite in the Night written by Julian Gough, illustrated by Jim Field. (Hodder)

Where Happiness Begins written and illustrated by Eva Eland. (Andersen Press)

Brenda is a Sheep written and illustrated by Morag Hood. (Two Hoots)

The Last Tiger written and illustrated by Petr Horáček. (Otter- Barry Books)

The Fate of Fausto written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. (HarperCollins)

My Hair written by Hannah Lee, illustrated by Allen Fatimarahan. (Faber & Faber)

My Friend Earth written by Patricia Maclachlan, illustrated by Francesca Sanna. (Chronicle Books)

The Misadventures of Frederick written by Ben Manley, illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark. (Two Hoots)

Tibble and Grandpa written by Wendy Meddour, illustrated by Daniel Egneus. (Oxford)

Umbrella written and illustrated by Elena Arevalo Melville. (Scallywag Press)

I’m Not (Very) Afraid of the Dark written by Anna Milbourne, illustrated by Daniel Riley. (Usborne)

It’s a No Money Day written and illustrated by Kate Milner. (Barrington Stoke)

Sulwe written by Lupita Nyong’o, illustrated by Vashti Harrison. (Puffin)

Hey Water, written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis. (Scallywag Press)

One Fox: A Counting Thriller written and illustrated by Kate Read. (Two Hoots)

How About a Night Out? Written and illustrated by Sam Williams. (Boxer Books)

 

Longlist 7-10+

The Girl Who Speaks Bear written by Sophie Anderson. (Usborne)

Too Small Tola written by Atinuke, illustrated Onyinye Iwu. (Walker Books)

The Space We’re In written by Katya Balen, illustrated by Laura Carlin. (Bloomsbury)

A Pocketful of Stars written by Aisha Busby. (Egmont)

The Somerset Tsunami written by Emma Carroll. (Faber & Faber)

Saving Winslow written by Sharon Creech. (Guppy Books)

Talking to the Moon written by S.E Durrant. Nosy Crow

The Girl Who Stole an Elephant written by Nizrana Farook. (Nosy Crow)

Eight Princesses and a Magic Mirror written by Natasha      Farrant, illustrated by Lydia Corry. (Zephyr)

Check Mates written by Stewart Foster. (Simon & Schuster)

The Highland Falcon Thief written by M.G Leonard and Sam Sedgeman, illustrated by Elisa Paganelli.  (Macmillan)

Eagle Warrior written by Gill Lewis. (Barrington Stoke)

The Time of Green Magic written by Hilary McKay. (Macmillan)

The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone written by Jaclyn Moriarty, written by Karl James Mountford. (Guppy Books)

Lori and Max written by Catherine O’Flynn. (Firefly Press)

The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates written by Jenny Pearson, illustrated by Rob Biddulph. (Usborne)

The Star Outside My Window written by Onjali Q Raúf. (Orion)

Patina written by Jason Reynolds illustrated by Selom Sunu. (Knights of)

The Cloudhorse Chronicles – Guardians of Magic  written and illustrated by Chris Riddell. (Macmillan)

The Good Thieves written by Katherine Rundell illustrated by Matt Saunders. (Bloomsbury)

Clean Getaway written by Nic Stone. (Knights Of)

Owen and the Soldier written by Lisa Thompson, illustrated by Mark Lowery. (Barrington Stoke)

 

Longlist 11- 14+

Clap When You Land written by Elizabeth Acevedo. (Hot Key Books)

Black Flamingo written by Dean Attaillustrated by Anishka Khullar. (Hodder)

The M Word written by Brian Conaghan. (Bloomsbury)

Furious Thing written by Jenny Downham. (David Fickling Books)

The Last Paper Crane written by Kerry Drewery illustrated by Natsko Seki. (Hot Key Books)

Sofa Surfer written by Malcolm Duffy. (Zephyr)

On Midnight Beach written by Marie Louise Fitzpatrick. (Faber & Faber)

Invisible in a Bright Light written by Sally Gardner (Zephyr)

Bearmouth written by Liz Hyder. (Pushkin)

And the Stars Were Burning Brightly written by Danielle            Jawando. (Simon & Schuster)

A House Without Walls written by Elizabeth Laird. (Macmillan)

Run Rebel written by Manjeet Mann. (Penguin)

Burn written by Patrick Ness. (Walker Books)

Gloves Off written by Louisa Reid. Guppy Books

Look Both Ways written by Jason Reynolds. (Knights Of)

Snowflake AZ written by Marcus Sedgwick. (Zephyr)

The Boxer written by Nikesh Shukla. (Hodder)

The List of Things That Will Not Change written by Rebecca Stead. (Andersen Press)

Hello Now written by Jenny Valentine. (HarperCollins)

The Enigma Game written by Elizabeth Wein. (Bloomsbury)

 

Information Books 3-14+

The Undefeated written by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson. (Andersen Press)

Balloon to the Moon written by Gill Arbuthnott, illustrated by Chris Nielsen. (Big Picture Press)  

Africa, Amazing Africa written by Atinuke, illustrated by Mouni Feddag. (Walker Books)          

Gut Garden written and illustrated by by Katie Brosnan. (Cicada Books)    

Nose Knows written by Emanuelle Figueras, illustrated by Claire De Gastold. (What on Earth Publishing)

We Are Artists written by Kari Herbert. (Thames & Hudson)

River Stories written by Timothy Knapman illustrated by Asling Lindsay and Irene Montano. (Egmont)           

A Planet Full of Plastic written and illustrated by Neal Layton. (Wren & Rook) 

The Apartment written by Alexandra Litvina, illustrated by Anna Desnitskaya.translated by Antonina Bouis.  (Abrams Books for Young Readers)        

Humanimal written by Christopher Lloyd, illustrated by Mark Ruffle.            (What on Earth Publishing)   

Prisoners of Geography written by Tim Marshall, illustrated by Grace Easton and   Jessica Smith. (Simon & Schuster)       

Who is in the Egg? Written and illustrated Alexandra by Milton. (Boxer Books)

Corpse Talk: Rebels written and Illustrated by Adam Murphyand Lisa Murphy. (David Fickling Books)        

Planet SOS written and illustrated by Marie G Rhodes. (What on Earth Publishing)

Rise Up! The Art of Protest written by Joanne Rippon. (Palazzo Editions)           

The Missing written by Michael Rosen. (Walker Books)         

Hidden Planet written and illustrated by Ben Rothery. (Ladybird)   

Exquisite: The Life and Poetry of Gwendoline Brooks written by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Cozbi Cabrera. (Abrams Books for Young Readers)        

Language of the Universe written by Colin Stuart, illustrated by Ximo Abadía. (Big Picture Press)   

Along the Tapajós written and illustrated by Fernando Vilela, translated by Daniel Hahn. (Amazon Crossing Kids)

Children Who Changed the World written and illustrated by Marcia Williams. (Walker Books)      

Big Ideas for Young Thinkers written by Jamia Wilson, illustrated by Andrea Pippins. (Wide Eyed Editions)           

Big Book of Blooms written and illustrated by Yuval Zommer. (Thames & Hudson)

Bookshop Day 2020

By Leave a Comment

Every year over a thousand bookshops around the country take part in Bookshop Day by holding special events, creating bespoke window displays and more.

Search for your local bookshop here >>>

Bookshop Day highlights this year include:
– Internationally best-selling author, artist and illustrator Charlie Mackesy is this year’s collaborator on the Books Are My Bag Limited-Edition Bag, which will be available exclusively in bookshops across the UK and Ireland from Bookshop Day
– Acclaimed children’s author, Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, and Blue Peter Book Award winner, Katherine Rundell will be signing copies of The Book of Hopes, a collection of stories, poems, essays and pictures for children from over 100 children’s writers and illustrators, edited by Rundell, and published by Bloomsbury. Contributors include Lauren Child, Michael Morpurgo, Jacqueline Wilson, and Axel Scheffler, and the collection is dedicated to the doctors, nurses, carers, porters and everyone working in hospitals. The signed copies will be available exclusively in bookshops, with a donation from each sale going to the NHS Charities Together in gratitude for the incredible efforts of all those who have worked in hospitals during the pandemic (Saturday 3 October, Foyles Charing Cross Road, The Children’s Bookshop, Muswell Hill, London Review Bookshop, Stoke Newington Bookshop, Ink @ 84, Waterstones Islington, Daunts Marylebone, Queen’s Park Books)
– Claudia Winkleman will be in conversation with Emma Freud in a special live online event with Waterstones, discussing Winkleman’s hotly anticipated, warm, wry and heartfelt debut, Quite(Tuesday 29th September, 19:30, Waterstones online)
– Waterstones Children’s Laureate, and celebrated author of How To Train Your Dragon, Cressida Cowell, will be taking part in a magical family online event with Blackwell’s Heffers Bookshop (Sunday 4 October, 16:00-17:00, Heffers online)
– Books Are my Bag Readers Awards winner and Sunday Times bestseller, Stuart Turton, will be in conversation with bestselling crime writer, Will Dean, discussing Turton’s addictive new murder-mystery, The Devil and the Dark Water (Wednesday 30th September, 19:30, Waterstones online)
– Beloved children’s author, star of Horrible Histories, and Paddington 2 writer, Simon Farnaby, will be signing copies of his new book The Wizard in My Shed at Pickled Pepper Books and TheChildren’s Bookshop, Muswell Hill (Saturday 3rd October, 14:00, The Children’s Bookshop, Muswell Hill; and 15:00, Pickled Pepper Books, Crouch End)
– Inspired by the stunning new book Julian at the Wedding by Jessica Love, Hazel Gardiner Design will be creating a floral art installation in Sevenoaks Bookshop on publication day, Thursday 1 October (Thursday 1 October onwards, Sevenoaks Bookshop, Kent)
– Gay’s the Word bookshop will also feature a floral window display inspired by Julian at the Wedding by Jessica Love, created by Floral Evolution, and on display from Monday 5 October (Monday 5 October onwards, Gay’s The Word, London)
– A new collection of Virginia Woolf’s essays, How Should One Read a Book, with a new introduction and afterward by Sheila Heti (Motherhood), will be available exclusively in bookshops from Bookshop Day, published by Laurence King, ahead of its general release later in October. A percentage of sales made during the bookshop exclusive period will be donated to the Book Trade Charity (various bookshops)
– Booker shortlisted author, Graeme Macrae Burnet, will be visiting various bookshops on Bookshop Day and signing custom book plates, as he celebrates the publication of his new novel, Case Studies
– Wendy Holden (The Governess) will be taking part in the hugely popular online event series, At Home with 4 Indies, hosted by four independent bookshops who came together to create a new event offering in light of Covid-19 (Monday 28 September, 19:30-20:30, online)
– Waterstones Guildford will host its LGBTQI+ Book Club on Zoom, discussing Queer Intentions by Amelia Abraham (Tuesday 28 September, 18:30-19:30, Waterstones Guildford)
– Legendary artists, Alan Lee, John Howe and Ted Nasmith will be in conversation to mark the 40th anniversary edition of Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkein (Thursday 1 October, 19:30, Waterstones online)
– Dr Peter Lovatt, author of The Dance Cure, has choreographed 20 micro dances each based on his book and a Book club Boogie, with a special ‘Bookshop Boogie’ that can be used in book clubs. Lovatt has also created a video called ‘Boogie on down to the Bookshop’ featuring The Book Hive, Jarrolds Book Store and Waterstones Norwich, released to mark Bookshop Day
– The Secret Bookshelf is hosting an online quiz, and a chat event around books to recommend to friends, as well as various special offers including a free Hedgehog Press Stickleback micro-poetry collection with any poetry purchase to celebrate National Poetry Day on 1 October (Thursday 1 October onwards, The Secret Bookshelf, Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland)
– Chicken and Frog Bookshop is working with The School of Life Press to launch a poetry competition, with two winners receiving a copy of An Emotional Menagerie. (Chicken and Frog Bookshop, Brentwood)
– October Books is giving away a free blind date with a book to every customer; every customer who buys a book will receive a bonus mystery book (Saturday 3 October, October Books, Southampton)
– Booka Bookshop and Scholasitc are hosting a virtual event with Laura Wood to mark the publication of A Snowfall of Silver (Saturday 3 October, 18:00, online)
– Drake the Bookshop and Tiny Tree Books publishers will be sharing readings with authors and giveaways online
– Welsh former international footballer, Neville Southall MBE (Mind Games) will be doing an At Home with 4 Indies event, with the first 100 registrants receiving a signed bookplated copy of his new book (Tuesday 29 September, 19:30-20:30, online)
– Children’s Bookshop, Huddersfield, is planning a bear hunt, a competition to guess the number of books in a bag, and a “booky dip” (Saturday 3 October, Children’s Bookshop, Huddersfield)
– Natasha Farrant will be doing a live event at The Book Nook, answering questions and talking about her new book, Voyage of the Sparrowhawk (Saturday 3 October, 11:00, The Book Nook, Hove)
– Lost in Books is hosting an author signing event with local author Anna Chorlton to mark Bookshop Day. Chorlton will be signing copies of Cornish Folk Tales of Place and visiting the shop to talk about her writing process (Monday 5 October, Lost in Books, Lostwithiel, Cornwall)
– Picture book author-illustrator, Emma Lazell (Big Cat) will be taking part in two events with Chiltern Bookshops, including storytelling and tiger crafts (Saturday 3 October, Chorleywood and Gerrards Cross stores)
– Niche Comics & Bookshop is celebrating its ninth birthday on the high street, and will be marking the occasion on Bookshop Day with cake, drinks, and special offers (Niche Comics & Bookshop, Huntingdon)
– Bridge Bookshop will be offering goodie bags and special offers on Bookshop Day (Bridge Bookshop, Dromore)
– The Book Shop will be offering activities, discounts, special offers, freebies and more (The Book Shop, Lee-On-The-Solent)
– The Rabbit Hole will be laying on offers and treats (The Rabbit Hole, Brigg)
– Charlotte Nichols MP will be visiting Forget Me Not Bookshop on Bookshop Day (Forget Me Not, Culcheth) and Sarah Jones MP will be visiting Waterstones in Croydon on Bookshop Day (Waterstones Croydon)  
Four new bookshops are opening in time for Bookshop Day: a new bookshop from Little Toller Books will be opening its doors in Beaminster, Dorset, and welcoming new customers on Bookshop Day. Specialising in natural history, the store will also stock books for children, and will be partly curated by writers, booksellers, musicians and poets; Moonraker Books, Chapter 2, will open its doors in Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire; Not Just Books is due to welcome book lovers in Thetford, Norfolk; and Kemp’s General Store and Kemp’s Books will be launching in Malton, North Yorkshire.

Information from The Booksellers Association