Independent Bookshop Week launched in 2006 and is a celebration of UK independent bookshops, and the role they play in their communities. The 2022 edition takes place Saturday 18 – Saturday 25 June, so we’ve put together a list of some of our favourite book and zine shops.
Greenhouse Books, Cheadle Greater Manchester
Is Greenhouse Books hosting any in-store events, readings or activities for Independent Bookshop Week?
We don’t have any events planned specifically for independent bookshop week, but as always we will be celebrating our independence and holding up with pride the personal service that makes us who we are!
We do have a bumper weekend of events coming up however, on the 2nd and 3rd of July. On the 2nd we have a couple of poets performing at an event with us and introducing their new collections: Jiye Lee with ‘Aftereffects’ and Matt Broomfield with ‘Brave Little Sternums‘. The event is in collaboration with Fly on the Wall Press and will be start 5pm in a nearby community spot called ‘The Upper Room’.
Then on the 3rd July, we have former Hacienda DJ and Manchester icon, Dave Haslam, signing copies of his new book in Confingo Press’ Art Decades series ‘Not all Roses: The Life and Times of Stephen Cressa‘. Cressa himself, formerly of the Stone Roses, will also be attending the event and signing copies of the book.
Are there any books, zines or graphic novels you’d recommend picking up from Greenhouse Books during Independent Bookshop Week?
Well we’re currently offering all 6 of Confingo Press’ Art Decades series (including the aforementioned Not All Roses) for a special price of £33 to celebrate the launch of the series
We’ve got several other Confingo titles in stock including ‘Unknown Pleasures‘ – a short story collection inspired by Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures, and you can find more info on our website.
We also proud of our a growing selection of lit mags including issues from the fabulous Sink Magazine, Nurture and Brag.
Where can customers find you? What’s your favourite thing about the area you’ve set up shop in?
Customers can find us in Rectory Court in Cheadle village which is the covered arcade just next to Tesco Express. We love Cheadle as it’s full of friendly folk and got many lovely parks to explore such as Abney Hall park and Bruntwood Park. Our address is 13 Wilmslow Road, 6 Rectory Court, Cheadle, SK8 1DW.
What makes Greenhouse Books unique, why should our readers come and visit you in store?
Greenhouse Books is unique in that we offer a bit of everything, whether that be graphic novels and comics, classic or new novels, an eclectic range of lit mags as well as artisanal coffee and cake.
Goodpress, Glasgow
Is Good Press hosting any in-store events or activities for Independent Bookshop Week?
Nothing Independent Bookshop Week specific. However we have our usual weekly reading event with long-term friend of Good Press Maria Sledmere. It’s a launch for SANS SOLEIL, Maria Sledmere & Fred Spoliar’s new pamphlet, from which they’ll be reading, as will Daisy Lafarge and Peter Manson. The event will be free as always!
Are there any books, zines or graphic novels you’d recommend picking up from Good Press during Independent Bookshop Week?
Sticky Fingers are exhibiting currently at the space via Lunchtime Gallery, and they’ve produced an A2 fold-down risograph print – STICKY FINGERS RECOMMENDS – featuring loads of great reading recommendations in one publication. Personally, I’m really happy we finally have CAPS LOCK: HOW CAPITALISM TOOK HOLD OF GRAPHIC DESIGN, AND HOW TO ESCAPE FROM IT by Ruben Pater (published by Valiz) back in stock – very specific to my own interests there though. The new Mapping Issue of Sound American is great too. You know Good Press, something for everyone here!
Where can customers find you? What’s your favourite thing about the area you’ve set up shop in?
We’re in the south east of the city centre of Glasgow, just off Saltmarket. Our address is 32 St Andrews Street – G1 5PD. We’ve always been based in the city centre for access really. Glasgow is a big place and we’d like to be as easy to find and easy to get to as we can. I always remember heading to small shops as well as HMV in town, we want to cultivate that feeling.
Any new releases coming out later in the year that you’re particularly excited about?
Many! Strange Attractor have a couple of exciting releases later this year. I’m looking forward to the new Blank Forms which centres on experimental musician, composer and artist Jerry Hunt. As is the Good Press way, some of the most exciting titles land on our laps – people walking in, dropping things off, emailing out of the blue. The exciting things we just don’t know about yet.
What makes Good Press unique, why should our readers come and visit you in store?
I guess I sort of touched upon that in the last question – our open submission policy means the range of subject matter is pretty huge. Come to find the things for everyone, and leave yourself enough time to dig in.
Velocity Press specialises in titles about electronic music and club culture, any music-related titles you guys would recommend?
What Lies Beneath is a great fanzine from New Zealand which I would very much recommend to find out about obscure, small scale underground music from that side of the world. We still have copies of Free Jazz Communism published by Rab-Rab. Oh, their latest title Punk Supremetism is really good, Sezgin who run the press is lovely. Dance Policy is a great zine you should all look into!
Any favourite authors or local writers that you want to mention here?
Many. We’re a print studio as well as a bookshop and gallery space and we do all the printing for a local venue called The Old Hairdresser’s – I’d like to mention Rob Churm who creates all their posters – look out for these posters if in Glasgow!
Rare Mags, Stockport
Is Rare Mags hosting any in-store events, readings or activities for Independent Bookshop Week?
On 26 June we are hosting a signing event with Dave Haslam and Cressa to celebrate Haslam’s new title – Not All Roses. The event is free and we’re really excited about it. We’ve hosted Haslam a few times at our shop and the events are always excellent.
Are there any books, zines or graphic novels you’d recommend picking up from Rare Mags during Independent Bookshop Week?
All of them? Kiddin. We have a few signed editions of some new fiction and non-fiction, and shelves bursting with fantastic new magazines and zines. Our website lists everything with descriptions of it all, so get stuck in and have a browse!
Where can customers find you? What’s your favourite thing about the area you’ve set up shop in?
Stockport. Lower Hillgate, in-between Robbies brewery, the market hall and Merseyway. Our street is really great at the moment, with new things opening all the time and fantastic retailers (including SK1 Records) that have been here for a while and aren’t going anywhere.
Any new releases coming out later in the year that you’re particularly excited about?
Oof, good question. We always look forward to the newest Apartamento which is due any day, plus Rachel Cusk and the creator of Kennedy magazine (a Rare Mags favourite) Kristos have collaborated on a title due out later this year.
Any music-related titles you guys would recommend?
We’ve recently received Disco Pogo magazine, from the makers of Jockey Slut. We’ve also got the fantastic New Age title from Toby Mott which is a comprehensive collection of iconic UK rave, jungle, sound system and warehouse party flyers dating from the early 1970s to 2000s.
Colours May Vary, Leeds
What makes Colours May Vary unique?
Part of what makes Colours May Vary unique is, I guess, the way it defies easy definition. Part book and magazine shop, part stationery outlet, part design store, part exhibition space and meeting point – it’s been an environment in transition since we first opened our doors in 2012. We have held everything from coffee cupping evenings to techno nights, transformed temporarily into a fully functioning letterpress print shop and found our walls covered with exotic library music LP sleeves. Up next is a launch for a book with a unique take on identity guidelines, designed by a chap who’s done a ton of record cover work for Leeds’ own Leaf Records.
Where can customers find you? What’s your favourite thing about the area you’ve set up shop in?
In August last year, we opened in our new location inside Leeds Corn Exchange and we love it there. The building (which is an incredible design and worth a visit just to stare at the domed roof) is full of buzzing indie businesses [including Narr Radio electronic music heads] and great places to eat. We have a double unit on the balcony level, right next door to Released Records, which is a right treasure trove of esoteric wax wonders (and currently a drain on my bank account). We feel very much part of a solid independent community there and couldn’t be happier. Oh, and if you like dogs, ours is often in to help you with your shopping (or rather, fall at your feet to be petted).
Any music-related titles you would recommend?
We both have a history in record shops, so music has always played a valuable part in our lives and, consequently, in our stock selection. This year I really loved Barry Adamson’s Up Above the City, his memoir of growing up in and around Manchester, the formation of the Bad Seeds and his role in the band, and the formative years of his solo career. He’s a real talent with an incredible back catalogue (which is thankfully being re-released on vinyl) – time for a proper re-appraisal.
Carrying on with the Bad Seeds, Warren Ellis’ Nina Simone’s Gum was a brilliant read. If you ever want to read about how a 20-year-old piece of gum, once chewed by Nina Simone, became a man’s totem and inspiration – this is for you. It’s funny stuff, and includes screen grabs of Nick Cave’s text messages (worth entry price alone).
Lastly, and released for Record Store Day, comes Jonny Trunk’s A-Z of Record Shop Bags. The ephemera king does it again, this time with a book of over 500 bags from UK record shops. Spanning over 50 years, a lot of these businesses are now long gone, but the typography, graphics and added annotations bring vinyl’s golden age back to roaring life.
