SPONSORS


DESCRIPTION  Our creatively and editorially independent publishing houses seek out and enable talented people from all walks of life to tell their stories—and make sure they are heard.


INDIVIDUAL BOOKSELLER OF THE YEAR


OVERVIEW Booksellers like these have provided lifelines to locked down readers over the past two years, and they led the joyful reopening of shops in 2021. Throughout it all, their knowledge, passion and skills have made a huge difference to their businesses. All eight of them—six at independents across England, Scotland and Ireland, and one apiece from  Waterstones—appear on this shortlist for the 


GWEN ALLMAN Like most owner-booksellers, Gwen Allman, founder of The Company of Books in the Ranelagh district of Dublin, turns her hand to just about all bookselling and business tasks. With an intuition for what her regulars like and an ability to track down titles with the vaguest of clues, she managed to grow sales in 2021 despite the shop being closed for nearly five months.


KERRY GILMARTIN Waterstones retail manager Kerry Gilmartin has trans- formed the chain’s presence across the North-West of England—notably at its Liverpool store, which she made the epicentre of Paul McCartney’s The Lyrics, its Book of the Year. Her skills, enthusiasm and leadership radiate across the region, espe- cially in locations that have struggled in the pandemic.


DAVID KELLY Blackwell’s sales manager David Kelly has been a much- valued supporter of customers and colleagues at his Oxford Broad Street store throughout the pandemic. He led count- less innovations, including Blackwell’s Book Boutique, bike deliveries, subscription services, outdoor seating and in-store treasure hunts, and has been a key player in the growth of the online operation.


SO MAYER Burley Fisher Books’ So Mayer led the shop’s online pivot during lockdowns, establish- ing a substantial e-commerce operation from scratch. Great collaborative work included a mini-festival with 10 independent publishers and a promotion with Serpent’s Tail for Pride Month. “Passionate and well-informed… I would buy anything they thrust at me,” said one testimonial.


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HELEN TAMBLYN-SAVILLE When Helen Tamblyn-Saville acquired Retford’s Wonderland Bookshop in late 2019, it was a tired, second-hand store. One pandemic and three lockdowns later, she has a flourishing and e-commerce-savvy new books indie, a place on the Children’s Bookseller of the Year shortlist and a second shop in Newark. She has built great relation- ships with authors, schools and customers alike.


YVONNE HOUCHEN White Rose’s Yvonne Houchen has juggled her Thirsk shop’s bookshop and café operations for 17 years and counting—washing cups one minute and hand-selling books the next. She is trusted by regular customers, builds close links with local schools, has a good eye for new sales opportunities and brings out the best in White Rose’s young booksellers.


OLIVIA KEKEWICH Olivia Kekewich has been at the heart of The Edinburgh Bookshop’s success for the past eight years. She led its click-and-collect service and ran dozens of online events and book clubs in lockdown, and is admired by publishers and authors. “She is unfailingly cheerful, astonishingly knowl- edgeable and indefatigably enthusiastic about reading,” said one top writer.


TOMÁS KENNY The Kenny family has been selling books in Galway since 1940, and Tomás has clocked up nearly 25 years of service. As general manager he has transitioned Kennys from a second-hand to new book store and achieved record sales at its retail and web offerings. He is a supporter of small publishers and Irish authors, including through Kennys-branded limited editions.


THE LYRICS WAS AN EVENT PUBLICATION FOR KERRY GILMARTIN


PAUL MCCARTNEYS


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