Linghams is one of more than 700 bookshops set to participate in the event
Sue Porter, owner of Linghams Booksellers in Heswall(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The owners of a unique Merseyside venue today urged customers to support their business during an important week for the industry. Independent Bookshop Week begins today (Saturday June 14) and will run over the next seven days.
It’s aimed at highlighting the vital role independent bookshops play in the UK and Ireland. With 723 independent bookshops already registered to participate, Independent Bookshop Week 2025 is shaping up to be the biggest yet and will see the return of popular events from previous years.
This includes guest bookselling, where authors get behind the tills themselves, and the high five for bookshops initiative which is an national e-gift card giveaway. With Hachette UK returning as a headline sponsor, this year’s ambassadors are broadcaster and author Lorraine Kelly, Sunday Times bestseller Mike Gayle and L D Lapinsk, whose novels have been published in 16 languages.
One venue in Merseyside taking part is Linghams Booksellers in Heswall. Throughout the week, the shop will be hosting several events to mark the occasion. These include talks with poet Donna Ashworth on June 15 and award-winning American author Eowyn Ivey on June 17.
In an Instagram page yesterday which showcased its events, Linghams said: “We have lots going on and would love to celebrate with all our lovely customers. See you all soon!”
Linghams Booksellers is located on Telegraph Road(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Linghams dates back almost 25 years. After years of trading, it was due to close in 2015 before Sue Porter, book aficionado and the current Linghams owner, swept in to save it.
Sue initially lived on the Isle of Wight working as a fraud investigation officer. But after homesickness for Heswall became too much, she decided to make the trip back. Looking for a venue to invest in, Sue contacted numerous bookstores who offered her valuable advice on making the next step.
After deliberating for months, she eventually stumbled across the Linghams. Sue previously told the ECHO: “It was due to close that September but my husband and I bought it. He doesn’t work in the shop but we’ve had it since then and it’s gone from strength to strength.
“I absolutely love reading. We all do, even the baristas. I’ve always been a huge fan of books and that’s one of my favourite parts of the job, to be honest. I’ve given people recommendations on what they’ve just read or pointed them somewhere new entirely.”
With so many high street heavyweights to compete with, Sue and the team have focused on delivering the best service and community they could. She said: “You can’t just stand behind a counter and sell books these days, you have to offer something more. “We put on all of these events so people can meet their favourite authors or get fine copies. We want to give people a unique experience.”
Over 500 online events were delivered during the lockdown which invited book fanatics from all over the world to take in the Linghams experience. The local community and those travelling from afar have backed the business so much that they’re not considered simply as customers, but something entirely more personal.
Sue said: “We refer to them as Linghams’ tribe and they’re not just local, they’re international. There’s a huge support behind us and without that, we wouldn’t be here.”
Discussing her own love for the bookshop, she added: “The day you wake up and don’t have that passion is the end.
“I get so excited about meeting customers, who we’ve got coming into the store when I’m doing orders and obviously I do a lot of reading… I’m so enthusiastic and passionate about books and all of this as a whole.”
This year, the vibrant and celebratory consumer activity of Independent Bookshop Week will be underpinned by the Bookseller Association campaigning for, and lobbying on, policy issues to support bookshops, such as business rates reform and landlord regulation.
Lorraine Kelly said: “I am so thrilled to be an ambassador for Independent Bookshop Week. Independent bookshops play a huge part in communities across the UK as they create new generations of readers, which as a book lover is incredibly close to my heart.”
Linghams is at 248 Telegraph Road in Heswall and is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm.