FOLDE Dorset, in Shaftesbury, has been awarded B Crops status

Shaftesbury’s FOLDE Dorset shop in the running for Independent Bookshop of the Year – again!

Tait ap EllisFebruary 18, 20250 Comment1

A POPULAR bookshop in Shaftesbury is aiming to be back-to-back regional winners at the Independent Bookshop of the Year awards.

FOLDE Dorset was last year’s south west winner in the British Book Awards – and the shop will be competing to win the crown two years in a row after it was once again nominated.

The awards, organised by business magazine The Bookseller and sponsored by book wholesaler Gardners, celebrate stores that reach beyond the literary landscape and bring books to the heart of local communities.

FOLDE, the specialist nature bookshop in the High Street, was certified last year as a B Corporation (B Corp), furthering its founders’ commitment towards operating as a force for good while becoming a go-to destination for nature writing and locally sourced arts and crafts.

The shop will vie to win its region first before contending for the overall prize, which will be announced when the British Book Awards ceremony returns to central London on Monday, May 12.

The overall Independent Bookshop of the Year winner will also be in the running to be crowned Book Retailer of the Year.

Nominated book shops in the south west:

Bert’s Books, Swindon bookhaus, Bristol
Falmouth Bookseller, Falmouth
FOLDE Dorset, Shaftesbury
Gloucester Road Books, Bristol
Liznojan Books, Tiverton
Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, Bath
Storysmith, Bristol
The East Gate Bookshop, Totnes
Winstone’s Hunting Raven Books, Frome

Tom Tivnan, The Bookseller managing editor, said: “The last year has been a drab time for the high street with declining footfall and rising prices, but what has been underscored by our regional and country finalists is that independent bookshops are beacons of hope amid the gloom.

“I have been judging this award for a decade and a half and I have never seen such depth of quality and energy in the submissions, from the newcomers to most venerable stores.

“British and Irish indies continue to thrive, despite the overall climate, with entrepreneurship and creativity.

“These finalists are wonderfully unique and idiosyncratic, but there is a link in that all of them are not confined by the four walls of their shops – they are out in their communities organising festivals, visiting schools, bringing authors to town.

“Sure, they sell a lot of books but that is just the start: independent bookshops are Britain and Ireland’s local cultural lynchpins.”

The regional and country winners of the Independent Bookshop of the Year award will be announced on Tuesday, March 11, whilst the overall winner will be revealed during The British Book Awards ceremony.