Nominate your favourite bookshop for An Post awards

The search is officially underway to find the ‘An Post Bookshop of the Year’ for 2022. After a hugely successful inaugural year in 2021, the category is now back for the second year running in the An Post Irish Book Awards, the annual literary event that celebrates and promotes Irish writing to the widest range of readers possible.

The ‘An Post Bookshop of the Year’ category is designed to acknowledge the significant role played by independent bookshops and local branches of bookshop chains in helping their local communities to find and savour the titles of their choice. The new category was unveiled last year and thousands of votes were cast, with Kenny’s Bookshop in Galway crowned the overall winner.

Customers simply have to click onto www.anpost.com/bookshopoftheyear to submit their nomination for their favourite bookshop. They will also have the option to explain the reason for their choice. Readers can also enter by scanning the QR code in their preferred bookshop and following the instructions. Everyone who votes will be entered into a draw to win a €100 book voucher.

Nominations for the ‘An Post Bookshop of the Year’ will close on 2nd September at 5pm. The 12 bookshops around Ireland with the most votes will then be longlisted and invited by the judges to enter a written submission.

Mystery shoppers will visit the 12 shops as part of the judging process. Following this, a shortlist of six shops will be finalised for the ‘An Post Bookshop of the Year’ and they will be officially announced on October 20. The overall winner will be presented with their trophy at the An Post Irish Book Awards event on November 23. The winner will receive a trophy along with a prize worth €5,000 from An Post Commerce.

Each year, the An Post Irish Book Awards bring together a vast community passionate about books – readers, authors, booksellers, publishers and librarians – to recognise the very best of new and established Irish writing talent and 2022 will be no different. Other categories in the An Post Irish Book Awards include Novel of the Year, Children’s (Junior and Senior), Cookery, Crime Fiction, Popular Fiction, Non-fiction, Sports, Short Story, Poetry, Teen and Young Adult and Irish Language.

John Treacy, Chairperson of the An Post Irish Book Awards, says: “Bookshops sit at the heart of their communities’ cultural and social lives, and we introduced this category last year to acknowledge the important contribution they make to not only their communities and readers, but the significant role they play in the Irish book business. The holy trinity of bookshops, writers and readers is a wonderful alliance we should all support, so I’d very much encourage everyone to support their local bookshop and vote for them in the An Post Bookshop of the Year category.”

Aoife Roantree, Chairperson of Bookselling Ireland, says the organisation is delighted to see the category returning for the second year running. “I'm delighted that the 'An Post Bookshop of the Year' prize will return at this year's An Post Irish Book Awards. Booksellers are unsung cultural heroes, working every day to connect readers with books they'll love, to foster a love of reading among children and those new to the world of literature, and to support great new writing and illustrating talent as well as stalwart reader favourites. Please vote for your favourite bookshop, so that we can all make sure to add them to our travel itineraries for the future!”

David McRedmond, CEO of An Post, adds: “Our local bookshops are a truly essential aspect of our local communities. This was particularly evident during Covid, when they made a really extraordinary impact by nurturing their customers and communities at a difficult time. This was the reason we instigated the ‘An Post Bookshop of the Year’ category last year, and, given how much it was welcomed by bookshops and their customers, we’re delighted to continue it this year. We really want bookshops from all over Ireland to be recognised and praised for the business acumen and creativity they implement every single day to reach and engage with different audiences. So, if you love your local bookshop, make sure to vote for it to give it the recognition it deserves.”

The shortlist for all categories in the An Post Irish Book Awards 2022 will be announced on Thursday 20 October, while the winners will be announced on Wednesday, November 23. A television programme will be broadcast on RTÉ One television in December and will culminate in one of the 2022 winning titles being announced as the ‘An Post Irish Book of the Year 2022’.

An Post is also continuing with their hugely successful #ReadersWanted campaign, celebrating the value and joy of reading and encouraging everyone to pick up more books, more often. Simply search for the hashtag online to get involved.

FURTHER DETAILS

More information on the awards is available at www.anpostirishbookawards.ie