TWELVE BOOKSHOPS AROUND Ireland have been named on the longlist for the An Post Bookshop of the Year category at this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards. 

The annual literary event which celebrates and promotes Irish writing and authors will be held on 27 November.

The ‘Bookshop of the Year’ category was introduced in 2021. It is designed to acknowledge the role played by both independent bookshops and local branches of bookshop chains in helping their local communities find and savour good books to read.  

Customers were asked to vote for their favourite bookshops and to explain the reason for their choice. The bookshops that received the most votes were then longlisted and have been invited by the judges to enter a written submission.

The longlist of twelve bookshops are:

• Bantry Bookshop, Bantry, Co Cork
• Books Upstairs, Dublin 2
• Bridge Books Dromore, Co Down
• Hodges Figgis, Dublin 2
• Hubb16, New Ross, Wexford
• Leaf and Bower, Ballincollig, Co Cork
• Liber, Sligo town
• Little Acorns Bookstore, Derry
• O’Mahony’s, Limerick
• Tales for Tadpoles, Bray, Co Wicklow
• The Company of Books, Ranelagh, Dublin
• The Secret Bookshelf, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim

Mystery shoppers will now visit the twelve bookshops as part of the judging process to establish the shortlist of six bookshops, which will be officially announced on 24 October. 

The overall winner of ‘An Post Bookshop of the Year’ will be presented with their trophy at the awards ceremony on 27 November along with a prize worth €15,000 from An Post Commerce.

Chairperson of the An Post Irish Book Awards Larry Mac Hale said bookshops are at the heard of many communities across Ireland. 

“They are cultural spaces that really help to foster creativity and a love of reading among children and adults, and we are so proud to be able to support them in this way,” Mac Hale said.

“It’s wonderful to see such deserving bookshops on the longlist and wish them all the best of luck.”

Dawn Behan, chair of Bookselling Ireland, said booksellers are “at the core of the Irish literary industry, connecting readers with titles they will love and cherish, and it is wonderful to see them getting recognition”.

“I’m pleased to see such a diverse longlist for 2024 and extend my warmest wishes to them all.”

Other categories in the An Post Irish Book Awards include Novel of the Year, Children’s (Junior and Senior), Food and Wine, Crime Fiction, Popular Fiction, Non-fiction, Sports, Short Story, Poem, History, Teen and Young Adult and Irish Language.

The shortlist for all categories in the An Post Irish Book Awards 2024 will be announced on 24 October, while the winners will be announced at the ceremony on 27 November.

The awards will be broadcast on RTÉ One in December and will culminate in one of the 2024 winning titles being announced as the An Post Irish Book of the Year 2024.