Bookshop Day - Christian Bookshops Making a Difference

(Posted by Rosemary on behalf of  Emma Bradshaw (Booksellers Association of the UK & Ireland Ltd)).

Over the past few years, the Booksellers Association has run two campaigns celebrating bookshops at the same time of year: Bookshop Day and Christian Books Are My Bag. This year, with a view to further boosting consumer and trade engagement with Christian bookshops, the Booksellers Association has been working with the Christian Booksellers Group committee to focus on one campaign, Bookshop Day. There will be a dedicated strand of the campaign for the specialist Christian market, which includes bespoke messaging (see below) and point of sale kits.

• Choose Christian Bookshops
• Experience a warm welcome and a listening ear
• Speak to knowledgeable staff with a shared faith
• Receive trusted recommendations
• Browse a range of Bibles and Christian titles
• Purchase gifts and cards for milestones in the Christian journey
• Connect with your Christian community
• Support a Christian ministry
• Assist in equipping churches and their groups
• Maintain a local Christian presence

If you would like to get involved with Bookshop Day and support your local Christian bookshop, here are some suggestions for things you can do:

• Buy a book from your local Christian bookshop on Bookshop Day
• Go on a bookshop crawl on Bookshop Day and visit several Christian bookshops. Post on social media about them along the way
• Do an audit of your online platforms (website and social media channels) and make sure your links to purchase include some Christian bookshops
• Support Bookshop Day on social media (Christian social media assets can be found here)
• Sign up for your local Christian bookshop’s newsletter
• Write a positive review for your local Christian bookshop
• Please tag @booksaremybag and use #BookshopDay and #ChooseChristianBookshops in your social media activity so that we can amplify your messaging.

Bookshop Day celebrates ALL bookshops on our high streets. Participating retailers include Waterstones, Foyles, Blackwell’s, and numerous independent bookshops, including Christian specialist bookshops.

Bookshop Day runs on the second Saturday in October each year. This year’s date is TODAY, Saturday 12 October, and the theme is “Bookshops Making a Difference”.

Bookshop Day aims to remind customers of the value of their local bookshop, and that they are the perfect places to kick start their Christmas gift-buying.. Approx. 1000 bookshops are registered to participate.

Bookshop Day is sponsored by National Book Tokens, Hachette UK, Penguin Random House UK, HarperCollins Publishers, Pan Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, DK, Bloomsbury, Usborne, Scholastic, Faber & Faber, Bonnier Books UK, Chicken House, Profile Books, Walker Books, David Fickling, and Ingram Content Group.

If you have any questions about Bookshop Day, please email emma.bradshaw@booksellers.org.uk