Writers from Spalding and Stamford shortlisted in Indie Book Awards

Two authors from Lincolnshire have made the shortlist to win a book award.

Carol Atherton from Spalding and Stamford writer Hannah Gold have been nominated into the The Indie Book Awards for their books Reading Lessons and Finding Bear.

The awards, organised by the Booksellers Association, take place during Independent Bookshops Week and judges will decide four winners today (Thursday, June 19).

South Lincolnshire is lucky enough to have a number of independent bookshops including Bookmark in Spalding, Bourne Bookshop and Walkers Bookshop in Stamford.

Carol, who teaches at Spalding Grammar School, said it was an ‘enormous honour’ to have been nominated.

She said: “The journey to writing Reading Lessons began with the many visits to the local independent bookshop that I made as a teenager – a colourful, welcoming space that gathered me in and provided me with a door to another world.

“Independent bookshops – vibrant, imaginative, quirky and inspiring – are absolutely vital to the health of our high streets, and shine out as a powerful beacon for book lovers everywhere.”

Independent Bookshop Week, which takes place between Saturday, June 14-21, was launched in 2006 and is part of the ‘Books Are My Bag’ campaign.

It is a celebration of independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland, and the role ‘indies’ play within communities.

Stamford writer Hannah is keeping her ‘fingers crossed’ after being shortlisted for a third awards.

She said: “It’s honestly the most humbling accolade.

“Independent bookshops are the heartbeat of the high street, the all important link to local communities and in an age where reading for pleasure is on the decline with young people, they also possess the unique ability to make a profound impact on a school’s reading culture.

“They’re not enough just to be called booksellers, they really should be reclassified as national treasures.”

There will be four winners overall from four categories - fiction, non-fiction, children’s fiction and picture book - with six authors in each category.

At the end of 2023, the number of independent bookshops in BA membership was 1,063 shops, up from 867 in 2016.

Last year’s winners were Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang, The Golden Mole by Katherine Rundell, with illustrations by Talya Baldwin, Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan and The Dress in the Window by Robert Tregoning, with illustrations by Pippa Curnick.

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