Booksellers Association - Indie Book of the Month

Indie Book of the Month launched as 'Independent Booksellers Children’s Book of the Season' in Autumn 2017. The initiative proved so popular that it became a monthly campaign in January 2019, and a year later rebranded as ‘Indie Book of the Month’, with a stunning new logo designed by children’s author and illustrator, Sophy Henn. In March 2020, an adult fiction title was introduced to the campaign, to run alongside the children’s title.

Indie Book of the Month is designed to showcase independent bookshops’ power to drive sales as a sector. It aims to demonstrate the impact independent booksellers can make by working together to build readerships for the books they love.

The titles for each month are chosen by a panel of independent booksellers from publisher submissions. The panel read and rate each title, their votes are collated, and the titles with the highest number of votes are then discussed by the panel and the Booksellers Association. After this, selections for the Indie Book of the Month are confirmed.

If you are interested in being a member of the bookseller panels for the Indie Book of the Month (these change every quarter) then please email k [email protected] stating whether you would like to be on the Fiction or the Children’s panel.

Indie Book of the Month: August 2025

Fiction Book of the Month: Juice by Tim Winton
Children's Book of the Month: Spirit Warriors by Ashley Thorpe

Independent bookshops around the UK and Ireland will be promoting Juice and Spirit Warriors throughout August on social media and in-store. Books Are My Bag will be supporting the promotion of the Indie Books of the Month through social media and promotional material.

From one of Australia’s most acclaimed writers, Juice by Tim Winton is a taut, timely, and deeply human novel about resistance, survival, and the hidden costs of comfort. A compelling exploration of climate, conscience and control, Juice is an urgent story for our times.

Tim Winton, author of Juice, commented: "I still get a charge every time I walk into an independent bookshop. You simply can’t franchise the thrill of finding yourself in safe hands."
From award-winning author Ashley Thorpe comes Spirit Warriors, a powerful and heartfelt story that blends contemporary adventure with deep-rooted mythology. With vivid characters and a strong sense of place, Spirit Warriors is a moving celebration of courage, identity, and connection.

Ashley Thorpe, author of Spirit Warriors, commented: "To be Indie Book of the Month with Spirit Warriors is another literary dream come true. I am still stunned! I owe so much to all of the passionate indie booksellers who championed my debut last year. My successes are because of the love you've shown my stories. Visiting independent bookshops up and down the country, from the smallest villages to the busiest of cities, was a real highlight of my debut experience, and I’m so honoured to have your support again. You are the lifeblood of your communities: creating avid readers, forging hubs and safe spaces, and helping authors get our books in the hands of those who need them most, irrespective of marketing budget and hype. I’ll continue to shout loudly about how essential indie bookshops are, and to work with you on every author visit I can."

The Indie Book of the Month titles are selected by panels of independent booksellers from publisher submissions.

Fiction panel: Inkspot and Silverleaf, Maldon Books, Ottie and the Bea.
Children’s panel: Sevenoaks Bookshop, The Buckingham Bookshop, Seven Stories Bookshop, Bag of Books, The Orcadian Bookshop.

Previous Indie Book of the Month titles
- Fiction Book of the Month
- Children's Book of the Month

Join in with the Indie Book of the Month campaign on social media:

#IndieBookoftheMonth
x.com/booksaremybag
facebook.com/booksaremybag
instagram.com/booksaremybag

Resources
- August 2025 social media assets
- Logo
- Poster A3
- Poster A4