The Booksellers Association of the United Kingdom & Ireland Limited
Indie Book of the Month logo - Orange illustration of four upright books with stars above, next to the text “Indie Book of the Month” on a white background.
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.

Throughout 2026, we are fully integrating our Indie Book of the Month and Indie Book of the Month (Children’s) campaigns with Bookshop.org. Aligning our Book of the Month campaigns with Bookshop.org for the entire National Year of Reading will give bookshops more visibility, support reader discovery and spotlight exceptional books – all within the context of bookshops being at the epicentre of expert curation, community value and the promotion of reading for pleasure.

Titles are submitted by publishers, reviewed by the Bookshop.org and Booksellers Association teams, and then voted for by participating booksellers on Edelweiss, and finally passed to a selection panel of booksellers to review and make the final decision for which title to select. If you would like to be on a panel to help select future titles, please contact [email protected].

The BA and respective publishers create free point of sale items and offer signed copies, author events and social media assets to help members hand sell the titles. Participating members are encouraged to order a minimum of six copies from their usual supplier, create in-store displays and support the titles on social media. It is free for booksellers to participate in the Indie Book of the Month initiative and you can sign up at any point in the year. Members can participate in the Indie Book of the Month and/or Indie Book of the Month (Children’s) campaign.

Submissions for April-June are now closed.

Please contact [email protected] if you would like to sign up to receive notifications of future submission periods.

 

Indie Book of the Month: February 2026 

01_2026_FEB_Both_BOTM_Email_V01.png

Indie Book of the Month: Outrage by Ellen Jones
Indie Book of the Month (Children's): Tiny Hercules by Jon Lock and Nich Angell

The Booksellers Association and Bookshop.org, working in partnership for the National Year of Reading, are promoting Outrage by Ellen Jones and Tiny Hercules by Jon Lock and Nich Angell as Indie Book of the Month and Indie Book of the Month (Children’s) for February.
 
The year-long partnership brings together the Booksellers Association’s Books Are My Bag consumer campaign and Bookshop.org’s online platform to champion monthly Indie Book of the Month titles, supporting reading for pleasure and driving readers towards independent bookshops across the UK and Ireland.
 
Each monthly selection benefits from coordinated promotion across the combined reach of the Booksellers Association’s and Bookshop.org’s social media channels, newsletters and digital platforms, ensuring independent bookshops remain central to reader discovery. Independent Bookshops across the UK and Ireland will also promote Outrage and Tiny Hercules throughout February, via in-store and digital promotional materials.
 
Outrage by Ellen Jones (Pan Macmillan) is a powerful and urgent exploration of queer history, protest and cultural resistance, examining how anger, solidarity and activism have
shaped LGBTQ+ lives and rights.
 
Ellen Jones, author of Outrage“It means so much to see Outrage supported by independent bookshops. Getting queer books into the world can be challenging, from the way stories are marketed to where they’re stocked, but indies have always been the ones willing to take those risks and champion voices that deserve to be heard. Their belief in books like Outrage helps create the visibility and support our community still urgently needs.”
 
Tiny Hercules by Jon Lock and Nich Angell (Pan Macmillan Children’s Books) is a joyful and affirming graphic novel celebrating kindness, confidence and the idea that strength comes in many forms.
 
Jon Lock and Nich Angell, authors of Tiny Hercules“We’re so happy that Tiny Hercules has been named Indie Book of the Month. It’s a genuine honour to be in such great company, both in terms of authors and the amazing indie booksellers who champion our work. Our background is in indie publishing, and we know first-hand just how important a friendly face, a chat and a recommendation can be when finding your next favourite book. Indie booksellers are the trusted voice of the community, and we wouldn’t be where we are now if not for your kind support over the years. Thank you!”

The Indie Book of the Month and Indie Book of the Month (Children’s) titles are selected by panels of independent bookshops from publisher submissions.

Adult panel:
• Red Lion Books
• Maldon Books
• The Kew Bookshop

Children’s panel:
• Kenilworth Bookshop
• Children’s Bookshop, Muswell Hill
• Red Lion Books

Join in with the Indie Book of the Month campaign on social media:
Instagram
Facebook
#IndieBookoftheMonth

Resources
-2026 Monthly Social Media Assets
Logo
- Poster
- Sticker

Previous Indie Book of the Month titles 
Indie Book of the Month
Indie Book of the Month (Children's)