Indie Book of the Month: Minority Rule by Ash Sarkar Indie Book of the Month (Children's): Bear Worries by Natalia Shaloshvili
The Booksellers Association and Bookshop.org, are promoting Minority Rule by Ash Sarkar and Bear Worries by Natalia Shaloshvili Indie Book of the Month and Indie Book of the Month (Children’s) for March. 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 Minority Rule and Bear Worries throughout March, via in-store and digital promotional materials. Minority Rule by Ash Sarkar (Bloomsbury) is a sharp and compelling exploration of power, democracy and political change, examining how entrenched interests shape our society and what it would take to build a fairer future. Ash Sarkar, author of Minority Rule, said: “Like lots of people, I spent my teenage years hoping that I’d grow into my nose. In the interim, if I wanted boys to like me, I reasoned that I’d have to hang around in independent bookshops, conspicuously thumbing through works of political philosophy. I didn’t grow into my nose. But I did become a political writer. If it wasn’t for my local indie bookshops, I wouldn’t have read Marx, Fanon, or Stuart Hall, and I certainly wouldn’t be the person I am today. I feel immeasurably grateful towards indie bookshops, and their tolerant attitude to loitering.” Bear Worries by Natalia Shaloshvili (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books) is a warm and reassuring picture book that gently explores anxiety and the importance of friendship, offering comfort to young readers navigating their own worries. Natalia Shaloshvili, author and illustrator of Bear Worries, said: “I’m so happy that Bear Worries is Indie Book of the Month! I’m so grateful for this recognition and want to say how much I love indie bookshops. They are special places that support authors and illustrators, where reading is celebrated and people come together around the books they love. For me, an indie bookshop is a happy place where my worries step away, a place to get lost for hours and be part of the wonderful reading community.” 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.