Happy New Year from Opt Indie Books! 

We’ve picked 25 titles from some of the UK’s best indie publishers & small presses, celebrating the boldness & diversity that shaped our reading year.

Find our #BooksOfTheYear2024 here: shorturl.at/jehe1

See any of your favourites?

Merry Christmas from Opt Indie Books! 📚🎄

This festive season, may your heart be as full as your bookshelf and your days as magical as the stories you cherish.

Happy reading and the very best of the holidays to all!

Ho! Ho! Howdy Bookworms! 🎄📚

Happy Winter Solstice. It’s been a blustery start to the final shopping weekend before Christmas, and we’re super chuffed to be back @northernstage all day today and tomorrow with another corker of an Opt Indie bookstall!

Come say hi 👋

One to watch - This has been keeping us hooked since it came out last month - #MysteryLights by Lena Valencia from @DeadInkBooks.

With sharp insight and a touch of the uncanny, these shorts linger long after you turn the page - perfect for a spot of eerie reading over Christmas!

Next up on our 2024 countdown, we’re featuring the wonderful @alligatorsmouth in Richmond. Whether you’re shopping for a young reader or just love the magic of children’s books, this list is packed with treasures.

Which of these will you be picking up?

ONE MONTH TO GO! 📣

Join us for an evening @litandphil with curator & author Sue Brunning, as we delve into the rich history and fascinating stories of the #SilkRoads.

Spaces are filling up, but there’s still time to book your place - shorturl.at/DU0ce

See you there!

Counting down to our Opt Indie Books of the Year 📚

We’re spotlighting brilliant indie bookshops & their top reads of 2024 — starting with @GroveBookshop in Ilkley. Here are some of their faves!

Which have you read? What’s on your TBR? Stay tuned for more
#OptIndieBooks2024

If you’re looking for a Christmas gift for the adventurer in your life, why not pay a visit to The Highland Bookshop in Fort William?

Read more about what makes this shop so distinctive on the Opt Indie website - shorturl.at/fIJ7u - then head in and see it for yourself!

Our End of Year Roundup is now LIVE!

A huge thanks to all of our guests this year, for their time and support. And as always, thanks to you for listening. We’ll see you in 2025 for more insight into the lifecycle of a book.

Take a listen here: booksunpacked.substack.com/p/end-of-year-…

Big thanks to Deep North for having us at last night’s festive ‘thank-you’ pop-up. Can’t beat a doughnut-book combo! 🍩📚

Thanks for those who caught us for a chat or took a book home. If you missed last night, we’ll be @LiveTheatre this Sunday from 12pm.

Come say hello!

In this week’s #BookshopSpotlight, writer & manager of The Highland Bookshop in Fort William, Kelsey Ward, shares her journey from part-time bookseller to managing this Scottish literary gateway to the Highlands.

Discover more on the Opt Indie website 👉 shorturl.at/aMrkA

Join us at Deep North for an afternoon of doughnuts, free drinks, merch, and a chance to browse our bookstall packed with indie favourites — what more could you need?

Find us TOMORROW at Dean Street from 3-7:30pm.

Don’t miss it 📚🍩

Hark! ye merry book lovers!

The Opt Indie Book Club will be back in the new year! We’ll be kicking things off with a brand new Fiction in Translation fresh from the printers in January… Details after Christmas!

Stay tuned — an exciting second chapter awaits 📚🎉

Just a reminder that both Baltic Square markets have been cancelled this weekend due to Storm Darragh.

If you are braving the weather today, then make sure to stop by your nearest bookshop to help celebrate #smallbizsat while you can.

Stay safe out there. Read a book!

Well, 2024, that’s a wrap!

Today we recorded our final Books Unpacked episode of the year with a little recap of our journey so far – from author to agents, publisher to bookseller & beyond.

Listen back at shorturl.at/5KxIQ & look out for our recap episode coming soon!

A huge thank you to Sue Prideaux for a fascinating evening last night, discussing #WildThing. Thanks to all who joined us & took home a copy of the book.
We can’t wait to join you back @litandphil for more inspiring events in the new year!

“We started selling books at markets and events because it felt like a low-risk way to see if our dream was viable... it was only this year that we took the plunge into opening our own space” - @novelsheffield

In case you missed it: shorturl.at/2I0Sw

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us with the @northfiction - speakers Rose & Alan @StairwellBooks, George @commapress, Isabelle @fly_press & @SamuelWright78 - & @ToonLibraries for hosting.

Couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the year. Thanks for being part of it!

Rays for days down at Baltic Square for today’s Urban Park Market 📚☀️

Slinging all your favourite small presses and indie gems - inc @DeadInkBooks @fly_press @Ofmooseandmen @andothertweets @FitzcarraldoEds @CharcoPress @honfordstar @GrantaBooks @FaberBooks & more.

Here ‘til 5!

TOMORROW!

There’s still time to join us for our Books On Tyne event @ToonLibraries feat. author @SamuelWright78 & a stellar lineup from the @northfiction: inc @commapress, @fly_press, @andothertweets & @stairwellbooks,

Don’t miss out - booksontyne.co.uk/event/northern…

See you there!