Philip’s wins best independent bookshop award

Philip’s Bookshop in Mallow has been announced as overall winner for Ireland at the British Book Awards 2020. As a result of this win, the shop in the west end of the town is one of nine finalists in the running for Best Independent Bookshop of Britain and Ireland. The British Book Awards are in their 30th year, selecting the best books, best publishers and the best bookshops in the British Isles and Ireland, and it is a great honour for Philip’s Bookshop to be selected overall winners for Ireland in the Independent Bookshop of the Year category. Philip’s celebrated 30 years in family ownership in 2019, and moved to a new 5,000 square feet space last April, launched a book club and grew its sales by a third.
Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller and chair of the judges for the British Book Awards, said: “The nine regional and country winners showcase the best of small press publishing, rich in quality, diverse in output, and broad in reach. The best of these publishers are close to their customers, but know how to break out beyond their core audiences with their smart, agile approaches to the business. Our congratulations to them all, with good luck for the next round.”
The Regional and Country winners will go head-to-head in another stage of The British Book Awards to fight to be Independent Bookshop of the Year 2020, and the winner will receive a £5,000 cheque, courtesy of Gardners.