2016 CAMPAIGN DATES

Books Are My Bag 2016 kicked off Thursday 6th October, culminating on Saturday 8th October for #BookshopDay 

CIVILISED SATURDAY 2016

Civilised Saturday took place on Saturday 26 November 2016. Civilised Saturday, the antidote to Black Friday first took place 28 November 2015. Read all of the press coverage here. 

BAMB READERS AWARDS

Read about the first-ever Books Are My Bag Readers Awards including the shortlists and winners here. 

About The Campaign

BOOKS ARE MY BAG is a nationwide campaign to celebrate bookshops. This collaboration between publishers, bookshops and authors is the biggest ever promotion of bookshops. For many people bookshops conjure fond images of book readings, in-store cafes and delight at the discovery of a new author. And in fact 56% of all book buying decisions are made by consumers in a bookshop, but we must continue to celebrate - and shop in! - our high street bookshops so they are not under threat.
Why Buy Books in Your Local Bookshop?
  • You love books
  • You may be about to make a purchase you'll value for the rest of your life
  • You'll be shopping on your local high street
  • You'll be helping create local jobs
  • You might just find a book you never knew existed 
  • You'll find great gifts for friends and family
  • You can talk to real people about books they know and love
  • You'll be part of your local book-loving community  

2016 bags

LIMITED EDITION BAG DESIGNED BY CORALIE BICKFORD-SMITH FOR 2016

Award winning designer Coralie Bickford-Smith, known for creating some of the most iconic book jackets of recent years and author of The Fox and the Star, designed the 2016 collectors’ edition bag for Books Are My Bag
 
“Discovering books old and new brings me great joy, so I was very excited when I was asked to designing a Books Are My Bag tote for 2016. I hope my bag design encourages people to discover new delights of the printed word and to step into a bookshop more often. Local bookshops are important parts of a community - mine would not be the same without Rye Books a delightfully vibrant bookshop in East Dulwich who are always ready for a chat, and full of bookish wisdom.” - Coralie Bickford-Smith

BAMB 2016 CHILDREN'S BAG DESIGN FROM EGMONT PUBLISHING TO CELEBRATE 90 YEARS OF WINNIE-THE-POOH

The children’s bag, which was produced by Egmont Publishing, featured Winnie-the-Pooh in celebration of the best-loved bear’s 90th anniversary this year. The Best Bear in All the World, the official anthology sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh, published on 6th October. 
 
“Egmont and ‘The Best Bear in All The World’ are delighted to support all the strornry good bookshops around the country, who do so much to inspire a love of reading amongst children.”
- Cally Poplak, Managing Director, Egmont Publishing

IRISH BAG FOR 2016

Love your Irish bookshop

This year, we were thrilled to have an exclusive Irish design for bookshops designed by the talented illustrator Fatti Burke.
 

Welsh Bag For 2016

We were also thrilled to have a bag exclusive to Welsh bookshops which translates to 'seas and mountains of books’.
 
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BAMBassadors

Our BAMBassadors are well-known book-lovers who have been photographed with our iconic BAMB tote, and who are passionate lovers of bookshops.  
Click on the banner below to see the many, many well-known faces who want bookshops on our high street to survive and thrive!

BAMBassadors